Local artists to be featured in public art gallery discussion Saturday at Quincy Art Center

QUINCY — The Quincy Art Center, 1515 Jersey, will host a special gallery discussion from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 13. The discussion is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

A captivating panel discussion will feature local and regional Riverwork Project contributors alongside its creator, Sun Smith-Forêt. This experience will highlight the remarkable efforts of local artists that have joined more than 70 individuals living along rivers who have contributed to the Riverwork Project, a display of more than 300 feet of irregularly shaped quilts adorning the gallery walls.

Ann Miller Titus of Quincy coordinated and combined the creative contributions of the following participants into the Quincy/Hannibal Riverwork Project Panel now on display at the Quincy Art Center. Featured participants from Quincy are KJ Jacoby, Carol Clay Mann, Dave Maas, Danielle (Thompson) Pope and Chris Taylor. Katie O’Neal from Payson also has contributed to the project. Featured participants from Hannibal, Mo., are Margaret Fessenden and Faye Dant, executive director of Jim’s Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center.

The Riverwork Project explores the profound connection between humanity and water resources through intricate imagery and evocative text. Sun Smith-Forêt, the visionary artist behind this project, is also the current featured artist at the Quincy Art Center. Her sculpted vessels and paintings are exhibited alongside the quilts, creating a comprehensive artistic experience.

Special panel guests and Riverwork advisors include Penelope Schmidt an independent curator collector, eco-art activist, Audubon board member,and former New York City art gallery owner from Alton; Prof. Laura Strand, the textile art chair and gallery director at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) working textile artist, and Riverwork Project Artist from Worden; and Libby Reuter of Alton, an eco artist, author, and lecturer on Watershed Cairns, a 10-year initiative marking and photographing the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Allegheny Rivers.

This program is part of the Wonder and Praise exhibition sponsored by 644 Maine, Bella Sante, Hickory Stick Quilt Shop, Klingner and Associates, PC, Mr. K’s Fabric Shop, Jerry and Lois Kruse, John and Susan Kissick, Doris Malacarne, Ann Miller Titus, Steve and Judy Siebers, and Howard and Ruth Ann Snowden.