A vibrant tradition for arts, culture

With the influences of three institutions of higher education, Illinois College and MacMurray College, and a regional campus of Lincoln Land Community College-Jacksonville has a wide range of arts and cultural offerings often unavailable in towns more than twice its size.

The Jacksonville Symphony Society offers a full season of performances, as does the Jacksonville Theatre Guild — opportunities for serious musicians and budding thespians to hone their skills.

The Art Association of Jacksonville offers studio courses to children and adults alike. The Association’s Strawn Art Gallery offers a magnificent setting for regular exhibits by artists from the area and the country —
even the world.

For those with a more contemporary bent, the monthly Downtown Gallery Hop, sponsored by downtown businesses and the Imagine Foundation, shows off the talents of artists in a social setting. The not-for-profit Imagine Foundation brings opportunities for audience members and performers and
hands-on instruction in music, theater and the visual arts, with events for both adults and children.

The Prairieland Chautauqua brings about 2,000 people each year to a multi-day festival of entertainment and learning. Based on the turn-of-the-century Chautauquas, which brought famous people to speak to thousands, the Jacksonville version has a different theme each year with music, food and re-enactors portraying famous people.

The Illinois College Fine Arts Series brings to campus about a half dozen musicians and theater and dance productions during the academic year. 

In past years, the series has offered an eclectic selection of performances by the Vienna Boys Choir, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Hubbard Street Dance Ensemble from Chicago, the St. Olaf Choir, the National Institute for the Deaf theater productions and numerous other world-class musicians and performers. The performances are free to students of any age.
MacMurray College and Illinois College both have art galleries and MacMurray’s Putnam Center for the Arts hosts a number of exhibits each year.
All of these efforts are driven by the city’s substantial volunteer corps, the backbone that makes the culture and arts in Jacksonville so vibrant.

For events information:
events.myjournalcourier.com
www.ic.edu/fas
www.mac.edu
imaginefoundation.homestead.com
www.jaxtg.com
www.jaxsym.com