Black Hawk College

ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Serigraph prints by Jae Florence Corales
2025-08-25 - 2025-09-26 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Behold … Bohol!
The ArtSpace Gallery at the Quad-Cities Campus is exhibiting “Pearl of the Orient Seas” – serigraph prints by Black Hawk College alum Jae Florence Corales – from Monday, Aug. 25 through Friday, Sept. 26.
Everyone is invited to a closing reception Thursday, Sept. 25 from 4-5:15 p.m. with an artist talk at 4:15 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
The ArtSpace Gallery is located on the first floor of Building 4 at the Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline.
For more information about exhibits in the ArtSpace Gallery, email ArtDesign@bhc.edu or visit Black Hawk College Art and Design.
About the artist
Jae Florence Corales is a Filipino visual artist, graphic designer and filmmaker currently based in Augusta, GA. He earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design with a minor in computer science from Western Illinois University in May 2025.
Before transferring to WIU, Corales was an award-winning art student at Black Hawk College:

BHC artists win awards in 2023 Student Art Exhibition
Campaign aims to reduce veteran suicides
BHC art students exhibiting in Figge’s College Invitational

Wet Market
Artist Statement
Because I grew up in the Philippines, I enjoy making works that tells story, often drawing inspiration from my experiences as a Filipino.
As a graphic designer, I fell in love with the process in serigraphy. I get to translate my digital design process into print. The way I build digital artwork in layers closely mirrors how I approach screen printing.
I create art that captures life, drawing inspiration from my personal experiences, Filipino heritage and the stories of everyday moments. My work explores emotions, politics and storytelling. Through digital art, serigraphy and painting. I enjoy layering color, shadow and highlights to create images that capture the everyday, the resilience of my people, and quiet reflection of the past.
My work explores both the beauty and the struggle within Philippine history and society, a contrast that I embrace to show the depth of the being Filipino. My goal is to connect with viewers on a deep emotional level, inviting them to see both light and discord within the details of my work.
Much of my art is rooted in memory, whether it’s immortalizing moments from my photographs, reflecting the realities of life in the Philippines, or weaving political themes as reminders of our shared history. I see art as a way to freeze moments and emotions, capturing what changes over time. I aim to simplify complexity, using bold, minimal designs and intentional color choices to communicate meaning.

Music Makers' Meetup - 1st meeting
2025-09-12 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | Millennium Park, 7801 34th Avenue, Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Love anything and everything about music? The Music Makers’ Meetup is a safe and inclusive space for anyone who appreciates music to explore and engage with it on a deeper level.
Through unique activities and experiences, we promote musical expression, creativity and interaction.
No prior experience in music is necessary to join, only a sincere appreciation of this amazing art form!
The first Fall 2025 meeting will be Friday, Sept. 12 from 1-3 p.m. during the art and music fall picnic at Millennium Park, 7801 34th Ave., Moline.
Regular meetings – Fall 2025
Fridays
1-2 p.m.

Oct. 10
Nov. 14
Dec. 12

Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, Room 101

Artist reception for ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Jae Florence Corales
2025-09-25 16:00 - 17:15 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States

ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Weavings by Anne Heide
2025-09-29 - 2025-10-31 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
The ArtSpace Gallery at the Quad-Cities Campus is exhibiting “overshot, interlocking” – weavings by Anne Heide – from Monday, Aug. 29 through Friday, Oct. 31.
Everyone is invited to a closing reception Thursday, Oct. 30 from 4-5:15 p.m. with an artist talk at 4:15 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
The ArtSpace Gallery is located on the first floor of Building 4 at the Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline.
For more information about exhibits in the ArtSpace Gallery, email ArtDesign@bhc.edu or visit Black Hawk College Art and Design.
About the artist
Anne Heide is a visiting assistant professor of art at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, teaching weaving, fabric design and sculpture courses. Heide received their MFA in fiber/textiles at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS, in May 2024. In May 2020, they completed a graduate certificate concentrated in hand papermaking at University of Iowa Center for the Book in Iowa City, IA. They graduated in Spring 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in studio art and gender, women’s and sexuality studies from Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA.
In their current work, they consider the excess of usable clothing being produced due to global capitalism alongside the rigid gender and class norms that clothing embodies. They salvage donated secondhand clothes that are unlikely to find a new wearer, whether because they are worn out, defective or are simply an unpopular style. Drawing on the generally unremarkable forms of everyday clothes and garment racks, they transform these unwanted clothes into artworks that create unexpected connections between different parts of the lifecycle of a garment, and between different articles of clothing. To make these works, they use traditional American craft practices used historically to repurpose old clothing such as quilting, rag rug making and hand papermaking.

