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Supporting Illinois' Arts Sector
SMU DataArts Names Illinois Sixth Most Vibrant Arts State
Arts Impact in Illinois
$37.39B
of our state's gross domestic product was contributed by arts and culture in 2023 - Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Dept of Commerce
226,407
Illinois jobs were in arts and culture (2023)
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce
22
grants totaling $862,855 were directed to Illinois school districts in developing arts and foreign language curricula in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (FY2024)
$478M
in revenues to state and local government were delivered by Illinois arts nonprofits in 2024 - Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6)
29
local arts councils partnered with IAC through its Local Arts Network to support statewide arts programming (FY2024)
100%
of all legislative districts throughout Illinois receive free access to local and regional news, public affairs and arts programming through IAC support for Illinois Public Radio and Television (FY2025)
Featured Illinois Arts Organization
Pontiac Public Library FY26 Creative Projects Grant Recipient
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Illinois Artist Spotlight
Kelli Connell, FY22 IAC Fellowship Recipient
Kelli Connell’s photography investigates sexuality, gender, identity, and photographer-sitter relationships. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, J. Paul Getty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, among others. Connell's recent publications include Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis (Aperture and Center for Creative Photography, March 2024). Connell has received fellowships and residencies from the IAC, the Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, PLAYA, Peaked Hill Trust, LATITUDE, Light Work, and the Center for Creative Photography. Connell is a professor at Columbia College Chicago.
Currently, Connell’s work is being celebrated at the Elmhurst Art Museum in an exhibition titled "Living with Modernism: Kelli Connell’s Pictures for Charis and Double Life." This exhibition marks the largest presentation of her work in Chicago, and it draws intriguing parallels between her photographs and the iconic images of 20th-century photographer Edward Weston. The exhibition is divided into two parts: "Pictures for Charis," which reimagines Weston’s landscapes and portraits through a modern feminist lens, and "Double Life," an ongoing series exploring personal relationships and self-identity. Connell's work is presented alongside Weston's original prints, creating a rich dialogue across time and space.
"Living with Modernism" is on view at the Elmhurst Art Museum through April 26, 2026. Connell, reflecting on this exhibit, states, “The importance of this project, for me, is turning the focus towards Charis Wilson. Learning about her writing, work, and relationship with Weston during the eleven years they lived together sheds light on a side of history that is often forgotten: the side of the subject as told through her own voice. The exhibition “Pictures for Charis” provides excerpts of text written by Wilson, and it is her voice that I used to guide my own image-making. ”.
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