When the first people stepped off the elevator on the second and third floors of the new TBK Bank building on Grant Street in downtown Bettendorf, they were met with a giant 26 feet by 9 feet expanse of blinding white walls. Executives knew they needed to bring those walls to life before the building opened to complete their modern, collaborative workspace.
Enter Quad City Arts.
“We chose them because of reputation. We’ve had great interactions with them in the past. Most of all, they were local and we loved the aspect that this was teaching these skills to young students,” said TBK Bank VP Marketing Manager Kevin Gibbs.
Quad City Arts is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the Quad City Region through the arts. TBK Bank also prides itself on its dedication to enriching the Quad Cities through its philanthropic and community-building endeavors.
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It only made sense for the two organizations to combine their love of their community and partner to create two murals at TBK Bank’s new location.
Gail Lehmann, TBK Bank’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, asked Gibbs to look for local artists the company could commission for this project. Gibbs had heard of Quad City Art’s Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program and reached out.
“We were able to do this at their building because it was really important to them to have that connection to the community,” said Quad City Arts’ Executive Director Kevin Maynard, “as well as employing young adults.”
The apprenticeship program offers youth ages 15-21 a paid experience creating art in many different mediums. The project intends to give the student a glance at what life as a professional artist looks like, allowing them to participate in the creation of public art from start to finish. They start off with an interview, where they present their portfolio, and contribute to the entire process of completing the mural.
“Sarah [Robb, lead artist for the project,] meets with the client and talks through their ideas. She takes all that information and relays it to the students. And the students do all that design on their own,” Maynard said.
The project took place over three weeks, with students working Monday to Thursday nights for three hours and Saturday mornings. The designs incorporate Midwest iconographies such as railroads, factories, corn, and wheat.
From the project’s outset, TBK Bank wanted the mural to be an ode to the Midwest.
“We wanted a vision that encompassed the community. The building in Bettendorf is our Midwest headquarters. We wanted it to be about the heartland and some of the things that represent our eighteen branches across the Midwest,” said Gibbs.
The students put together three different proposals based on the requests of their client¬ – one in black and white, one in sepia tone, and one with pops of the building’s pomegranate accent color. They presented their proposals to the TBK Bank committee via Zoom.
“The interesting thing is that not only do they get the experience of pitching to a client, they also receive feedback on their designs,” Maynard said. “Not only are they learning how to create a mural within a timeframe, but they’re also learning those business skills, that their art has value and that it’s okay to be paid for that skill.”
Gibbs said the designs serve as an excellent conversation starter among their staff and clients.
“It presents a ‘wow’ factor the moment someone steps off our elevators. It’s so dramatic in that space. It stops you in your tracks to take it all in.”
The employees of TBK Bank enjoy the burst of energy they get from the murals when they see them every morning, but the benefits of this project for the Bettendorf community reach far beyond aesthetically pleasing interior design.
“Studies continue to show that people want to live in communities that have public art. So the more public art that there is, the more young people want to stay in a community or relocate to a community,” Maynard said. “It’s recognizing that public art and artists, in general, play a big role in placemaking.”
Funding public art projects attract more people to live within the community, benefiting the area schools and businesses. Funding art projects for the youth improve their outcomes, as well. Maynard explained that studies have continued to show the connection between participation in the arts and their performance in school.
“Test scores are higher for those that are participating in the arts. They’re more likely to graduate high school. They’re typically more likely to apply to go to college, and they’re more likely to apply to programs that are not arts-related, like accounting, medicine, and business school.”
Both TBK Bank and Quad City Arts share the goal of improving the lives of youth in the Quad Cities community. TBK Bank has made community involvement a core tenet of its mission. Gibbs said the company is community-oriented and gives its employees three paid days off a year to volunteer in their community.
“We’re committed to the future and the youth and how we can improve people’s lives,” said Gibbs. “We all live and work here in the Quad Cities. It’s very important to us to make this community thrive.”
The mural represents the community-based partnership between TBK Bank and Quad City Arts and can serve as a model for how businesses can support local art in the future.
Maynard says he’s seen a shift in the mindset of how the Quad Cities community treats transactions with artists. He encourages businesses to continue to recognize the value of public art.
“It’s recognizing that there’s a reason that they have reached out to an artist. It’s because they add value to their business. Whether that’s a graphic designer to create a logo or a muralist to paint a mural inside their space. Whatever that is, that adds value, and we need to compensate them like it adds value.”
TBK Bank understands the value of supporting local art, community organizations, and businesses as a whole, within the Quad Cities.
“With the success of the businesses and the people within the community, that, in turn, leads to our success,” Gibbs said. “We’re all in this together.”
