December 19, 2005 - Illinois Issues publishes 10th annual arts issue
Illinois Issues welcomes the season with its own holiday tradition. This December marks the 10th year the magazine has published an annual arts issue.
This mid-winter issue began in 1995 with sketches by a conservation illustrator that graced the cover and supplemented an article on endangered species.
“After that, the idea clicked to create a full-blown arts issue,” says Peggy Boyer Long, the magazine’s executive editor.
The following year, the magazine examined state-funded art programs. The arts issue has evolved since.
December is a prime month for the magazine to consider the arts, Boyer Long says. In the short and busy period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, the staff can produce an arts-focused issue more quickly. It also affords a holiday break for readers.
“But some years, we have produced intense arts-oriented policy articles,” says Long. Each December, nearly the entire magazine, including the People and Briefly news sections, examine different perspectives on public art. “We’ve deepened our approach to the relationship between art and culture and public policy,” she says. Among the topics covered over the years have been the literary arts, state spending for the arts and arts education. 2002’s issue delved into folk art and preservation, while the following year’s magazine investigated mass markets’ impact on the arts.
Some things have stayed the same. Every issue contains inserts and spreads on a variety of Illinois artwork. And state agencies and area artists have been willing to contribute free art to the magazine. “These issues are always visually appealing,” says Long. At the same time, she says, issues the magazine has explored over the decade continue to be important in the state.
In the most recent December issue, the magazine featured an interview by Center Executive Director Barbara Ferrara with Shirley Madigan, chair of the Illinois Arts Council and winner of the 2005 Motorola Excellence in Public Service Award.
For the magazine’s staff, the annual arts issue is another way to make the season bright. Says Long, “This issue is the most fun to put out.”