Arts Amaze 2024

We want to give our thanks on behalf of the support of Good Chaos, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, Artspace to help create the first ever Arts Amaze Southern Illinois Conference.

This event, a project of the Southern Illinois Arts Council, brought together artists, performers, educators, advocates, and arts organizations to celebrate creativity, embrace innovation in arts education, and inspire new ideas in visual and performance arts. The conference featured NEA dignitary, Ra Joy as keynote speaker, along with numerous breakout sessions, led by regional experts.

We also want to give special thanks to Ra Joy, NEA’s Chief of Staff and long-time arts advocate who we had the pleasure of having as our Keynote Speaker of the Arts Amaze SI Regional Conference 2024. Mr. Joy was joined by John Shaw, Director of Paul Simon Public Policy Institute where they held a “conversation” about the arts and humanities and their importance to society, the economy and our humanity. An SIU-C alum, Ra Joy is passionate about strengthening rural economies and celebrating their diversity and he maintains that the arts need to be a civic priority.