By Bob Saar for The Hawk Eye| The Hawk Eye

The celebration of the 100th anniversary the 19th amendment continues in the Quad Cities Area this weekend with showings by French artist Cecile Houel and other area women.

The 19th amendment assured women the right to vote in the United States.

French-born artist Houel imbues her art with a deep passion for diversity and justice, and that passion is evident in her ongoing project portraits of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

Houel brings her to-date completed works to four Quad Cities locations Aug.29 through Oct.28.

Houel has won international acclaim in the world of pastels and now focuses on multi-media, including sculpture.

Sponsored by WVIK and Quad-Cities NPR, Nobel Peace Prize Collection: Peace Starts Within will run from August 28 through October 28 at the Berskin Art Gallery & Academy, 2967 State St. in Bettendorf and three other QCA locations.

Houel said the show has been in preparation for about a year and began when artist and former Houel student Rose Moore of Galesburg, Ill. introduced Houel to Pat Berskin, who liked Houel's Nobel collection, and the two talked about putting a show together.

"Initially it was to be just her gallery," Houel said.

The concept expanded and now includes:

A Portrait of Remarkable Women" at Quad-City International Airport in Moline, Illinois,is six Houel portraits of female Nobel Prize Laureates including Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Elie Wiesel and Barack Obama. Sponsored by Quad City Arts in an exhibition beginning September 3, that exhibition includes portraits by artist Heidi Hernandez and sculptures by 11 area women;

Two of Houel's portraits at the German American Heritage Museum & Center in Davenport; and

Two portraits are on display in the RiverCenter/Adler Theatre showcases in Davenport.

Hernandez also will have works displayed at the German American Heritage Museum, Berskin Gallery and the Adler showcases. Rose Moore will have her portraits at the Adler as well.

Houel said she began her Nobel project about five years ago and plans to do portraits of all 107 Nobel Peace Laureates. Working from her studio in Fort Madisonshe completes 10 of the intensely personal 4-foot-square portraits each year.

Born to a Catholic father and a Muslim mother, Houel said she witnessed discrimination while growing up in the Middle East.

I have a deep compassion for diversity, she said, adding that her goal is to create peace events where she can display all of her works.

Pat Berskin, owner of the Berskin gallery, sees the Houel exhibition as a perfect opportunity for families involved in online schooling to learn about these important figures in history. A downloadable Passport for Peace on the gallery website at bereskinartgallery.com lists where each piece is displayed in the QCA and gives a biography of each Laureate.

Together we will have a body of work that tells the history and importance of working for peace through the lives and brushstrokes of Cecile Houel, Berskin said.

Houel said people in Lee and Des Moines counties will find the drive to the QCA worthwhile.

"It's not only a show but an event," she said. "It's a chance for a fun trip into the Quad Cities; it will be cultural and, eventually, you can have a good meal. And in the pandemic time, I think it is good to keep an interest in what is happening in the world."

Reception for Houel

When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.Friday, Sept. 4

Where:The BerskinArt Gallery & Academy, 2967 State St. in Bettendorf

Masks and social distancing are required. Refreshments including snacks and wine will be served with social distancing straws provided.

Other women's events are at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport: Seen and Heard: The Art of Empowerment featuring women artists who asserted their artistic growth despite social and cultural barriers. Also, the Putnam Museum in Davenport has a current exhibit on the roots of the local womens suffrage movement in Liberated Voices/Changed Lives.

Other examples of Houels work can be seen online at cecilehouel.com.

The Berskin Art Gallery & Academy, 2967 State St., Bettendorf, Iowa.

For more information visit bereskinartgallery.com.

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Cecile Houel of Fort Madison and France leads art shows by women in the Quad Cities - Burlington Hawk Eye