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Celebrating 60 Years
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)
Muse Vlog Artist Spotlight
The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is thrilled to announce the release of our third episode of The Muse VLOG, featuring Deb Sokolow. In this interview at Western Exhibitions, Deb discusses the significance of text and image in her work, living in Chicago, receiving an IAC Fellowship, and another surprising IAC connection!
Deb Sokolow is an artist and writer whose drawings and books focus on the idiosyncratic, humorous aspects of semi-fictitious architectural environments while hinting at the concealed agendas and social engineering involved in the design of existing corporate, institutional, and domestic spaces. A 20-year sampling of Sokolow’s speculative drawings is currently on view at Northern Illinois University Art Museum. Prior work has been included in the Athens Biennale (Athens, Greece), Chicago Architecture Biennial, and in exhibitions at Museum für Gegenwartskunst (Siegen, Germany), Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven, Netherlands), The Drawing Center (New York), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.), and Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia). Sokolow’s drawings have been reproduced for BOMB Magazine and Phaidon’s Vitamin D2. Collections include Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. She received an MFA in Studio (Fiber and Material Studies) from School of the Art Institute in 2004 and a BFA from University of Illinois in 1996. Sokolow is based in Chicago and is a faculty member at Northwestern University.
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