Artist Statement
This series of weavings exposes the generally hidden forms of retail clothing racks, with the racks becoming the central motif rather than being hidden under rows of clothing for sale. Before fast fashion, people had deep care and use relationships with each of their garments. My great-grandparents and grandparents all made many well-crafted home goods, including clothing, quilts and furniture, but these practices were not carried on by their children (my parents, aunts and uncles). Now, clothing is considered disposable. With the rise of inexpensive readymade clothes produced by industrial textile equipment and underpaid mostly overseas labor came the rapid decline in common knowledge of textile construction techniques.
In these human-scale banners, I reconfigure various traditional weaving patterns including overshot, twills and waffle weave. Many of these patterns were used by early white settlers who colonized what is now the United States. They wove for subsistence before readymade cloth was available. Variations have also been used by weavers all over the world since shortly after the evolution of humans, when weaving evolved too. The sculptural stands holding my weavings reference warp-weighted and vertical looms, which have been used since prehistoric times.
With the invention of the Jacquard loom in the early 19th century, weavers were suddenly able to incorporate complex organic shapes and combine patterns within their weavings in the course of a day or two in a way that was previously only possible with thousands of hours of work. At the same time, other industrial textile equipment to produce all different types of fabric proliferated, and the cottage textile industry in the early United States swiftly disappeared as factories took over cloth production. This disappearance followed the cultural erasure and land theft that the same white settlers acted out when they arrived in America and displaced and killed Indigenous people already living here. In much the same way, the contemporary clothing industry continues to displace particularly the most marginalized people by polluting water, creating unsafe and unsustainable working conditions, and dumping unimaginable quantities of discarded clothing in landfills.
I made these weavings using a very different type of Jacquard loom than the one invented in 1804, which is also the kind that is still commonly used in industry today. The works in this exhibition were produced using a TC2, or thread controller 2, Jacquard loom, invented by Vibeke Vestby in the late 1990s. Vestby’s objective was to return the power of increased thread control to handweavers: the TC2 is operated using a combination of digital image files (often created by hacking Photoshop) that the loom’s computer reads, a vacuum pump fed in above the loom that individually raises specific threads to create the design, and the physical movement of yarn through the path created by the loom’s raised threads that the artist operating the loom feeds in to make the cloth. Although Jacquard weaving was invented to eliminate the need for cooperative, small-scale production, weaving on the TC2 loom as I do to make these works recenters the Jacquard weaving process in the tradition of weaving as collaboration: maintaining the loom requires a team of people working together, generally made up of artists and students who are also making weavings on the loom.
The collaborative nature of the TC2 inherently invites the sharing of knowledge and cooperative teaching. Although this exhibition cannot change the linear trajectory of clothing from factory to store to consumer to landfill, and the cultural and environmental costs that comes with this cycle, I do hope that it will inspire curiosity and criticality about how, where, why and for whom cloth is made.

