SPECIAL FOCUS
Arts Funding
The Illinois Arts Council offers several funding possibilities for local park districts and forest preserves
BY SANDRA L. KINDER
There is a growing awareness of the value of the arts, not only in their own right, but also as an educational tool.
Despite an arts funding climate that, on a national level, has been filled with gloom, the Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is enjoying a budget increase for fiscal year 1998, thanks to Governor Jim Edgar and the General Assembly. Although not a large increase, it nonetheless sends a positive message that the Governor and the state's legislators believe that the IAC is contributing positively to the lives of Illinois citizens.
The Illinois Arts Council believes that government support of the arts is necessary because art is an essential component of the human experience. There is a growing awareness of the value of the arts, not only in their own right, but also as an educational tool. The arts can be a means of teaching other subjects as well as providing, for many young people, a place where they may feel successful. Through achievement in arts activities, they realize a greater sense of self-esteem which can embolden them to tackle other challenges.
Park districts have a unique opportunity to reach many segments of the population that may otherwise not have exposure to arts activities or performances. And park districts throughout Illinois have been availing themselves of funding from the Illinois Arts Council to help support a variety of endeavors, either by obtaining general operating support or project support or through various other specific programs operated by the IAC. But there's room for more!
To provide some ideas of just how park districts might partner with this agency, let's take a look at some of the programs and projects for which the IAC has provided funding to park districts throughout Illinois. A brief explanation about these programs is provided followed by an example of that program put to good use.
Program Grants are available to support an organizations general operating costs for arts programming or for a specific project or projects, not usually a part of ongoing programmatic efforts. This is the largest grants program the IAC offers and it has an annual deadline of March 15 to apply for monies for the next fiscal years granting. Note: Illinois' fiscal year is July 1st through June 30th of the following calendar year.
In 1988, the Bolingbrook Park District's dance instructor and staff envisioned that with a few young people committed to devoting several hours a week to the art of dance, they could transform their park district's typical Saturday morning dance program into a real source of community pride. Nine years later, that effort has grown into four companies with 38 dancers, ages 7 to 17 who perform to an esti-
July/August 1997 /27
mated 7,000 people annually at venues small and large, from senior centers to Joliet's Rialto Square Theater to the Illinois State Fair. The IAC has provided Program Grant general operating support to help maintain this program that trains over 300 dancers annually.
Working cooperatively with Beacon Street Gallery and Performance Company, the Batavia Park District first requested and received Program Grant project support from the IAC in 1994 to implement the Batavia Windmill Festival/International Celebration. The multicultural, multi-arts festival which highlights professional artists, was recently expanded from three to four days and sees an annual attendance of approximately 20,000 visitors. The festival sponsors indicate that the event aims "to make arts accessible at the grassroots level, and to foster crosscultural appreciation, economic opportunities and new partnerships to assure continuation of professional arts events". Funds from the IAC are used toward salaries for the performing artists and the Festival's artistic directors.
The Artstour Program provides funding to support performances by artists listed in the Artstour Program artists roster. The program has an open deadline and may be used to initiate, expand and/or diversify a presenting program through the use of quality arts performances. These grants may also fund workshops, master classes, residencies and lecture/demonstrations associated with the performance(s).
The Rockford Park District annually sponsors a nine-week series of matinees for young audiences, primarily musical/novelty in nature and drawing upon local artists. Lacking a children's theater troupe which emphasizes interactive and collaborative works and focuses on children's writings, Artstour funds were requested by the Rockford Park District to bring Child's Play Touring Theater to "balance and diversify" its seasonal schedule. The park district subsequently promoted the event with the Rockford Public Library's summer reading program.
The Arts-in-Education Residency Program provides an opportunity to bring an artist, who is listed in an artists roster booklet compiled by the IAC, into an existing arts program to provide an opportunity for first-hand contact and experience with a practicing artist. Artist residences can last from one week to six months and be in any artistic discipline including dance, media, music, theater, visual, writing, or traditional ethnic or folk arts. Applicants must apply by February 15 for residencies planned for the upcoming fiscal year.
Determining that its Summer Fine Arts Program had limited visual arts activities, the Addison Park District decided to include a larger variety of art classes. The district utilized the IACs Arts-in- Education Artist Residency Program to bring in a residency artist to assist in this endeavor. The residency artist worked five hours per week for six weeks to provide classes in drawing, painting and three-dimensional art. To culminate the summers program, the artist mounted an exhibit of the students' work from each of the classes to be viewed by the students, their peers and parents and anyone else visiting the facility.
The Short-Term Artist Residency Program emphasizes interaction between Illinois professional artists and the public through workshops, classes, demonstrations and lectures. The artist can be selected at-large, not from an existing roster, and residencies can range from 5 to 30 hours. This collaboration may be used to initiate a new program or to expand and/or diversify an existing program 01 event. This program is actively seeking applicants, so park districts might want to really explore this one.
