MISSION STATEMENT
The Figge Art Museum actively serves the public by promoting appreciation and creation of visual art through education, and by collecting, conserving and exhibiting art. As a vital, responsive institution, the Museum brings art and people together, expands the knowledge and love of art, and enriches the life of the community through the power of art."

THE MUSEUM
The Figge Art Museum is the premier art exhibition and education facility between Chicago and Des Moines. With soaring glass walls reflecting the constantly changing sky, the museum’s expansive galleries and intimate rooms are home to some of the Midwest’s finest art collections. Studio-style classrooms allow young and old to participate in the creative process.

The museum opened as the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery in 1925 with a gift of 350 European and Mexican Colonial paintings, creating the first municipal art gallery in the state of Iowa. Today, the collections include more than 3,500 paintings, sculptures and works on paper from the 16th century to the present.

In 1987, the museum changed its name to the Davenport Museum of Art. Then in 2003, the museum relocated to the heart of downtown Davenport, following a major capital campaign. In recognition of the $13.25 million lead gift to the new building project from the V. O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Foundation, the museum was renamed the Figge Art Museum.

The Figge Art Museum opened at its new home on the banks of the Mississippi River in August 2005. The 114,000 square-foot facility was designed by British architect David Chipperfield. The combination of reflective, transparent and opaque surfaces continuously transforms the appearance of the facade in relation to the sun and changing cloud patterns. The building is a civic landmark in downtown Davenport, and enables the museum to further its mission as a regional exhibition space and a community-oriented education center.

FIGGE PARTNERSHIPS

The Figge Art Museum serves as a major resource hub for local colleges and universities. The main focus of this initiative is the Midwest Arts Education Center, launched in 2008, through which the museum provides studio space, classes, lectures and workshops for local colleges and universities, allowing them to expand their humanities and arts education programs.  

Since Fall 2008, The Figge Art Museum has partnered with Western Illinois University-Quad Cities Graduate Museum Studies Program. Acting as a laboratory for learning through direct experience, this innovative partnership places the Figge Art Museum at the forefront of developing future museum professionals. Required as well as special topics courses are taught in the museum setting and offer students a variety of practical experiences through volunteer work, practicum, and internships across departments.

These partnerships also provide housing and exhibition space for collected works from other institutions, including works of art from Knox College and Western Illinois University, as well as the vast majority of the University of Iowa Museum of Art collection.Other participating institutions include Eastern Iowa Community College, St. Ambrose University (Iowa), Augustana College (Illinois), and Black Hawk Community College (Illinois). 

The early success and demand for the program have generated greater activity in and around the museum, and drawn an influx of young, educated and enthusiastic students into the Quad-Cities area.