Music Makers' Meetup meeting
2025-10-10 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-11-14 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-12-12 13:00 - 14:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Love anything and everything about music? The Music Makers’ Meetup is a safe and inclusive space for anyone who appreciates music to explore and engage with it on a deeper level.
Through unique activities and experiences, we promote musical expression, creativity and interaction.
No prior experience in music is necessary to join, only a sincere appreciation of this amazing art form!
Fall 2025 meetings
Fridays
1-2 p.m.

Oct. 10
Nov. 14
Dec. 12

Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, Room 101

Hispanic Music and Food Fiesta
2025-10-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Join us in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month!
Wednesday, Oct. 15
Noon to 1 p.m.
Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, second floor, Hawk’s Nest
Free tacos!
(while supplies last)
Live music by the BHC Choir and the BHC Jazz Ensemble.

Trio de Colores - Mexican folk music
2025-10-20 12:00 - 13:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Enjoy a variety of Mexican folk music – mariachi, son jarocho, huapango – performed live by Trio de Colores!
Lunch provided (while supplies last).
Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, second floor, Hawk’s Nest

Artist reception for ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Anne Heide
2025-10-30 16:00 - 17:15 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States

Great Pumpkin Decorating Contest deadline
2025-10-31 17:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Fall is here and QC Campus Student Life is hosting a contest for the best decorated pumpkin, just in time for Halloween!
Rules

One entry per BHC QC Campus student.
Photo of pumpkin must be uploaded no later than Friday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m.
Each entry must have a title.
No pre-purchased or pre-decorated pumpkins allowed.

Judging criteria

Originality
Ingenious use of inexpensive materials
Quality of work

Enter the Great Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Prizes

First place – $100 Amazon gift card
Second place – $50 Hawk’s Hub gift card
Third place – $25 Starbucks gift card

Want to paint a free pumpkin with a friend? We’ll have them at Fall Fest Howdy Halloween Hoedown (while supplies last) on Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Building 4, second floor, Hawk’s Nest.

ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Encaustics by Cindy Lesperance
2025-11-03 - 2025-12-12 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
The ArtSpace Gallery at the Quad-Cities Campus is exhibiting “Strata: A Record of Time and Disruption” – encaustics by Cindy Lesperance – from Monday, Nov. 3 through Friday, Dec. 12.
Everyone is invited to a closing reception Thursday, Dec. 11 from 4-5:15 p.m. with an artist talk at 4:15 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
The ArtSpace Gallery is located on the first floor of Building 4 at the Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline.
For more information about exhibits in the ArtSpace Gallery, email ArtDesign@bhc.edu or visit Black Hawk College Art and Design.
About the artist
Cindy Lesperance is an award-winning encaustic artist based in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Known for her richly textured, abstract works, Lesperance explores the interplay of color, surface and form through the ancient medium of encaustic. Her work has been exhibited in juried exhibitions, galleries and museums throughout the United States and is included in both private and public collections internationally.
She is represented by Alma Gallery in Chicago and Plum Bottom Gallery in Door County, WI. Lesperance is a board member at large and former president (2019-21) of FUSEDChicago, a collective of Midwest artists working in encaustic. She also is an active member of the Women’s Caucus for the Arts.
Her work has been featured in Encaustic Arts Magazine, ACS Magazine and on the cover of the Journal of Financial Service Professionals. Notably, her art is part of the permanent collection at the Encaustic Art Institute in Santa Fe, NM.
Artist Statement
This body of work uses the ancient medium of encaustic — a blend of beeswax, damar resin and pigment — to explore how time, memory and experience leave quiet traces on our inner landscapes.
Each painting is created through a slow, repetitive process: I apply thousands of small wax droplets, one by one, to the surface. The process is deliberate and meditative — an act of attention and endurance. While some areas follow this rhythmic pattern, others are scratched, marking moments of disruption or shift. The surface becomes a kind of terrain — a tactile record of time, attention and transformation.
The title — “Strata” — is drawn from geology: layers of rock or sediment that build up over time and record the forces that shaped them. I use that idea as a metaphor for human experience — not visible, geological layers, but emotional ones we carry just beneath the surface.
These works invite you to slow down. From afar, you see rhythm and hue — but as you move closer, the textures and evidence of time and touch begin to reveal themselves.
My hope is that you’ll reflect on your own internal layers — what has shaped you, what you’ve let go of and what remains in quiet accumulation.

