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We're off to Washington, D.C. ✈️ This week, members of the Figge Art Museum's Education team will join educators, artist...
06/03/2026

We're off to Washington, D.C. ✈️

This week, members of the Figge Art Museum's Education team will join educators, artists, and museum professionals from across the country at the National Gallery of Art's America 250 kickoff celebration and Block Party in D.C.

As invited participants and presenters, the team will help lead conversations and programming focused on multigenerational engagement, outreach, youth and teen programming, and community-centered museum practice. They'll also join the National Gallery of Art and partner museums in facilitating DrawTogetherStrangers, a participatory art experience that invites strangers to slow down, connect, and draw one another.

Representing the Figge are:
🎨 Heather Aaronson Martin, Director of Education
🎨 Laura Wriedt, Outreach and Community Engagement Coordinator
🎨 Kelsey Vandercoy, Outreach Educator

"I am so thrilled to be immersed in the world of museum education this week alongside our partner museums! It's amazing to get to work with this kind of brain trust from our National Gallery cohorts throughout the country." - Heather Aaronson Martin

"I am looking forward to finally meeting all of our museum cohorts to share and celebrate our collaboration with the NGA! We have spent many months getting to know each other, and it's so exciting to make the human connection!" - Laura Wriedt

"I'm excited for everything! This is my first trip to D.C. and I'm so lucky I get to spend my first time exploring such a great city and being part of an amazing group of educators." - Kelsey Vandercoy

In the coming days, we'll be sharing a few glimpses from Washington, D.C. so our community can experience a little of the art, energy, and excitement alongside us.

Museums, textures, espresso breaks, coastal views, and contemporary art tucked inside centuries-old spaces.Over the past...
06/02/2026

Museums, textures, espresso breaks, coastal views, and contemporary art tucked inside centuries-old spaces.

Over the past few days, our Travel with the Figge group has continued exploring Denmark through its museums, architecture, design culture, and everyday moments in between.

From striking Giacometti sculptures at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art to contemporary exhibitions at SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst and the Designmuseum Danmark, travelers have been immersed in the layered relationship between history, art, craft, and daily life that defines the city.

“I love all the textures,” shared Executive Director Melissa Mohr, a sentiment echoed often as the group moved through cobblestone streets, historic facades, modern galleries, waterfront paths, and thoughtfully designed public spaces.

Along the way: botanical gardens, waterfront walks where Sweden appeared just across the horizon, museum store finds, smørrebrød lunches, and plenty of espresso-fueled conversations about art and travel.

Travel has a way of slowing us down enough to notice and details, and Denmark has offered plenty worth noticing.

June at the Figge is full of color, creativity, and plenty of reasons to spend a little more time together. From Pride f...
06/01/2026

June at the Figge is full of color, creativity, and plenty of reasons to spend a little more time together. From Pride films and live music reflections to hands-on artmaking and summer camps buzzing with imagination, there’s a lot happening in the galleries and beyond this month. Here are a few dates to keep on your radar:

🎬 Pride Film at the Figge: "Rent" (2005)
Thursday, June 4 | Free Thursday Nights
An evening of live music with Mo Carter followed by a screening of Rent—the iconic rock musical about friendship, love, and finding joy in uncertain times.
5 PM | Bar & Food Available
5:30 PM | Live Music
6 PM | Film Start

👵 Senior Day
Thursday, June 4
The first Thursday of every month is Free Senior Day at the Figge. Visitors 60+ receive free admission and 10% off in the Museum Store.

🎬 Pride Film at the Figge: "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013)
Thursday, June 11 | 6 PM | Free Thursday Nights
Featuring live music with Eva Kendall before the screening, Dallas Buyers Club tells the story of unlikely activism, community, and survival during the AIDS crisis. Bar and food service begin at 5 PM, with live music at 5:30 PM.

🎨 Second Saturday
Saturday, June 13 | 10 AM–5 PM
Enjoy free admission all day, plus art activities and family-friendly experiences throughout the museum. Full schedule available online.

🎬 Pride Film at the Figge: "Paris Is Burning" (1990)
Thursday, June 18 | Free Thursday Nights
A landmark documentary exploring New York City’s ballroom culture, featuring live music and a special guest in the café before the screening.
5 PM | Bar & Food Available
5:30 PM | Live Music
6 PM | Film Start

🎬 Pride Film at the Figge: "Angels in America" (2003)
Thursday, June 25 | Free Thursday Nights
Live music with Angela Meyer followed by a screening from the acclaimed HBO adaptation of "Angels in America."
5 PM | Bar & Food Available
5:30 PM | Live Music
6 PM | Film Start

🔗 Download the full calendar: https://go.fliplink.me/view/0A39B955-00D1-46C9-8C43-9DB5570EDA81
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🙏 Senior Day is sponsored by CBI Bank & Trust, Jane Magnusson, and Oak Street Health
🙏 Second Saturdays are made possible by Art Bridges Foundation's Access for All Program
🙏 Thursday Nights at the Figge are sponsored by Chris and Mary Rayburn

Thursdays in June are spoken for. 🌈Throughout June, the Figge’s Pride Film Series brings together four unforgettable fil...
05/30/2026

Thursdays in June are spoken for. 🌈

Throughout June, the Figge’s Pride Film Series brings together four unforgettable films exploring identity, friendship, activism, performance, grief, and belonging.

