“It’s Art, Baby!” was a “dramatic” success. Attendees were greeted at the beginning of the evening by Co-Directors’, Joel & Diane Franken, who were impersonating Pablo Picasso and the Impressionist, Berthe Morisot, who had her work represented in the current, “French Moderns” exhibit at the site of the event, the Figge Museum. The evening’s entertainment… continue reading »
Teacher and administrator participants from Davenport District artsBASICS schools attended an intensive three-day institute focused on the Kennedy Center for the Arts Integration Model and specific classroom climate strategies integrating drama as the art form. The fourth day’s workshop centered around integrating music with autistic students in the classroom. Two Outstanding Presenters Provided Arts… continue reading »
On November 17, 2016, second grade students at Jackson Elementary School had a fun day at the Scott County Humane Society and Figge Art Museum. As an artsBASICS school, students connected art, writing, social studies and community service learning as an integrated study. Students collected and delivered several items to the Scott County Humane Society. Director… continue reading »
McKinley Students’ Art Project The 5th grade students at McKinley School in Davenport partnered with local artists, Pat Bereskin and Brad Bisby to create two large paintings. The students took field trips to Isabel Bloom, Pat Bereskin’s art gallery and to Lindsay Park to create sketches of the East Village. Over the next several weeks… continue reading »
“REFL3X”, Quad Cities local Hip Hop group recently spent three days at McKinley Elementary teaching all students Kindergarten through 5th grade dance moves. The students enjoyed their experience and time with the group and were very excited to show off their new talents to the rest of the student body. Mr. Vincent, principal had this… continue reading »
2016 Scholarship recipients – photo by Bruce Walters Pictured are Isis Theisen and Arissa Lancaster, from Central High School, among other students, at the Summer Drawing Program, a collaboration between the Figge and Western Illinois University. Bruce Walters, Western Illinois instructor and well-known area artist, features here a triptych drawing created by the students during… continue reading »
A mosaic mural at Jackson Elementary was dedicated Thursday May 12th during the ice-cream social and yearbook event. Mrs. Hyslop, music teacher wrote a sunflower song for kindergartners to sing at the social. Fifth grade students read the book the Sunflower House by Eve Bunting from Treasures language arts curriculum when they were in kindergarten…. continue reading »
Above – Ben Lorenzen at CAA working with students Guitarist songwriter Ben Lorenzen instructs 6th grade music students Mia Jones, Sarah Simmons, Emily Gisel, Makailee Aloian, and Noah Thomas. All five CAA Divisions were able to have two guest artists during the 2015-16 school year as a result of the Quad City Arts $ Grant… continue reading »
Schoeneman Award Presented to Dr. Art Tate Congratulations to Dr. Art Tate, Davenport Community Schools Superintendent, on receiving the Lloyd Schoeneman “Arts Educator” Award through Quad City Arts! Joel Franken, Director of the Creative Arts Academy, wrote in his nomination: “I have been working forty plus years in various capacities in arts education. I have… continue reading »
Above – James Hersch at Jackson School working with students James Hersch, music artist, worked with all 2nd,3rd,4th and 5th graders at Davenport’s Jackson Elementary for two days. Each group had two writing sessions with him. On the first day, James reviewed vocabulary related to King Tut and different types of music. Students provided preferences… continue reading »
Monday, December 14, 2015 from 6:00 to 7:30 River Music Experience – Redstone Building – Downtown Davenport Theatre/dance students from the Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities prepare for the school’s upcoming Winter Fest, Monday, December 14, 6 to 7:30 at the River Music Experience, Red Stone Building. Seen here are 6th and 7th… continue reading »
Ralph Iaccarino worked with students from the Creative Arts Academy on watercolor techniques and design. His workshop began by showing an example of a technique, i.e. “blotting,” and then having the students create small works using that technique. Students finished the workshop by creating a larger piece of their choice technique(s) as he and the… continue reading »
Congratulations to Clint Balsar from the Creative Arts Academy on receiving the Lloyd Schoeneman “Outstanding Educator” Community Impact Award through Quad City Arts! It is through his dedication as a respected teacher and colleague that he brought recognition, not only to himself as an art educator and school leader, but to the entire DCS “District… continue reading »
6th graders at the CAA are working with one of our partners, the downtown Davenport Library (specifically with the exceptional reference staff they have and our teachers). Students will discover immigration struggles and/or stories and are working together, matched by their cultural backgrounds for several Mondays (when the library is closed to the public) in… continue reading »
2015 Scholarships Given… artsBASICS Grants Scholarships to Area Students During a recent artsBASICS board of directors meeting Joel Franken reported on the Summer 2015 artsBASICS Scholarship grants. These scholarships, funded by sponsors, donors and fundraising efforts of artsBASICS were distributed through Harrison, Jackson and McKinley elementary schools, Sudlow Middle School and to the Creative Arts… continue reading »
artsBASICS proudly announces an extension of its partnership with the Davenport Community Schools through the Partners in Education Program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Partners in Education program is designed to assist arts organizations throughout the nation to develop or expand educational partnerships with their local school systems. The… continue reading »
Accomplishments: artsBASICS Schools with Artists & Partner Organizations 2017 – 2018 Elementary hosted 150 students from the Central High School Marching Band performance and “hands-on” student experiences with their instruments Elementary 4th grade musical, “Multi-cultural — It’s a Small World” Elementary teachers video-taped their use of classroom strategies from the artsBASICS Teacher Arts Summer Integration… continue reading »
* “Dare to Dance” in-service for all elementary physical education and music teachers for integrating dance into their curricula * On-going collaboration with a professional theater company producing a yearly production * Play-writing, acting, and technical theatre experience for elementary students * Integrated arts professional development for elementary school teachers * Web-design and marketing mentoring… continue reading »
Two workshop series opportunities for teachers from our current artsBASICS schools and others were made possible through grants from the Quad City Arts Dollar$ Program. The first workshop series brought in the dynamic duo of Dan and Jessica Sheridan from the Davenport Junior Theatre. Dan is their Performing Arts Supervisor and the Artistic Director there… continue reading »
artsBASICS: Catalyst to the Creation of the Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities Nearly two years ago, Superintendent Art Tate, under the direction of the Davenport Community School Board created a committee called the “District of Distinction”. Area educators, leaders, parents and upporters were in an action planning process, to create new educational models… continue reading »
artsBASICS Provides Support for Educators With In-Service “Joel and Diane Franken gave a Arts Integration In-Service held July 13 – 16, 2015, at the Creative Arts Academy of the Quad-Cities using the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts definition: an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students… continue reading »
September 9, 2014 – Rock Island, Illinois – Quad City Arts Annual Meeting Joel and Diane Franken are recognized as Arts Supporters (Individuals): an individual who is a role model for long-term and exemplary support of the Quad Cities arts and culture community because of his or her significant contributions of time, expertise, dedication, and/or… continue reading »
(Reprinted from QCOnline.com, Moline, IL – Dated 5/28/2015) By Jonathan Turner DAVENPORT — Katie Chang is not only a beautiful young actress with Rock Island roots who has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The 20-year-old — granddaughter of Rock Island’s John Scally and daughter of an Alleman High alum — is… continue reading »
‘We are trying to graduate a broad engineer’ Vanessa MIller, The Gazette (Reprinted with permission – Original Article here) MAY 25, 2015 | 7:00 PM IOWA CITY – As creative director and product designer for Amazon Inc.’s Lab126 in Silicon Valley, Mike Bauerly daily is thankful he got two very different bachelor’s degrees from the… continue reading »