p.s. Are you a fan of state support for the arts? Join the IAC on Facebook, at  www.facebook.com/illinoisartscouncil.

 

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Illinois Arts Council's Chairman Shirley R. Madigan presented the following testimony to the House Appropriations-General Services Committee on Wednesday, April 21, 2010:
 
Chairman Joyce, members of the House Appropriations-General Services Committee, my name is Shirley R. Madigan and I am Chairman of the Illinois Arts Council. On behalf of the Council and our staff, thank you for your support over the past forty-five years.
 
Since 1965, the IAC has been proud to support and sustain the arts for people and communities throughout the whole of Illinois.
 
We do this because IAC funds actually touch and change lives and living conditions in Illinois through our schools, communities, individuals, and cities. There is no education without the arts.
 
We do this because the arts in Illinois are an economic engine, a source of jobs and revenue for the state and local economies from Rockford to Cairo and from Quincy to Charleston.
 
The Arts Council is a revenue generating agency for the State of Illinois, and the funds we award to organizations and individuals turn over many times in their communities.
 
And we fulfill our mission well, ensuring the responsible and impactful distribution of every penny statewide.
 
People, schools, and small nonprofit businesses in 100% of Senate Districts and 96% of House Districts received direct support from the IAC in our last complete fiscal year. 
 
More...   
 

 

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Deadline is May 3rd for Artist Residency Support in Fiscal Year 2011 
 
At the heart of the Illinois Arts Council's Arts-in-Education Residency Program is the belief that an artist-in-residence can make an invaluable and unique contribution to the educational process. As a professional artist teaching and creating his or her art at the residency site, the artist-in-residence can inspire one classroom, one teacher, one school district, or one community to integrate the arts into its ongoing activities and become a vital part of everyone's learning experience.
 
Past grants have supported residencies sponsored by libraries, park districts, schools, school districts, colleges, universities, local arts agencies, municipalities, hospitals, community centers, youth organizations, and senior centers.
 
Grants from this program provide support to Illinois not-for-profit organizations for professional artist residencies lasting from two weeks to six months in one fiscal year. Residencies may be in the disciplines of creative writing, dance, interdisciplinary arts, media, theater, or visual arts.
 
Grant requests for Fiscal Year 2011 are for activities occurring between November 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011. For additional information on the program, please follow this link: www.state.il.us/agency/iac/Guidelines/AIE1/includes/intro.htm.   
 
Program Contact: Tatiana Gant, Illinois Arts Council Director of Arts-In-Education Programs. Phone: 312/814-6765. Email: tatiana.gant@illinois.gov.  

 

 

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"To learn a great poem by heart is to make a friend for life," says John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation. "The national recitation program brings fresh energy to an ancient art form by returning it to the classrooms of America."

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On behalf of the Illinois Arts Council members and staff, we are pleased to provide you with our agency's Annual Report for FY2009:   

 

Due to budgetary restraints, and in keeping with Executive Order 11 (to reduce the environmental impact of state government operations), only a very limited number of Annual Reports have been printed this year. Please click on the image above or follow this link to download the Illinois Arts Council FY09 Annual Report (PDF). To request a hardcopy, email iac.info@illinois.gov or call 312/814-6750.