| October is Illinois Arts & Humanities (AH!) Month
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The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) and the Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) are pleased to present Illinois Arts & Humanities (AH!) Month, a statewide celebration encouraging all Illinoisans to establish, deepen, and expand our relationships with the arts and humanities.
AH! According to Wikipedia, AH! may be: "An onomatopoeia for the sound made when one realizes something." This is a sound we know well in the arts and humanities! Whether exploring or expressing the human condition, realizations abound. During Illinois AH! Month, the drive is to create and share more of these AH! moments with people throughout our communities statewide. A special AH! Month section of the Illinois Arts Council's website is still in the works and should be live later this month or early in September with more information and resources. In the meanwhile, please follow the links below for everything you need to: · Request AH! Month Promotional Tie-Ins & Become an Ambassador of AH!
Together, we can make the arts and humanities a visible and vital part of everyone's everyday lives in the Land of Lincoln! |
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Get Social: Join Illinois AH! Month's Facebook Group
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Illinois Arts & Humanities (AH!) Month is going social! A special Illinois AH! Month Facebook group has been established and is fully equipped with boards for posting discussion topics, photos, videos, and links. Social media is a perfect utility for the kinds of connections we're all looking to make, both with the people around us and throughout the state (and country, and world). By joining the group and helping to spread the word through your communities, you can help create a central place for connections and conversations around the celebration of Illinois AH! Month (and beyond?).
Anyone can join Facebook & the AH! Month Group: All that's needed to join Facebook is a valid email address. Following this link to www.facebook.com, enter your name and email address, and you've joined. You may also choose to connect with coworkers or classmates by using your school or work email address to register. Once you register, join a regional network to connect with the people in your area. To join the Illinois AH! Month group, simply follow this link or type " Illinois Arts & Humanities (AH!) Month" into the search field and look under the "Groups" tab. About Facebook: Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to upload photos, share links and videos, partake in discussions, and learn more about the people they meet. For those concerned about privacy, you can use privacy settings at any time to control who can see what on Facebook. We'll look for you online!
Note, social media is just one element of the promotion for Illinois Arts & Humanities Month in 2008. As described above, the Illinois Arts Council website provides a plethora of information and resources. In addition, the Illinois Humanities Council is hosting a live online calendar for listing and finding events. If you have any questions about Illinois AH! Month's Facebook Group, please feel free to contact Alex A.G. Shapiro at alex.shapiro@illinois.gov or by phone at 312/814-6762. |
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Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Pushes the Envelope
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The Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission has launched a Statewide Envelope Design Contest with categories for kindergartners through adults. The four categories include: Grades K through 6; grade 8 through high school; college students and adult amateur artists; and adult professional artists. The top 200 envelope designs submitted will be used to create an exhibit entitled "Lincoln: As We Know Him" in the Old State Capitol during February and July 2009.
This contest is open only to Illinois residents, and envelope design contest entries will be accepted through November 1, 2008. Winners will be chosen by mid-November, with the winning designs to be featured on special limited-edition envelopes sold before and during the February 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial. The U.S. Postal Service will also offer a special Bicentennial cancellation on Lincoln's 200th birthday, February 12, 2009, at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in downtown Springfield. Those who purchase the Bicentennial envelopes and the Postal Service's new Lincoln stamps will have the opportunity to cancel them that day for a truly one-of-a-kind collectible.
The Illinois State Board of Education is a coordinating partner with the Commission serving to enlist schools and students to participate in the envelope design contest. The Board is playing an active role during the Bicentennial Celebration to engage students to become a part of history, assisting the Commission on several student related activities.
To read the full announcement, contest rules, and submission information, please visit the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission's website, www.lincoln200.net. The Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission is working closely with numerous organizations, tourism agencies and institutions in 2008 and 2009 to organize events and programming for the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The commission is also partnering with local communities on their bicentennial plans. Visit www.lincoln200.net for more information. |
| Financial Assistance Available for "Powerful Connections" Workshop
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Do not miss this opportunity to learn, explore, and experience the rigor of arts integrated practice with fellow teachers and artists.
Join your peers from throughout Illinois September 5-6, 2008, for Powerful Connections: Learning In & Through the Arts with Zephyr Dance. A variety of art forms - dance, music, visual arts, theater, media arts, and writing - will be used to give each participant an experience integrating academic and art curricula. Participants will be introduced to academic and arts standards along with strategies for working in a variety of grade levels, and building a template based on planning, classroom practice, assessment, and documentation. This unique arts integration workshop, hosted by the Hinsdale Center for the Arts with support from the Illinois Arts Council, is open to educators and artists. Your $100 registration covers the two day workshop, including materials and lunch. CPDU credits are available. For more information and to register, visit www.hinsdalearts.org. If you are interested in this professional development workshop for artists & educators, but find finances to be a challenge, please contact Tatiana Gant, Illinois Arts Council Director of Arts-In-Education Programs, immediately (312/814-6765 or tatiana.gant@illinois.gov). |
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Upcoming Application Deadline Reminder
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September 2, 2008
Artists Fellowship Program
State of Illinois Recognizes and Rewards Artistic Talent
The Illinois Arts Council's Artists Fellowship Program awards $7,000 Fellowship and $700 Finalist Awards to honor Illinois artists of exceptional talent and enable them to pursue their artistic goals. The Artists Fellowship Program operates on a two-year rotating cycle. This year, applications for the following disciplines will be accepted: Interdisciplinary/Computer Art, Music Composition, Photography, Poetry, and Visual Arts.
*Note: The Illinois Arts Council is pleased to announce a new online application process (CueRate) for the FY09 Artists Fellowship Program. Artists Fellowship Application and CueRate informational workshops are being offered throughout the state beginning July 30th. The workshops are free and open to the public. Follow this link to view the full schedule of FY09 Artists Fellowship Application and CueRate Informational Workshops.
Preserving Illinois' Cultural HeritageThe Master Apprentice Program recognizes the need for structured opportunities to pass on traditional arts as part of the preservation of Illinois' cultural heritage. The program fosters this traditional teaching and learning relationship by providing a $2,000 honorarium to the master artist and a $1,000 stipend to the apprentice. Please visit the Illinois Arts Council website at www.state.il.us/agency/iac and contact appropriate staff for further information regarding grants, program guidelines, and the review process. |
| One State: Together in the Arts
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Mark your calendars now and spread the word! The next One State: Together in the Arts conference, co-produced by the Illinois Arts Council and the Illinois Arts Alliance, will be held in Peoria on June 1 and 2, 2009. It is a tremendous moment for us to come together to connect, share, learn, and celebrate our work and the impact we have on our communities. We look forward to seeing you there. | |
