Issue 26 / October 1, 2024

In this issue:

• October is Arts & Humanities Month in Illinois

• IAC Creative Accelerator Fund is Now Available

• NEA Invites Nominations for National Medal of the Arts

• NEA Translation Project Fellowships

• W Lill Ave is now Honorary Richard Hunt Place

• Cultural Access Collaborative Plans Visit to Champaign-Urbana

• IAC Logo: A Reminder for all IAC Acknowledgements

• IAC Congratulates Arts Midwest Culture Bearers Recipient, Rubén Pachas

• Illinois Artist Spotlight • Additional Opportunities

The Illinois Arts Council and Illinois Humanities are proud to present Illinois Arts & Humanities Month. Throughout October, we encourage all Illinoisans to establish, deepen, and expand their relationships with the arts and humanities. Together, we celebrate the vital role that the arts and humanities play in our individual and shared community life.

Here is how you can participate in Illinois Arts & Humanities Month.

1. Join Governor JB Pritzker in affirming the role and value of the arts and humanities in our state. Follow the link to the Governor's official AH! Month Proclamation;
2. Create an AH! Month Proclamation of your own (and send us a copy!); 
3. Get social by Tweeting your AH! moments using hash tag #ILAH, #IAC, #ILHumanities;
4. Connect to something larger by using the AH! Month logo and the Americans for the Arts logo;
5. Share your AH! moments with our friends on Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/illinoisartscouncilagency and https://www.facebook.com/ILhumanities

Performances, exhibitions, and other AH! inspiring events are happening all over our great state. Stay tuned for the Illinois Humanities calendar list to find something nearby. If you would like your events and programs listed on the AH! Month calendar list, please submit this form on Illinois Humanities' website.

IAC Creative Accelerator Fund is Now Available

The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is pleased to announce the release of the Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF). As part of IAC’s Bold New Changes, the Creative Accelerator Fund provides crucial support to artists with a goal of strengthening the creative workforce that composes a significant portion of Illinois’ economic activity. CAF recognizes and supports the vital role that artists play as builders and innovators in their communities. By investing in their practice and professional growth, the fund not only enriches the lives of artists but also encourages broader community engagement and investment leading to a vibrant cultural landscape and fostering connections among residents.

The Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF) will provide 130 artists with a flexible $10,000 taxable award. IAC anticipates a large response to this application and will determine recipients by randomized selection. Each IAC region has its own allocation, and recipients will be selected from the applications submitted in that region. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

IAC staff will conduct one Creative Accelerator Fund webinar on Friday, October 4th at noon to discuss the application process. Participation requires advance registration. A recorded version of the webinar with transcripts will be made available on the Creative Accelerator Fund webpage.

The IAC will also host three “Drop-In'' sessions. Drop-in sessions are one-hour sessions where participants may ask questions of the Program Staff and get answers in real time. Drop-ins do not require pre-registration. Simply click the link at the time of the meeting to join the call via WebEx.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) invites nominations from the public for the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. These individuals, through their creativity, inspiration, and hard work, have significantly enriched the cultural life of our nation. Nominations are considered by the National Council on the Arts and then forwarded to the White House for action by the President. The deadline is October 3, 2024.

NEA Translation Project Fellowships

Through fellowships to published translators, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) supports projects for the translation of specific works of prose, poetry, or drama from other languages into English. The work to be translated should be of interest for its literary excellence and merit. The NEA encourages translation projects that feature languages, perspectives, and writers that are not well represented in English, as well as work that has not previously been translated into English. The NEA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and fostering mutual support for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups. The application deadline is January 16, 2025.

W Lill Ave is now "Honorary Richard Hunt Pl"

West Lill Avenue, Chicago, the site of Richard Hunt's studio since 1971, is now **HONORARY** RICHARD HUNT Place. Hunt spent over five decades of his seven-decade career sculpting art on West Lill Avenue that will continue to inspire us all for many decades to come. To honor Richard Hunt on what would have been his 89th birthday, the Lill Avenue studio will now be recognized officially for what it has been for over half a century - Richard Hunt Place.

To learn more about Richard Hunt, visit Freedom in Form, the first exhibition in Hunt's home state of Illinois since his passing in December of 2023. Visitors will experience the story of an artist affected by the civil rights struggle of his time and committed to artistic freedom of expression and the possibility of transformation. The exhibit is open from October 25 through April 20, 2025 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. The exhibit will be re-installed at the Loyola University Museum (LUMA) on May 30, 2025.

Cultural Access Collaborative

Expanding Accessibility in Cultural Spaces

A Focus on Central and Southern Illinois

For the first time, Cultural Access Collaborative will visit Champaign-Urbana! Come learn about the Collab and what they offer as they grow their community stakeholder network beyond Chicago. Join them for a light info session and networking at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts to chat accessibility-related topics with passionate members of the accessibility community! The event takes place on Saturday, October 19 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Arts Midwest Culture Bearers Award

IAC Congratulates Illinois Recipient, Rubén Pachas

Students of Rubén Pachas before the Closing Ceremony of the Peruvian Fall Dance classes held at the Quinn Center of St. Eulalia Church auditorium in 2016. Photo Credit: Manuel Gutierrez

The IAC congratulates Rubén Pachas from Illinois who is one of nine recipients of Arts Midwest’s inaugural Midwest Culture Bearers Award! This award was created to annually honor and amplify the work of Midwestern folk arts and culture practitioners who are deeply rooted in the practice and preservation of their cultural traditions. 

Says Rubén, “I am a teacher and artist who researches, preserves, instructs in and disseminates Peruvian indigenous culture through the arts of music and dance via classes, workshops and presentations to communities in Chicago and in Peru.

As co-founder and artistic director of the Center of Peruvian Arts, I design and create typical dances and costumes, then produce, and participate in theatrical Peruvian productions that emphasize the connections in Incan cosmology between humans and stars, Nature and the entire universe.

My work in this vein has fostered knowledge and enjoyment of Peru’s rich cultural heritage in diverse communities, and even kindled people’s desire to visit the country. It also helps my countrymen living abroad to explore their roots and feel pride in their identities, encouraging them to value their culture and share it with others.”