The Southern Arts Fund is a Community Arts Access Program administered by Carbondale Community Arts with major funding support from the Illinois Arts Council. Additional financial support for the program is provided by the City of Carbondale and by institutional and individual donors throughout the region.

Each year the Fund distributes tens of thousands of state and local dollars in program grants each year to individual artists, arts organizations, and schools throughout the southern twenty-two counties of Illinois. Since 2001 more than 150 grants have been awarded to area schools and to organizations like the African American Museum, the Southern Illinois Children’s Choir, the Grand Chain Civic Club, the Jackson County Stage Company, and the Southern Illinois Irish Festival.

Congratulations to the following 2013-Round One grant recipients!

1 – SI CABE in support of Bilingual Strings Outreach.  This project will provide group strings lessons  and interactive music-dance performances in various outreach sits, including Thomas and Lewis Schools in Carbondale hosted by accomplished violinist Irekani Ferreyra and Mexican folkloric dancer Ana Tapia.  It will include an on-air performance on WDBX Community Radio’s Local Artists Forum. (January 14-15, 2013)

2 - OUTSIDE THE BOX FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSIC  in support of public concerts and outreach performances by Illinois visiting artist, the Third Coast Percussion Ensemble as part of a 2-day residency during the Outside The Box Festival 2013.  (April 4-5, 2013)

 3 -  SARAH SHOOT in support of  4 “Gees Bend” inspired collage quilt workshops  to be offered at the Carbondale Public Library (for children aged 5-7 and 8-12),  at the Stinson Memorial Library, and at Lick Creek School.  (Early Spring, 2013)

4 – KEVIN LUCAS in support of a performance tour of southern Illinois nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The tour will consist of 4-5 performances in several southern Illinois counties. (Spring-Summer, 2013)

5 – COLA ARTS EDUCATION FESTIVAL in support of the 2013 Arts Education Festival, which provides high-quality experiences in visual art, music, and theater to first-fifth graders from schools throughout the southernmost 22 counties of Illinois.  Activities take place on the campus of Southern Illinois University. (April 17-18, 2013)

6 – SIUC UNIVERSITY MUSEUM’S “WHAM!” PROJECT in support of this mixed media project that challenges students from area students in grades 4-12 to adapt the narrative method used in comic books to create stories reflecting social, political, or environmental concerns. (February-May, 2013)

7 – LITTLE EGYPT ARTS ASSOCIATION in support of free Saturday art workshops featuring artisans teaching a variety of means for creative expression. Workshops will target a variety of specific age groups and will serve primarily Williamson County. (March-October, 2013)

8 – SOUTHERN ILLINOIS FLUTE SOCIETY in support of a master class for regional flute students  and  free public concert by visiting artist Mark Sparks. (February 24-25, 2013)

9 – CARBONDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY in support of a collaborative arts installation (a 3-dimensional collage) created by preteens and teens at the Library under the guidance of fiber artist Sarah Shoot and graphic designer Derrick Glenn. Mr. Glenn, with guidance form the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale, will create a curriculum to guide the project based on the concept of “40 Developmental Assets.” (February-March, 2013)

10 – LEGACY TRAINING in support of the “Art Unveiled” workshop and exhibition for the student population of Meridian High School in Mounds, Illinois.  The subjects of individual workshop sessions will be determined by results of a survey of students and will be conducted by 4 local artists. Exhibits of student work will be open to the public. (January-May, 2013)

11 – VILLAGE OF PULASKI in support of “Our Pride, Our Progress, Our Heritage, Our Strength” – a public mural developed in conjunction with artist Najjar Abdul-Musawwir and based upon historic information gathered by a community historical committee.  The mural will be displayed on the grounds of the Pulaski Community Center.  (January – May, 2013)

12 – MT. VERNON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 80 in support of “Dave the Potter: Celebrating Black History Month and the Arts.” This collaborative project with Cedarhurst’s Shrode Art Center will include a variety of age-appropriate art activities and multiple demonstrations inspired by the iconic African American folk artist, “Dave the Potter”  And conducted by  clay artist Cortez Hodges, who will demonstrate how to throw a pot on a potter’s wheel.

13 – STONE SOUP SHAKESPEARE in support of free drama programming and performances of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in multiple southern Illinois communities including Carbondale, Marion, Herrin, Nashville, Harrisburg, and either Anna-Jonesboro or Cairo. (May, 2013)

14 – ILLINOIS ARTS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION – SOUTHERN COUNCIL in support of the Southern Illinois Arts Education Conference: Come Together, Right Now, Over Art and regional outreach presentations by visiting screenprint artist Jay Ryan. Mr. Ryan will present a public visiting artist lecture during the conference and do on-site demonstrations  in Anna District 37 school district. (April, 2013)

The following individuals and organizations were among those who received grants during 2012.