Every Thursday night: free admission from 5–8 p.m., live music in the café, and a film that still has something to say.

📍 Thursdays in June
🎶 Café music from 5:30–7:30 p.m.
🎬 Film at 6 p.m.
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Thursday nights at the Figge are sponsored by Chris and Mary Rayburn

This summer at the Figge, the conversation starts with art—and the stories we inherit, question, and reimagine.The newes...
05/28/2026

This summer at the Figge, the conversation starts with art—and the stories we inherit, question, and reimagine.

The newest issue of “Views from the Figge” takes a closer look at the exhibitions ahead, including A Golden Age for Whom?, Corn Zone, Portrait of America, and Ana Mendieta: Traces. Inside, you’ll find reflections on history, identity, memory, and the ways contemporary artists continue to respond to the past in deeply personal and timely ways.

It’s a season shaped by big questions, bold artwork, and new perspectives, and we’re excited to share it with you.

📖 Read or download the summer issue now: https://go.fliplink.me/view/4953F943-AE08-4FCA-8272-7DDE3DD02CF3

🇩🇰 First day in Copenhagen: cobblestones, castles, crown jewels, colorful harbors, and a surprise royal birthday appeara...
05/27/2026

🇩🇰 First day in Copenhagen: cobblestones, castles, crown jewels, colorful harbors, and a surprise royal birthday appearance.

Our Travel with the Figge group spent the day exploring the layers of history, art, and civic culture woven throughout the city — from Rosenborg Castle to Nyhavn’s iconic waterfront. The day even coincided with the King of Denmark’s birthday, giving travelers an unexpected glimpse of the Royal Family as Copenhagen gathered to celebrate.

At Rosenborg Castle, travelers viewed the Danish crown jewels and coronation thrones, and learned that the royal family still serves wine dating back to 1615 for special occasions.

But beyond the landmarks, one of the most meaningful parts of the journey has been experiencing the city together.

“As we’ve gotten to know the town, we’ve also gotten to know each other,” shares Executive Director Melissa Mohr. “With every corner we turn, there’s a new architectural delight, and each discovery creates a shared moment of awe that leads to stories of past travels and experiences. Traveling together is special.”

Travel with the Figge offers opportunities to experience art, culture, history, and connection beyond our museum walls. Stay tuned for more stories from this year's trip!

Sometimes the most revealing part of an artwork is the decision you never knew an artist made.Grant Wood’s "Study (Sketc...
05/25/2026

Sometimes the most revealing part of an artwork is the decision you never knew an artist made.

Grant Wood’s "Study (Sketch) for Fall Plowing" offers a rare look into the evolution of one of his best-known rural landscapes. Compare the sketch to the finished painting and one change immediately stands out: the glowing yellow tree at the center disappears. In its place, Wood introduces a John Deere plow cutting across the foreground.

That shift transforms the painting.

Co-Senior Curator Joshua Johnson shares:

In making this one seemingly subtle shift, Wood transforms the entire interpretation of the image. What might have been a straightforward celebration of the Midwestern landscape becomes a painting foregrounded by labor and humankind’s ability to shape the land.

The figure of the farmer never appears, yet their presence is everywhere, in the turned earth, the bailed crops, and the plow left mid-task. The land is no longer simply observed; it has been shaped.

Comparing these works reminds us that every artwork is the result of countless decisions, many of which remain invisible to the viewer. Each choice an artist makes shapes how we encounter the work, guiding us toward a particular feeling, story, or way of seeing.
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🖼️ Grant Wood, "Fall Plowing," 1931, oil on canvas, Collection of Deere & Company
🖼️ Grant Wood, "Study (Sketch) for Fall Plowing," 1931, oil on Masonite, City of Davenport Art Collection, Friends of Art Acquisition Fund, 1965.5

In "The Sorceress in Hades," David Teniers the Younger conjures a world of fire, ritual, and women with agency...at a co...
05/23/2026

In "The Sorceress in Hades," David Teniers the Younger conjures a world of fire, ritual, and women with agency...at a cost. This 17th-century Flemish painting is steeped in both theatricality and cautionary symbolism. It plays with fascination and fear, with feminine power and the supernatural. You could argue it’s not about witchcraft at all, but about how society may view women who defy expectations.

The painting never fully tells us who the sorceress is, only how she’s been framed. The rest is left to the viewer.

Now on view in “The Golden Age” at the Figge.
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🖼️ David Teniers the Younger (Belgian, b.1610, d.1690), “The Sorceress in Hades,” 1650s, Oil on wood panel, 20 x 26 1/4 inches, City of Davenport Art Collection, Gift of C. A. Ficke, 1925.282

05/21/2026

Looking forward to Chalk Art Fest and a week of community-centered arts programming across the Quad Cities! Don't miss next Thursday's chit chat with a visiting chalk artist (May 28) and a workshop at Quad City Arts on Friday, May 29.

For more information visit: https://www.quadcityarts.com/chalk-art-fest.html

Address

225 W 2nd Street
Davenport, IA
52801

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 8pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+15633267804

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