It may come as a surprise to some that Augustana has an institutional membership with the Figge Art Museum in Davenport that brings a whole slew of benefits for Augustana students to enjoy. The Augustana administration and art department have teamed up to create this membership for the college, so that students can utilize the resource that is the Figge Museum.

Since Augustana is financially partnered with the Figge, the students and faculty can enjoy all the benefits of the local museum. These benefits include: free entrance to the museum, free access to new exhibits, free access to openers, faculty can take entire classes there and use classroom space on site for free, and a fifty percent reduction in cost for renting and reserving space for Augustana events there.

Dr. Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, department chair of art and graphic design at Augustana, spoke about why the institutional membership with the Figge is such a good investment for the school.

“I think that the Quad Cities don’t have all the advantages of Chicago or bigger cities, so we need to really get the most out of the institutions that are here and the Figge is a beautiful museum with plenty of programs and high calibur art.”

The art department already utilizes the Figge to great extent, with art classes going over to attend lectures from experts and to sketch the art on display.

“This is really a unique opportunity, since it is the main art museum of the Quad Cities and we have access to it,” Schussheim-Anderson said.

The Augustana art department intends to keep the institutional membership going for the foreseeable future so that students and faculty can keep enjoying the Figge’s art first hand.

Rowen added to her earlier statements on the benefits of the Figge:

“It’s a whole different level of awareness when you can see pieces first hand, instead of just pictures, so I think that anyone with an interest in art or in creative experience will really enjoy this,” Schussheim-Anderson said.

The Figge Art Museum is just across the river in Davenport and the museum makes an excellent full-day or half-day trip for classes or for fun, that is totally free for Augustana students. Some students have already been utilizing the membership arrangement. Graphic design senior Brianna Snead talked about her frequent use of the membership:

“This is my fourth year here and I’ve used it every year multiple times for short film screening events and traveling exhibits, like the French exhibit that is currently displayed,” Snead said.

Snead also talked about one of her favorite benefits of the museum:

“One of my favorite benefits was the architectural exhibits that display and inform Augustana visitors about the process and design of architecture, because the college doesn’t offer classes in it and through the museum we can learn about it,” Snead said.

In addition to a plethora of the best pieces and architecture in the Quad Cities, the Figge Art Museum boasts an impressive collection of midwestern cultural paintings.

The midwestern culture is on full display at the Figge and with many of Augustana’s students being from this area, it is a lot of fun to see the beauty of their homes and culture celebrated through this art. For all Augustana goers, the Figge Art Museum is an awesome opportunity to celebrate art and learn about inventive designing that should not be overlooked.