A Life Unhappening performer, Hallie ChametzkyAdam Stone - A Life Unhappening
- in support of the Carbondale, Illinois preview of Mr. Stone’s spoken-word ballet about the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on three generations of one woman’s family,(Friday, May 4, 2012, at Shryock Auditorium) My goal as writer and producer of this project is to educate the public and to help people who are struggling with the disease, either as victims or as families or caregivers, to feel less alone in their struggles.

Boys and Girls Club artists exhibit works at the VCA (2010)Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale Worldly Expressions
- in support of learning and development of artistic expression through dance, music, culinary art, painting, and sculpture. The WE project will expose Boys and Girls Club members and their families to cultures of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean countries and will conclude with an International Festival in May, 2012.

Limmie PulliamLegacy - Choral Music Workshop and Community Concert
- in support of workshops to be presented by operatic tenor Limmie Pulliam in Cairo public schools during winter/spring 2012 followed by a concert performance at Shawnee Community College. Mr. Pulliam is making a return visit in order to conduct vocal workshops designed to be effective with a student population that has had extremely limited exposure to instrumental or vocal music.

Outside the Box 2012 Festival guest artist, Lucy Shelton in 2008 performance of Pierrot Lunaire.Outside The Box Festival of New Music 2012
- in support of a nine-day series of concerts and ancillary activities (including masterclasses, open rehearsals, composer talks, symposia, lectures, and pre-concert talks) designed to engage campus and community in musical experiences that expand their understanding of contemporary arts. Outside The Box is committed to bringing performances of contemporary music of world-class quality, and the composers and musicians who create it, to our own backyard. Visit www.otb.siu.com for more information.

Robert Ketchens Robert A. Ketchens - Clocking With the Masters
- in support of visual arts workshops that use clock-making as a vehicle for teaching the history of the Harlem Renaissance to students in the Grand Chain Learning Center/Jamp Special Education District and to members of the Grand Chain Community Development Corporation. Mr. Ketchens creates art with the intent to cause unremitting contemporary dialog between the viewer and the work regarding the state of the human condition in general and the state of his people in particular.

Sarah ShootSarah Shoot/Mask Making and Storytelling Workshops
- in support of workshops for children and their parents in Lick Creek School and at the Illinois Migrant Technology Center. The workshops will focus on ritual and ceremonial masks that have played an important role in children’s folk traditions and storytelling for centuries.

Pictured at right: Stone Soup co-founder Jeffrey Gould (left) and actor Benjamin Ponce during a staged reading at Carbondale’s Long Branch Coffee HouseStone Soup Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Residency
- in support of a series of free performances of Shakespeare plays in southern Illinois communities including Carbondale, Marion, Nashville, Harrisburg, and Cairo during May and June of 2012. Stone Soup Shakespeare’s goal is to make Shakespeare’s words and stories accessible and entertaining for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Carlos Cumpian

Southern Illinois Culture and Arts in Bilingual Education
- in support of “Chicano Poetry with Carolos Cumpian”, a series of performance readings of Chicano Tex-Mex poetry and show “Pachuco” style art for students and families in Carbondale and Murphysboro schools. Cumpian is a veteran poet and writer who examines American realities absent from mainstream poetry.

Pictured at right: Volunteer docent Bob Hageman talking to 2011 festival attendeesSIUC College of Liberal Arts Arts Education Festival 2012
- in support of a 2 day event (April 18and 19, 2012) on the SIUC Campus providing authentic engagement in visual art, music and theater for first through fifth graders from 22 southern Illinois counties. This annual event has provided high quality art experiences for thousands of underserved southern Illinois school children for 26 years.

SAn example of Cornelll’s work entitled Object (Roses des Vents) from the Museum of Modern ArtIUC Museum - Out of the Box - Student Art Inspired by the Work of Joseph Cornell
- in support of a series of classes at the Museum for students from Anna, Cobden, Eldorado, Elkville, and Ziegler-Royalton which will conclude with an exhibit of student artwork at the Museum and a virtual exhibit at the Museum’s website. The project is based on the boxed assemblages of found objects created by artist Joseph Cornell, whose method of assemblage is an accessible, powerful, and expressive means for artists, who can use it to create wide range of drama, myster, and humor form commonplace objects.