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New youth murals taking shape in downtown Davenport

A new mural being painted by Quad City Arts' Metro Arts students, taking shape at 4th and Pershing, Davenport (photo by Bryan Bobb).

New murals are being painted at 4th and Pershing in downtown Davenport, through the Quad City Arts Metro Arts program.

Murals on both sides of 4th Street are being done under the railroad bridge, replacing deteriorating Metro Arts murals that had been tagged with graffiti earlier this month. They’re expected to be completed by late July.

“We’re excited for some fresh artwork,” Downtown Davenport Partnership executive director Kyle Carter said earlier this month. The new murals are led by veteran QC artists Sarah Robb and Heidi Sallows, working with 20 paid student apprentices (10 on each mural). Downtown Davenport Partnership is contributing to the apprentice salaries.

“They needed to be replaced,” Quad City Arts executive director Kevin Maynard said recently of the walls at 4th and Pershing, outside the luxurious Hotel Blackhawk. “The location where they’re at — because of the bridge and everything — it gets a lot of water runoff; it gets covered with dirt and mud, during certain times of the year. They start needing to be replaced.”

One of the old murals at 4th and Pershing, downtown Davenport.

The old murals were done by student apprentices with lead artist Sarah Robb in 2009 and 2010.

Metro Arts brings together artistically talented young adults and provides them with productive, creative, paid apprenticeships in the arts. The program is open to any student age 15-21 in the QC area. For more information, click HERE.