The 2021-2022 Visiting Artist Series continues Oct. 4 with a residency from Invoke, a modern/bluegrass/jazz quartet from Austin, Texas. During their residency, Invoke will present demonstrations to students in schools in Davenport, Bettendorf, and Pleasant Valley.

The public will also have the opportunity to interact with the quartet during these events throughout the Quad Cities:

• Wesley United Methodist Church, Muscatine is hosting an informal public performance by Invoke as part of the Jackson Concert Series 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5
• Griggs Music, Davenport, is hosting an artist meet-and-greet for customers and local string teachers 6:30- 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5
• Downtown Davenport Partnership presents a pop-up lunchtime performance 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, at Kaiserslautern Square, also known as K-Square, Davenport
• The quartet’s public concert will be 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, at The Rust Belt Commons Area, East Moline. Donations via Text to Give will be accepted. Food and drinks will be available from Midwest Ale Works and Jennie’s Boxcar.

Additional public events with Fall 2021 artists in residence are as follows and can be found on our website, https://www.quadcityarts.com/events:

Bassel & The Supernaturals, Syrian-American funk and soul band, will be in residence Oct. 18-21

• Iron + Grain Coffee House, Davenport, will host a pop-up public performance with the band 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19
• Wesley United Methodist Church, Muscatine, will host an informal public performance by the band as part of the Jackson Concert Series 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21
• Raccoon Motel, Davenport, will present Bassel & The Supernaturals’ full-length public concert with a special guest 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20. The show is for ages 21 and up. Tickets are $10 each and available through Raccoon Motel’s system at https://tixr.com/e/30180.

Jazzy Ash, presenting traditional African-American music for kids, will be in residence Oct. 25-28

• Sawmill Museum, Clinton, will host a family performance open to the public 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27
• Family Museum, Bettendorf, will host a family performance open to the public 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28
• The Muscatine Art Center, Muscatine, will host a family performance open to the public 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28

Lowdown Brass Band, all-horn brass ensemble, will be in residence Nov. 17-19

• The band’s public concert will be held as a part of Premiere for Kwik Star Festival of Trees, benefiting Quad City Arts. This full-length performance will be 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, RiverCenter South, Great Hall, Davenport. Tickets are $50 each and available through the Festival of Trees website at https://www.qcfestivaloftrees.com/events

These public events reflect several new hosting partnerships that allows Quad City Arts to reach a different audience, expanding on our outreach efforts in new venues. These partnerships are aimed at activating new spaces and reaching more people.

During the 2019-2020 season when artists last visited the Quad Cities, more than 26,600 students participated in the program. Experiences included drama workshops for high school students with an East Coast theatre ensemble, a technique discussion for junior high band students from a Toronto, Canada jazz ensemble, side-by-side concert performance with a Texas string quartet, hip-hop dance presentations on history and technique for elementary students— all arts experiences that students would otherwise not have access to.

The series serves students and community members in Clinton, Scott, and Muscatine Counties in Iowa, and Henry, Rock Island, and Mercer Counties in Illinois.

Schools can currently schedule residency engagements for this fall and next spring by visiting https://www.quadcityarts.com/vas-scheduling.html. Community sites are able to schedule engagements for their patrons and clients through https://www.quadcityarts.com/community-scheduling.html.

Since 1974, the Visiting Artist Series has engaged Quad City residents of all ages in quality arts experiences with professional performing artists. Artists of various disciplines present demonstrations, workshops, and master classes at pre-K sites, elementary, intermediate, and high schools as well as college campuses and community organizations.

For more information on this residency program, visit www.quadcityarts.com/vas.

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Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.