Quad City Arts Public Sculpture Program

Quad City Arts invites established and emerging sculptors across the United States to submit work for the annual rotating Public Sculpture Program. Up to six pieces per artist may be submitted, and works previously exhibited are welcome to be resubmitted. Sculptures are chosen by up to eight selection committees annually. The 2025-26 program placed 34 sculptures in the cities of Moline and Rock Island, Illinois and Bettendorf, Clinton, Davenport, and DeWitt, Iowa.

All selected artists will be paid a $1,500 stipend upon successful installation for the loan of their sculpture for one year. The stipend includes travel expenses. Installed sculptures will remain in place for the duration of the exhibit. If the work is not sold, artists are required to pick up their sculptures promptly after the exhibition period ends. Pick-up dates in 2027 begin May 31. The Public Sculpture Program will be promoted in the media by Quad City Arts, Visit Quad Cities, and the presenting organizations. Sculptures will be for sale, and a 20% commission is retained from the advertised price on sculptures sold. Payments to artists for pieces sold will be made after the closing of the exhibit. Twenty-four sculptures have been purchased since the program began in 2002.

This call is open to all artists within the United States. Submission deadline is March 9, 2026. Notification will be sent March 27, 2026. Installation of sculptures is scheduled for June 1-19, 2026, with the exhibition closing and removal of sculptures beginning May 31, 2027. There is no application fee.