Dale C. Evans, an artist and luthier, gives a stringed folk instrument demonstration recently in the McLean County Arts Center’s Armstrong Gallery. Evans’ painting exhibition, Corner of my Eye, appeared in the gallery through Jan. 2. (Courtesy of the McLean County Arts Center)

Illinois’ continuing budget issues are impacting local arts groups, contributing to a temporary shutdown of at least one organization and leading others to explore non-traditional ways of fundraising.

Earlier this month, the Peoria Art Guild suspended all programming indefinitely, a move Board President Richard Zuckerman said was only partially caused by the state’s budget situation.

Illinois has been operating without an official budget for six months due to a stalemate between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled legislature. While a compromise was reached last week to release some funds for such things as lottery payments and road salt, funding for the arts was not included.

“The state’s issues are just a part of why (the Art Guild) has suspended programming for the immediate future,” Zuckerman said. “Another part of it is the general economic climate in Peoria regarding the arts and funding by corporations. I’m not going to single out Caterpillar because there are other corporations, but certainly Caterpillar has changed their policies in the last few years regarding their charitable giving to be more social service-oriented and less arts-oriented.”

In a blog post dated Dec. 3, Art Guild Exhibition Coordinator Joshua Cox wrote, “Financial and organizational difficulties brought PAG to a point of need to restructure, which they will begin sometime in the next couple of months. This means that, with a reluctant spirit and heavy heart, all exhibits for 2016 and the near future have been cancelled.

“A sincere and huge thank you to all the artists that I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the past two years and to all the artists who I have yet to work with…here’s to the future. See you on the other side.”

Visitors to the McLean County Arts Center’s recent Holiday Treasures open house admire artwork in the gallery. The Holiday Treasures fine art and seasonal gifts display will continue through Jan. 2. (Courtesy of the McLean County Arts Center)

Zuckerman said the shutdown is intended to be temporary and is not expected to affect the Art Guild’s 54th annual Fine Art Fair set for Sept. 24-25, 2016. Last year the juried art fair featured 150 local, national and international artists.

“We’re trying to be up and running within six months,” Zuckerman said, adding that the Art Guild is still waiting on $5,000 to $10,000 in grants it was owed this year from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

The move is not unprecedented. The Art Guild closed for more than a year in February 2010, citing at that time decreased funding from the IACA and concerns about corporate donations. The organization has been part of the community for more than 135 years.

As one way to address its current financial issues, the Guild is attempting to lease out some of its space at 203 Harrison in Peoria, Zuckerman said.

In Woodford County, the 42-year-old Sun Foundation has a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help fund next year’s annual Clean Water Celebration in April at the Peoria Civic Center.

“It was set up by one of our sponsors, James Porter from Integrated Marketing,” said Joan Root Ericksen, who founded the Sun Foundation with her husband, Robert, in 1973 and is the organization’s development director. “He knew how dire we were. We hadn’t made payroll in four months, and the state’s situation had a lot to do with that.”

Started in October, the campaign has raised $1,120 so far toward its $15,000 goal. On the GoFundMe page, Porter wrote, “The continued decline in grants and funding has been a challenge for the Sun Foundation.”

A free conference for area students and the public, the Clean Water Celebration averages 2,800 students and 150 teachers each year and is just one of many educational programs the arts and science organization offers.

One such program in jeopardy by the hold-up of IACA grant funds is Community Art Access, which helps provide community and public art programs in Woodford, Marshall, Bureau and Stark counties. Also on hold is a $10,000 grant for operational support for the Foundation’s arts programming.

“For a small rural arts organization like ours, that means a lot,” Ericksen said. “We started our new fiscal year (Sept. 1) without having a budget we could rely on as far as the grants are concerned.”

Doug Johnson, executive director of the McLean County Arts Center and also a board member of the non-governmental advocacy group Arts Alliance Illinois, fears some arts groups may not survive the economic impact of the budget impasse and the potential $2 million cut to arts funding proposed by the governor.

“At this point, the Illinois Arts Council budget hasn’t formally been cut, but we’re anticipating it will be, so that’s resulted in us making some decisions about our exhibitions and how we’re managing release of funds from our endowment,” Johnson said.

“We’re not at the point yet where it’s leading us into a deficit, although we are anticipating that there will be tougher times ahead. We’re seeing a number of (arts) organizations that are also anticipating some pretty major impact, and I think there will be kind of a dying off of some of those organizations around the state that are on the cusp,” he added.

If forced to cut costs, Johnson said it’s likely the McLean CAC will target programs that are less financially successful, such as education outreach to youth, although that’s sometimes the only art education available to rural youth. He said about $12,000 of the McLean CAC’s $300,000 annual operating budget comes from the state.

Arts Alliance Illinois continues to fight for the arts by raising awareness of the economic benefits of arts and culture in a community.

Jonathan VanderBrug, policy and research director for the Alliance, cited a 2011 study conducted by the Alliance and Americans for the Arts that shows the nonprofit arts and culture sector in the greater Peoria area generates about $20.4 million in economic activity, supports 850 full-time equivalent jobs and generates about $18.6 million in local household income and $2.2 million in local and state taxes.

“The state’s investment in the arts is vital to economic health and growth because it’s an investment in jobs, economic activity and tourism,” VanderBrug said. “We’re urging the governor and legislative leaders to move beyond the political stalemate and invest in the arts as a prime economic engine.”

Johnson agreed, adding, “Ultimately the value of the arts far exceed the return on investment that even sports do in the state of Illinois, and it speaks to our cultural life, our sense of identity, creating an environment that attracts new business and retains talented workers. It’s a shame that it’s become yet another scorecard for politics that has nothing to do with the work that so many talented hardworking people are doing.”

— McLean, Central Illinois arts groups face tough times with funding —