Heartland

              F rom the Hear t land
The Illinois Arts Council has dedicated this special issue of the Heartland to Illinois Arts Week 2002. In this issue, the Illinois Arts Council
has invited three Arts Week 2002 participants to write stories on their own community or organization's Arts Week experience. Each was selected as
an example of how enthusiasm, teamwork and partnerships can create outstanding Arts Week programs and activities from which to learn and enjoy.
I l l i n o i s A r t s C o u n c i l
HEAR TL AND, a qu a r terl y p u bl i c a t ion of th e Illi nois A rts Co u n cil , a n a g e n cy o f t he s tate of Il l inoi s Volu me 7, Nu mbe r 3 Fa l l 200 2 From the Director
The tradition of celebrating the arts every October has
been growing and attracting participants far and wide, not
only in our state during Illinois Arts Week, but throughout
the United States. October is also designated as National
Arts and Humanities Month, co-sponsored by the
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, thus creating a
nationwide focus on the arts every fall.The theme for 2002
is Arts Education and the need for every child in America
to have comprehensive, high quality education in the arts.
There is much to celebrate this year, including the release
of Arts and Economic Prosperity, a study by Americans for the
Arts that confirms the role of the nonprofit arts as an eco-nomic
boon to large and small communities across the
country. The study reports an annual $1.34 billion gener-ated
in national economic activity and 4.85 million equiv-alent
full-time jobs.We can also be encouraged that the
U.S. Congress is considering funding measures aimed at
putting additional spending into the National Endowment
for the Arts and the National Endowment for the
Humanities. Nationally there is increasing awareness of the
public benefit of the arts.
Closer to home, Illinois Arts Week has become a tradi-tion
for some communities and an exciting challenge and
opportunity to explore new relationships and potential
partnerships, for others. It is also a time to reach out to
untapped audiences. This year some communities have
embraced Arts Week with a fervor. For the first time
Galena has united its community to launch a full array of
arts activities. Cities such as Highland Park have followed
suit by producing Highland Park Arts Month. The Palos
communities and Evanston enjoyed a successful Arts Week
2001 and this year developed new programs to further pro-mote
the arts. Launching the “arts season,” Chicago Artists’
Month and the Chicago Art Open 2002 bring Chicago’s
visual arts community together in ways that are unique to
our largest city. These are just a few examples of how the
arts can be celebrated and enjoyed in your community.
This special issue of the Heartland is devoted to Illinois
Arts Week and how YOU contribute to making Illinois a
great place to be an artist. Congratulations on all your
good work and enjoy Illinois Arts Week, which has been
proclaimed by Governor George H. Ryan to be October
6–12, 2002.
Rhoda A. Pierce
Executive Director
IT’S ILLINOIS ARTS WEEK!
edarhurst, located in Mt. Vernon,
joins the IAC and many arts insti-tutions
throughout the state in
celebrating Illinois Arts Week 2002.
Cedarhurst presents many visual and
performing arts programs, including exhi-bitions
in three galleries; large-scale
sculpture in the museum’s outdoor gallery,
Cedarhurst Sculpture Park; Cedarhurst
Chamber Music; Cedarhurst Craft Fair;
summer concerts; and a host of educational
programs.
While Cedarhurst has long observed
this special week, this year the museum,
due to extensive planning by a volunteer
Illinois Arts Week committee, will present
a significant number of activities and
events for the public’s enjoyment. In addi-tion
to Mayor Mark Terry’s proclamation
of Illinois Arts Week in Mt. Vernon,
mayors in several surrounding towns will
recognize the week. On October 5,
Cedarhurst Chamber Music will open its
24th chamber music series with a per-formance
by the Moscow Chamber
Orchestra in the museum’s main gallery.
Members of the museum’s resident cho-rus,
the Cedarhurst Choral Project, will
also perform a public concert October 13.
Outreach is an integral part of
Cedarhurst’s Illinois Arts Week celebra-tion.
The museum’s education department
will present Family Day at Times Square
Mall (Mt.Vernon), featuring music by an
area bluegrass band, art activities, refresh-ments
and certainly lots of fun.Area grade
school children will participate in an art
competition also displayed at the mall.
Partnerships are equally important. Mt.
Vernon’s Art in the City Committee will
host an unveiling and dedication of new
sculptures at two Mt.Vernon schools and
also provide public tours of sculpture in
town. C. E. Brehm Memorial Library will
display art books at the library. Proclaimed
Chalk-in around the City Square, Mt.Vernon
Township High School students will cre-ate
chalk art on the sidewalk surrounding
downtown’s Jefferson County
Court House. Mt. Vernon’s
Jefferson County Historical
Village will sponsor a review of
Bob Hartley’s book Lewis and
Clark in Illinois Country: The
Little Told Story. The Historical
Village will also present a
Celebration of Pioneer Life featur-ing
spinning, blacksmithing,
rug making, printing, displays,
crafts, exhibits and more.There
will even be a church service
Sunday morning at the village’s
pioneer church.
Area artists will demonstrate quilting
and painting in three locations.The muse-um’s
educational facility, Cedarhurst Art
Center, will feature art classes for children
and adults and host an open house for the
center’s Art, Craft and Photography Exhibit.
For almost 30 years, Cedarhurst, thanks
to the Illinois Arts Council and other sup-porters,
has presented arts programming in
an effort to generate enthusiastic partici-pation
in the arts as well as to increase
awareness, understanding and appreciation
for the arts. Cedarhurst is pleased to pres-ent
these programs and looks forward to
increased public participation and excite-ment
about the arts.
Liz Hinman
Director of Communications/Development
Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst
C
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO TO LAUNCH 70TH
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AS PART OF ILLINOIS ARTS WEEK 2002
his year as part of the 70th
Anniversary Celebration, Inter-national
House at the University of
Chicago will host Arts Across the World
from October 4–13. To reach out to the
community and beyond, Arts Across the
World will be included in the Illinois Arts
Council’s statewide campaign to promote
Illinois Arts Week 2002. The goal of the
Anniversary Celebration is to enable
International House to continue to
strengthen its links with the University of
Chicago and the City of Chicago in ways
that are commensurate with its institu-tional
position of promoting cross-cultural
understanding and respect and the
exchange of ideas among people of all
nations and backgrounds.
On October 5th the World Music,
Dance and Arts Tour features selected
works from master artists from Brazil, East
Africa, Eastern Europe and India. These
regions have been selected for their rich
cultural heritage. This showcase includes
artists Paulinho Garcia from Brazil, mem-bers
of Mizizi Dance Troupe from Kenya,
Ivo Papazov from Bulgaria, and Sadhak
Shivaanand Saraswati and P.C. Patel from
India. In conjunction with the World
Music, Dance and Arts Tour, concerts
showcasing individual artists, as well as
educational workshops and art exhibitions
will be scheduled throughout the week to
provide substantive interaction between
the master artists and the greater commu-nity
- university, city and state including
regional artists.
The International House is pleased to join
the Illinois Arts Council in their efforts to
bring greater visibility to this statewide
initiative. Arts Across the World provides an
excellent opportunity for everyone to join
in this exciting statewide celebration of
the arts by celebrating our role in bringing
people together through educational and
cultural programs such as music, dance and
theatrical performances, forums and
debates on world issues, and cultural events.
Denise Jorgens
International House of Chicago
University of Chicago
T
Cedarhurst Sculpture Park
ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCILILLINOIS ARTS CO UNCIL
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ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCIL
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