Dia de los Muertos Celebration
2025-11-05 12:30 - 14:30 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Learn about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) from Heather Aaronson with the Figge Art Museum.
Enjoy music, activities and FREE food (while supplies last)!
Wednesday, Nov. 5
12:30-2:30 p.m.
Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, second floor, Hawk’s Nest

In Process - An Interactive Arts Experience
2025-11-05 17:30 - 20:00 | The Moline Club, 1530 5th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
BHC student artists, musicians and actors will immerse themselves in a one-of-a-kind evening of creating art!
Students will paint and draw in real time and respond to visual art with music and theatre, all the while creating something completely unique.
Audience members also are invited to experience and participate in this interactive event!

Doors open – 5:30 p.m.
Event begins – 6 p.m.
Reception with light refreshments to follow.

For more information, visit:

Black Hawk College Art and Design – Instagram @BHCArtDesign and Facebook
Black Hawk College Music Program – Instagram @bhc_music_dept and Facebook

Quad City Symphony Orchestra concert
2025-11-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Adler Theatre, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport, IA, 52801, United States
Join us for a free performance by the Quad City Symphony Orchestra!
Masterworks II: Diaspora will feature Mark Russell Smith, conductor, and Steven Banks, saxophone.
Immerse yourself in vivid storytelling and orchestral brilliance!

Richard Strauss’s dramatic Don Juan pulses with energy.
Billy Childs’ saxophone concerto Diaspora explores powerful jazz-inspired narratives.
Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2 dazzles with captivating rhythms and lush, colorful harmonies.

Sign up by Friday, Oct. 10. Registration has closed.
Need a ride? Meet us at the Quad-Cities Campus at Building 1 at 5:45 p.m. The bus will leave promptly at 6 p.m.

Overcoming performance anxiety - Guest speaker
2025-11-14 13:00 - 14:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Do your nerves take over right before you perform, present or compete?
Want to feel more in control when the pressure is on?
Looking for strategies to turn anxiety into confidence?

Join us for Overcoming Performance Anxiety: A Presentation by Sara Brooks, RP, DMus.
Dr. Brooks is a registered psychotherapist (RP) who specializes in musician mental health workshops and musician support/process groups.
Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, second floor, Hawk’s Nest
Free pizza while supplies last.
Sponsored by the BHC Counseling Department and Music Makers’ Meetup student club.

Holiday concert - Home for the Holidays
2025-11-18 19:00 | United Township High School, 1275 Avenue of the Cities, East Moline, IL, 61244, United States
Join the Department of Art, Design and Performing Arts for Home for the Holidays, a BHC Community Concert Band performance directed by Erin Mahr.
Tuesday, Nov. 18
7 p.m.
United Township High School Auditorium
1275 Avenue of the Cities, East Moline
Free and open to the public.
Donations of non-perishable food items for the BHC pantry are welcome!
Program

America the Beautiful – Samuel Ward/arr. Carmen Dragon
Prairie Dances – David Holsinger
Carnival of Venice – Briccaldi, featuring soloist Paul Mizzi
Havana Nights – Randall Standridge
Variations on a Korean Folksong – John Barnes Chance
Quad City Stomp – Michael Sweeney

Intermission

Greensleeves – arr. Alfred Reed
Christmas Festival – Leroy Anderson
The Little Drummer Boy’s Bolero – Julie Giroux
All is Well – Michael W. Smith, with student conductor Jacob Larson
Hey! Baby!
Old Scottish Melody – Charles Wiley

For more information, email music@bhc.edu.

