2001 was the inaugural year for the Spurlock Museum Guild Lecture and Performance Series. Through the Series, three sets of events were held:
In March, the Series sponsored a lecture by Natalia Krollau, Senior Scholar at the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. The lecture was titled The Hermitage Museum Collection & Mission: 200 Years of Endurance & Change.
In April, a series of events were sponsored that celebrated African and African-American culture. Chris Mhlanga and Irene Chigamba from Zimbabwe shared the music and dance of their country with both local and regional schoolchildren. They were joined by Chicago-based storyteller Linda Gorham for an evening of stories and music entitled Ancestral Voices on April 21st.
In August, the Series sponsored a storytelling concert by Detroit-based storyteller Corinne Stavish at Champaign Public Library. This program was part of a weekend of events celebrating Jewish culture. In addition to the library program, the weekend included school programs, a storytelling workshop, and a festival at Sinai Temple combining a performance by Stavish and music by the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band.
Performance programs were partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council (external link), a state agency.