Governor Rod Blagojevich and the Illinois Arts Council (IAC) invite you to celebrate Illinois Arts Week 2004, to take place October 3–9, 2004. The theme ‘The Arts Are All Around Us’ captures an important message – that the arts are present every day, in some way, in our lives. Illinois Arts Week focuses attention on this message, as each year hundreds of communities, schools, community arts groups, park districts, tourism organizations and individual artists celebrate the arts in a special way during this week.

Illinois Arts Week provides a golden opportunity to showcase the arts in your community. IAC grants programs to consider that can help support your Arts Week program are also listed. Additionally, If you have a local arts council in your area, it can be a rich resource of information about the many arts activities that are taking place during Arts Week. If you do not know if your community has a local arts council, contact the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation, Local Arts Network, 200 N. Michigan, #404; Chicago, IL 60601-5909; telephone 312/855-3105, ext. 15 or simpson@artsalliance.org via email.

The IAC encourages you to take advantage of the arts events taking place during Illinois Arts Week 2004 and throughout the year. Click the link to view an Illinois Arts Week Calendar of Events. The events will also be published in an Arts Week edition of the IAC HeARTland newsletter and Arts Week brochure that will be distributed throughout the state.

However you participate Illinois Arts Week, if you plan a public activity, please inform us of it on the PDF event form so it can be included in the Calendar of Events and then write and tell us what you did to participate. The Council enjoys hearing your success stories and receiving news articles and photos for the newsletter and Illinois Arts Week archives. May this year’s celebration of Arts Week be the best ever!