Deadline to enter the BHC Foundation Holiday Card Contest
2025-12-01 17:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
The Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Foundation is offering students the opportunity to get their artwork published on their annual holiday card. The BHC QC Foundation is looking for talented artists in a variety of artforms to design the front artwork for the 2025 season. Card submissions will be juried by the foundation and the art department.
Pictured is “The First Snowfall,” the 2024 Holiday Card Contest artwork winning entry by Angela Naomi Cortes.
REQUIREMENTS
All 2D media is accepted for consideration (including physical and digital works).

Works must be proportional to 5”x7” (larger works can be scaled down).
Layout can be done vertical or horizontal.
Theme should be based around winter and/or the holiday season.
Text may be incorporated but should not address one specific holiday (Christmas, New Year’s, etc.).

ELIGIBILITY

Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus student.
Currently enrolled in classes.
All programs/degrees accepted.

DUE
Deliver all entries to art instructor Terrance Gray by Monday, Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. No late submissions will be accepted.

Physical works should be delivered in person to the Quad-Cities Campus, Building 4, Room 124, and left on the back table. Please label works with the submission form (PDF).
Digital submissions should be sent to grayt@bhc.edu with the heading “Foundation Holiday Card Contest” and sent from your BHC email account. Please send the digital file and include the information on the submission form (PDF).

PRIZE

The artist of the winning card will receive a foundation scholarship for the Spring 2026 semester. This scholarship is worth $350 and can go toward tuition, books, supplies and fees.
Additionally, your card will be printed, published and distributed as the BHC QC Foundation’s official holiday card for the 2025 holiday season. The runner-up will receive a $150 scholarship.

Holiday concert - Songs for the Season
2025-12-06 19:00 | First Congregational Church, 2201 7th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Join the Department of Art, Design and Performing Arts for Songs for the Season, a holiday concert featuring the BHC Chamber Singers, Concert Choir and Community Chorale.

Dr. Irene Leites, director
Marcia Renaud, pianist and organist
Andrew Endress, guest pianist
Paul Mizzi, flutist
Charlotte Oltman, percussionist

Saturday, Dec. 6
7 p.m.
First Congregational Church
2201 7th Ave., Moline
Free and open to the public.

Holiday concert - Holiday Grab Bag
2025-12-08 19:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Join the Department of Art, Design and Performing Arts for Holiday Grab Bag, a Black Hawk College Jazz Band holiday concert.
Enjoy a variety of Christmas, video game-themed, Latin and jazz music!
Monday, Dec. 8
7 p.m.
Quad-Cities Campus
Building 1, Room 308 (theatre)
Free and open to the public.

Audio Production & Video Game Music Showcase
2025-12-10 18:00 - 21:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Join us for two music events in one evening!
Audio Production Showcase
6-7 p.m.
Building 1, Room 308 (theatre)
Hear a musical presentation by students in MUSC 214 Intro to Audio Production!
Video Game Music
7-9 p.m.
Building 2, Room 208 (esports lounge)
Enjoy video game music by the BHC Jazz Ensemble and gaming in the new esports lounge!

FREE food and drinks (while supplies last)!
For more information, email music@bhc.edu.

Artist reception for ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Cindy Lesperance
2025-12-11 16:00 - 17:15 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States

ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Photography by Randal Richmond
2026-01-23 - 2026-02-20 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
The ArtSpace Gallery at the Quad-Cities Campus is exhibiting “Metaphors, Mythologies, and a Bucket Full of Shadow” – photography by Randal Richmond – from Friday, Jan. 23 to Friday, Feb. 20.
Everyone is invited to a closing reception Thursday, Feb. 19 from 4-5:15 p.m. with an artist talk at 4:15 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
The ArtSpace Gallery is located on the first floor of Building 4 at the Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline.
For more information about exhibits in the ArtSpace Gallery, email ArtDesign@bhc.edu or visit Black Hawk College Art and Design.
About the artist
The landscape and still-life arrangement have been areas of concentration for Randy Richmond for much of his career as an artist. These two genres merged in a body of work that became solo exhibitions at the Figge Art Museum (Davenport, IA.) titled “Verisimilitude” in 2019, and “Subtext and Overstory”, at the Dubuque (IA) Museum of Art in 2022.
Richmond has shown his work in numerous solo, group, invitational and juried exhibits nationally and internationally. He has been represented in eight museum exhibitions including four group exhibits, three invitational exhibit and two solo exhibitions. His interpretation of environmental issues has been the focus of special exhibits created for the Door County Land Trust (WI), the Keeweenaw Land Trust (MI), the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Nahant Marsh (IA.). His work is in permanent collections at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA; the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, IA; The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO; Kishwaukee College in Malta, IL; and Project Art of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He balances his creative time with teaching photography as an adjunct instructor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA.
Artist Statement
Over-explaining these still-life images would diminish the purposeful under-explaining they provide. They are inspired by relationships between people, and people and the environment. The ambiguity fuels an emotional response. Large gaping voids are left between purpose and understanding, focus and air, line and surface. Beauty emerges from places unfamiliar to the experience. The roadmap to understanding is a collage of tattered memories taped together, roughly folded and stuffed into an age-stained envelope, not quite large enough to hold the contents.

Music Makers' Meetup meeting
2026-01-30 13:00 - 14:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Love anything and everything about music? The Music Makers’ Meetup is a safe and inclusive space for anyone who appreciates music to explore and engage with it on a deeper level.
Through unique activities and experiences, we promote musical expression, creativity and interaction.
No prior experience in music is necessary to join, only a sincere appreciation of this amazing art form!
Spring 2026 meetings
Fridays
1-2 p.m.

Jan. 30
Feb. 27
March 27
April 24

Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, Room 101

CANCELED - Artist reception for ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Randal Richmond
2026-02-19 16:00 - 17:15 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Please note –
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Feb. 19 artist talk and reception have been canceled.

The ArtSpace Gallery at the Quad-Cities Campus is exhibiting “Metaphors, Mythologies, and a Bucket Full of Shadow” – photography by Randal Richmond – from Friday, Jan. 23 to Friday, Feb. 20.
Everyone is invited to a closing reception Thursday, Feb. 19 from 4-5:15 p.m. with an artist talk at 4:15 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
The ArtSpace Gallery is located on the first floor of Building 4 at the Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline.
For more information about exhibits in the ArtSpace Gallery, email ArtDesign@bhc.edu or visit Black Hawk College Art and Design.
About the artist
The landscape and still-life arrangement have been areas of concentration for Randy Richmond for much of his career as an artist. These two genres merged in a body of work that became solo exhibitions at the Figge Art Museum (Davenport, IA.) titled “Verisimilitude” in 2019, and “Subtext and Overstory”, at the Dubuque (IA) Museum of Art in 2022.
Richmond has shown his work in numerous solo, group, invitational and juried exhibits nationally and internationally. He has been represented in eight museum exhibitions including four group exhibits, three invitational exhibit and two solo exhibitions. His interpretation of environmental issues has been the focus of special exhibits created for the Door County Land Trust (WI), the Keeweenaw Land Trust (MI), the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Nahant Marsh (IA.). His work is in permanent collections at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA; the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, IA; The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO; Kishwaukee College in Malta, IL; and Project Art of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He balances his creative time with teaching photography as an adjunct instructor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA.
Artist Statement
Over-explaining these still-life images would diminish the purposeful under-explaining they provide. They are inspired by relationships between people, and people and the environment. The ambiguity fuels an emotional response. Large gaping voids are left between purpose and understanding, focus and air, line and surface. Beauty emerges from places unfamiliar to the experience. The roadmap to understanding is a collage of tattered memories taped together, roughly folded and stuffed into an age-stained envelope, not quite large enough to hold the contents.

