Illinois Arts Council Presents New Opportunity for Illinois' Artists

ILLINOIS -- The Illinois Arts Council is pleased to announce the new Individual Artist Support (IAS) initiative. Funds will help Illinois artists realize career goals, take advantage of professional opportunities, and/or produce projects or bodies of work for public viewing.

Due to a steep reduction in the Illinois Arts Council budget for Fiscal Year 2010, several grant programs have been suspended temporarily, including the Artist Fellowship and Ethnic & Folk Arts Master/Apprenticeship Programs. The Individual Artist Support (IAS) initiative was developed to bridge the gap, and represents the Arts Council's commitment to continuing to support the work of individual artists.

"The Illinois Arts Council recognizes that individual artists are the keystone to the creation of art," says Illinois Arts Council Executive Director Terry A. Scrogum. "The Artist Fellowship Program had continuously provided fellowships to Illinois creative artists for more than twenty years, and the Council remains committed to individual artists despite diminishing resources."

The deadline for applications is Monday, February 1, 2010. Application workshop webinars are scheduled in mid-January: 

• Wednesday, January 13, 2010, beginning at 1:00 PM CST
• Thursday, January 21, 2010, beginning at 3:30 PM CST

More information, including registration links for the webinars, full guidelines, and the application are available now in the Individual Artist Support section of the Illinois Arts Council website, at http://www.state.il.us/agency/iac/Guidelines/IASI/includes/grant.htm . Please email Encarnacion Teruel at encarnacion.teruel@illinois.gov with any questions.