06/08/2026
As our Legacy Partner opens A Golden Age for Whom?, we’re celebrating more than a powerful new exhibition — we’re celebrating a nationally recognized institution operating at an extraordinary level.
The Figge’s partnership with the National Gallery of Art is a signal of what we already know here in the Quad Cities: world-class arts and culture are not somewhere else. They are right here.
This is what Advancing Extraordinary looks like.
Read our latest blog on why this moment matters for the Figge, our region, and the future of arts and culture in the Quad Cities:
https://www.theculturaltrust.org/culture-matters-here-blog/figge-earns-national-recognition-blog
Culture Matters Here. And it always will.
OPENING TODAY | "A Golden Age for Whom?"
What happens when contemporary artists look at the Dutch Golden Age and ask different questions?
Now on view at the Figge, "A Golden Age for Whom?" brings together contemporary artists responding to themes, aesthetics, and histories explored in "The Golden Age: Featuring Northern European Works from the National Gallery of Art" Installed in adjoining galleries, the two exhibitions invite visitors to move between historic works and contemporary responses, creating a conversation across centuries about power, representation, and the legacies of history.
As the exhibition came together, we ask Co-Senior Curator Johnson what makes "A Golden Age for Whom?" especially relevant today:
"I think many people look at the works in "The Golden Age" exhibition as beautiful but perhaps not particularly relevant—artifacts from a bygone era of ruffs, tall ships, and ruling monarchs. 'A Golden Age for Whom?' helps us recognize that many of the same issues artists were grappling with during the Dutch Golden Age remain on artists' minds today. Likewise, many of the visual traditions established by artists such as Frans Hals and Anthony van Dyck continue to inspire contemporary makers.
The Dutch Golden Age was a period during which colonization, global trade, slavery, and religious persecution expanded dramatically. We are still living with the consequences of that history, and the contemporary artists in this exhibition encourage us to reflect on those legacies and their continued impact."
📍 Now on view at the Figge Art Museum
EXHIBITION SPONSORS
Contributing Sponsors: Carolyn & Joseph Martin
Supporting Sponsor: Carolyn Levine & Leonard Kallio Trust
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🖼️ Yasumasa Morimura (Japanese, born 1951), "Self-portrait as a Prodigal Son," 1994, Chromogenic print on canvas, 67 ¾ x 54 1/3, Friends of Art Acquisition Fund, 2026.6 © Yasumasa Morimura