These examples are just a few of the many ways in which Illinois' park districts have utilized IAC funding to support their many wonderful programs And the Illinois Arts Council believes that these examples testify to the fact that Arts Council funding is indeed "an investment in excellence." The Council encourages your contacting its professional staff to obtain further information about its programs and services. Please refer to the list of the staff on page 29.
And if a park district sponsors an annual art or craft fair, keep in mind that the IAC publishes an annual Art Fair Directory, a statewide guide to a and craft fairs taking place throughout Illinois. A park district can place the information about the fair into the Art Fair Directory free of charge and without meeting any special requirements. This guide is intended to provide information both to the artist and to the fair-goer. It is distributed throughout the state via individual mailings, to 47 Illinois Arts Council Artslink sites and to tourist welcome centers in all regions.
The Illinois Arts Council also produces a quarter newsletter Heartland which provides up-to-date information about the IAC and its programs. To be placed on the mailing list, please contact the Public Information Office at 312.8l4.6755. •
SANDRA L. KINDER
is the public information officer for the Illinois Arts Council (IAC).
28/ Illinois Parks and Recreation
About the Illinois Arts Council
For more than 30 years the Illinois Arts Council (IAQ has been instrumental in supporting Illinois' highly acclaimed and diverse cultural community. Thousands of partnerships throughout the agency's history have helped to maintain the highest standards of excellence in the arts while expanding the accessibility of this artistic wealth to children and adults in every comer of the state. The IAC recognizes and supports not-for-profit arts organizations, community programs, schools, universities and individual creative artists through grant programs, technical assistance, workshops and special initiatives every year.
The IAC receives the majority of its funding through an annual appropriation by the General Assembly from the general revenue fund. The agency also receives annual support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the form of a basic state grant, for which the agency must annually apply, and funding through additional specific areas. These monies are in turn used to advance the various programs that the IAC offers.
The agency is governed by a Council comprised of up to 35 private citizens from throughout Illinois, who are appointed by the Governor. Chosen for their demonstrated commitment to the arts, the Council is charged with developing the state's public arts policy, fostering quality culturally diverse programs and approving grants expenditures. These members serve in a voluntary capacity for four-year terms.
Advisory panels composed of volunteer, statewide experts are appointed by the Council Chairman to assist the Council in the review of grants applications and to lend expertise on policy and program development. Panelists are selected through open nominations and serve for one-year terms.
A professional staff administers and develops the Council's programs, assists grants applicants and provides pertinent information to the public. The Arts Council staff provides technical assistance and lends expertise to artists, arts organizations and community organizations that present arts programming.
— Sandra L. Kinder
IAC Numbers to Know
A list of the lAC's professional program staff and their direct line telephone numbers is provided below. Additional telephone numbers are: general telephone number, 312.814.6750; toll-free in Illinois, 1.800.237.6994; TTY for individuals who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or voice-impaired, 312.814.4831. All the numbers below, unless otherwise indicated, are area code 312 and prefix 814.
|
Davis, Kassie............. |
Executive Director ...................................... |
........ 6759 |
|
Pierce, Rhoda............ |
Deputy Director......................................... |
..... 6758 |
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Brockmeier, Loretta... |
Director, Ethnic & Folk Arts Programs ....... |
........ 6740 |
|
Buford, Walter .......... |
Director, Performing Arts Programs ............ |
........ 4992 |
|
Carlson, Richard....... |
Assistant Deputy Director, Planning, Research & Budget ..................... |
........ 6766 |
|
Diaz, LaNora ............ |
Office Specialist, Programs .......................... |
........ 6899 |
|
du Mont, Desmond.. |
Grants Officer............................................. |
........ 6764 |
|
Gage, Richard ........... |
Director, Communication Arts Program ..... |
........ 4990 |
|
Gerstmayr, Pamela .... |
Assistant to Executive Director .................... |
........ 6794 |
|
Hernandez, Eliud...... |
Assistant Deputy Director, Programs ........... |
........ 6990 |
|
Kinder, Sandra.......... |
Public Information Officer.......................... |
........ 6755 |
|
Leder, Alan ............... |
Director, Visual Arts & Multi-Arts Program |
........ 6753 |
|
Parisi, Rose ............... |
Director, Artists Services, Arts Service Organizations Program, & Short Term Artist Residency Program |
........4991 |
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Pruitt, Elzenie ........... |
Receptionist ................................................ |
........ 6750 |
|
Serraty, Carmen........ |
Office Specialist, Grants Office ................... |
........ 6771 |
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Siavelis, Phillip .......... |
Assistant Fiscal Officer ................................ |
........ 6772 |
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Simonin, Susan......... |
Performing Ans Programs Representative.... |
........ 6780 |
|
Strehlow, Lynn.......... |
Grants Office Program Representative ......... |
......... 6763 |
|
Tunstill, Sylvia,.......... |
Accounts Payable......................................... |
......... 6769 |
|
Vena, Joanne ............. |
Director, Arts-in-Education Programs ......... |
......... 6765 |
|
Kunzeman, Karia ...... |
Legislative Liaison (Springfield).............. | 217.782.1522 |