April 18, 2005

Singers!  Dancers!  Musicians!  Storytellers!  Thanks to the generous support of the Illinois Arts Council, the Spurlock Museum has been able to bring accomplished artists and performers into the Knight Auditorium, area schools, and locations throughout the community each year, beginning in 2000. Through the Council’s Ethnic and Folk Arts Program grants, the cultures highlighted in the Museum’s galleries come alive for audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and interests.

In the first three months of 2005, the Museum, Arts Council, and various campus units have provided concerts by the following performers:

• Nirumsay, a Korean ensemble performing traditional music and dance.
• Il Kwa Nori, a Korean ensemble performing traditional percussion pieces.
• Gayle Ross, a nationally renowned Cherokee storyteller.
• Viacheslav Semionov, a master of the bayan accordion and professor at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music.

In May, IAC support will allow the Museum to collaborate with the University’s Japan House on a visit by Lily Nakao, a master artist of chigiri-e.  In this traditional Japanese art form, a picture similar to a collage is created by gluing torn pieces of fine, colored washi paper onto a stiff board.  In addition to a lecture/demonstration of the chigiri-e technique, Ms. Nakao will also hold a workshop for adults.

The Spurlock Museum thanks the Illinois Arts Council for its continued generosity in support of the Museum’s cultural education mission.