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Issue 71 / November 21, 2025
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In this issue:
• IAC Final Reports Update
• Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Program
• Become an Arts Midwest Community Documenter
• Synapse Arts Invites Proposals from Choreographers
• Featured Illinois Arts Organization
• Additional Opportunities
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The Illinois Arts Council(IAC) is pleased to announce that the email distribution of final report instructions has begun for FY25 General Operating Support (GOS) and Youth Employment in the Arts (YEA) grant recipients. Please check your inbox for this important email from our grants office via [email protected]. Add this email address to your safe senders list to avoid going to spam.
These emails contain instructions and links for completing your final reports in IAC's Salesforce system. The GOS/YEA final reports will be accessible starting Monday, November 24, 2025, and are due by December 15, 2025. Instructions for final reports related to other FY25 grant programs will be shared soon.
We thank you for your ongoing cooperation and understanding as we work to improve our support services. This effort is part of our commitment to making our administrative processes more efficient and effective. We urge all recipients to carefully review the email and follow the guidelines to submit their final report on time successfully. Thank you for your dedication to advancing the arts in Illinois.
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Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Program
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Applications are now open for the Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants. This national program engages military-connected individuals through experiences of art or art-making.
These grants of $10,000 to $25,000 support community arts programs that create opportunities for creative expression, resilience, social connectedness, and successful adaptation to civilian life. Creative Forces is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts(NEA) in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance(M-AAA).
Applications are due January 15, 2026.
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Become an Arts Midwest Community Documenter
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Arts Midwestis calling on Illinois artists to become community documenters in their latest initiative. This opportunity invites individuals equipped with a phone and a keen eye for creativity to pitch stories that capture the essence of artistic events, activities, and happenings occurring between December 8 and January 30. Selected participants will be tasked with filming 8-10 video clips at a local creative event. Footage will then be transformed into a social media video by Arts Midwest, with documenters receiving credit and a $250 stipend for their contribution. Ideal pitches should spark curiosity, highlight community involvement, showcase strong visuals, and be connected to the Midwest, covering states such as IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, ND, OH, SD, WI, and the Native Nations within this geography.
Submissions are due by Sunday, November 30, 2025.
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Synapse Arts invites proposals from choreographers/directors who wish to take part in New Works, a program that supports independent dance artists by commissioning them to make original performance pieces.
This Chicago-based program reflects the founding principles of Synapse Arts, connecting artists with one another to share resources and develop their voices through the creation of unique artworks. Since its beginning in 2010, New Works has commissioned more than 27 original dance-centric works.
The 2026 cycle will begin in January, with final showings, screenings, or works-in-progress sharings as the culmination during Chicago Dance Month in June 2026.
Proposals are due on December 1, 2025 by midnight CST
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Featured Illinois Arts Organization
Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center,
FY26 General Operating Support Recipient
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Photos from an October performance of the duo "Organized Rhythm," Clive Driskill-Smith, organ, and Joe Gramley, percussion. presented by MPAC at Trinity Lutheran Church, Rockford. Photo Credit: Lisa Fountain, MPAC.
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The Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center (MPAC), located in Rockford, Illinois, proudly celebrates its 141st year as the oldest continuously operating music organization in the United States. Operating from a historic 1952 property at 415 N Church Street, MPAC's concert season spans from September through May. This year, they are presenting 18 concerts across three series. The Mendelssohn Presents!series typically features Friday evening concerts with regional and national performers. Sunday Jazz afternoon concerts showcase regional jazz groups, while the Music Mondayafter-work concerts offer shorter programs with local and regional artists.
In addition to their concert offerings, the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center sponsors the annual Chandler Starr Miller Scholarship Competition, now in its 64th year. This competition is open to students aged 8 to 18 who are soloists playing acoustic instruments or singing. MPAC's Educational Outreachinitiative also provides valuable opportunities in regional schools by bringing musicians to perform and share insights into their lives as performers. Another enduring education program offers two weeks of music and art instruction for underprivileged children.
MPAC is a longtime grantee of the IAC. Says board president Wayne Hatwich, "With significant support from the Illinois Arts Council, Mendelssohn PAC is enabled to continue its musical mission, enriching and inspiring lives in the Rockford community through music." Recent concerts include the duo Organized Rhythm(pictured) and Blakeley Menghini & Friends, a locally based string quartet known for their eclectic programming. On December 15, MPAC will present its Sounds of the Seasonconcert featuring beloved local musicians Rachel Handlin, Michael Beert, and Tim Anderson who promise to deliver a festive holiday spirit.
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Other Opportunities You May Have Missed
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The Muse, the Illinois Arts Council Newsletter, is published weekly. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the IAC is strictly prohibited. The Muse is distributed free of charge.
Do you have an arts story you think Illinois needs to hear about? We want to hear from you! Submissions should focus on artist/organizational opportunities or on the impact of the arts on communities, the people creating art, or those experiencing art. Share your story with our Director of Communications at [email protected]. The IAC reserves the right to edit or reject any material.
This week's banner features Cedarhurst Center for the Arts & Mitchell museum in Mt Vernon, Illinois - photo courtesy of EnjoyIllinois
arts.illinois.gov
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