ArtSpace Gallery exhibit - Mixed media assemblage by Wayne Bertola
2026-02-23 - 2026-04-03 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
The ArtSpace Gallery at the Quad-Cities Campus is exhibiting “Imperfect Objects” – mixed media assemblage by Wayne Bertola – from Monday, Feb. 23 to Friday, April 3.
Everyone is invited to a closing reception Thursday, April 2 from 4-5:15 p.m. with an artist talk at 4:15 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
The ArtSpace Gallery is located on the first floor of Building 4 at the Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline.
For more information about exhibits in the ArtSpace Gallery, email ArtDesign@bhc.edu or visit Black Hawk College Art and Design.
About the artist
I am, for lack of a better term, self-taught. My materials can be found in alleys, streets, abandoned buildings, used bookstores, garage sales, flea markets and in nature. In short, anywhere that I might find myself confronted by an object which bears witness to the inevitable yet unpredictable changes wrought by the passage of time.
Artist Statement
I believe that “style” is instinctual and is an organic process which gives form to an inner state or sensibility. If this collection of objects has any meaning in the accepted sense it is in its ability to combine found objects and images – the discarded debris of the once-functional and the humblest of materials – in such a manner as to demonstrate their capacity for transformation into objects that by the response they generate engage the viewer in a creative dialogue of association, allusion and reverie invoking the presence of the past in the present, the enigma of mortality haunted by eternity beyond the limitations of linear time.

Celebrating Black History with Jazz
2026-02-25 12:00 - 13:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Celebrate Black History Month!
Join the BHC Jazz Ensemble and the BHC Choir for a live musical performance and enjoy a taste of soul food!
Wednesday, Feb. 25
Noon to 1 p.m.
Quad-Cities Campus
Building 4, second floor, Hawk’s Nest

Music Makers’ Meetup meeting
2026-02-27 13:00 - 14:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn program
2026-02-27 13:00 - 14:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn – Presentation and Q&A with Gates Thomas
Join us for an unforgettable journey through this extraordinary body of American music, featuring rare filmed and recorded performances by one of the most iconic orchestras in history.

Program will be in Building 4, Room 209.
Lunch will be provided while supplies last.

About the presentation
“Mood Indigo,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” “Satin Doll,” “Do Nothin’ ’Til You Hear From Me,” “Lush Life,” “Sophisticated Lady” these timeless classics are only a glimpse into the brilliance of Duke Ellington (1899–1974) and Billy Strayhorn (1915–1967). While their songs became standards, the composers themselves believed their greatest achievements were their orchestral “suites” – sweeping collections of short instrumental pieces rich in color, imagination and storytelling.
About the presenter
Gates Thomas is a composer, conductor and recording producer whose work has been performed by artists including Pat Metheny, Gary Burton and the Lionel Hampton Big Band. His 2016 research fellowship at the George Washington National Library led him into a second career as a historian, focusing on 20th century music, the American Revolution, the U.S. Navy, Davenport and the recording arts.

Deadline to RSVP for Chicago bus trip
2026-03-11 11:00 | Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, 6600 34th Ave., Moline, IL, 61265, United States
Join TRIO and the Art Collective on Monday, March 16 for a bus trip to explore downtown Chicago’s sights and cultural exhibits!
Departure & return

Depart the Quad-Cities Campus at 6 a.m.
Return around 5 p.m.
Plan for 3-4 hours of driving time for return trip to the Quad-Cities Campus.

Itinerary
Includes the Art Institute of Chicago and one of the following:

Field Museum of Natural History
Griffin Museum of Science & Industry
Shedd Aquarium

Art Collective students may select one site paid for by Student Life.
RSVP

By Wednesday, March 11 at 11 a.m.
Email Jana Koch.

Other details

If you are NOT an Illinois resident or need to make any changes, email Jana Koch as soon as possible.
Stop by the Student Life Office (Building 4, Room 202) to complete the emergency contact form for the trip.
