March 21, 2026, at John A. Logan College
OPENING GENERAL SESSION – ALL ATTENDEES
SESSION TIME - 9:00 – 10:30 am
KEYNOTE ADDRESS – Beth Lo
SESSION TIME - 9:00 – 10:15 am
SESSION TOPIC - Resources: Beth Lo’s Creative Journey Through a Chinese-American Lens
SPEAKER BIO: Beth Lo was born in Lafayette, Indiana to parents who had recently emigrated from China. Much of Beth’s ceramic and mixed media artwork draws from themes of childhood, family, Asian culture and language. She received a Bachelor of General Studies from the University of Michigan in 1971 and then received her MFA in 1974. A Professor of Ceramics since 1985, she has been twice honored with the University of Montana Provost’s Distinguished Lecturer Award, 2006 and 2010. Beth has exhibited her work internationally, received multiple prestigious awards, and is in numerous ceramics collections. She has collaborated on published children’s books and is a bass player and vocalist for several musical ensembles.
FEATURED PRESENTATION
PRESENTERS: Rob Lopez and Corey Tester
SESSION TIME – 10:15 – 10:30 am
SESSION TITLE: Diversity is
SESSION DESCRIPTION: Participants will be introduced to the project (detailed in the ATRIUM ALL DAY Section) and invited to create a poster to take home or contribute to the Diversity is Exhibit scheduled to hang in the Corridor Gallery at the Carbondale Civic Center.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
SESSION #1 – 10:45 – 11:45 am
Attendees can choose from one of the following three sessions
SESSION 1A - PRESENTER: Hannah Kwafo
SESSION TITLE: Integration of Concept, Culture, and Visual Language
SESSION DESCRIPTION: Hannah Kwafo's talk explores 1) the classic dilemma of prioritization: Artist or Audience, 2) the journey of concept and visual language, and 3) navigating an artistic cross-cultural narrative. She will share a core aspect of her creative journey in the US: how she explores with visual elements such as marks, symbols, colors, and materials inspired by her African identity to create art for her American audience.
PRESENTER BIO: Kwafo is a second-year MFA grad student at SIU, a 2D Major creating an interdisciplinary body of work. She graduated in Spring 2024 with a Master of Arts in Studio Art from Eastern Illinois University, Charleston.
SESSION 1B- PRESENTERS: Joe Emery, Dale McReynolds, Linda Austin, and Bob Hageman
SESSION TITLE: Things to Consider in Starting and Maintaining Your Own Gallery
SESSION DESCRIPTION: This session consists of a round table discussion about Southern Illinois artists owning and operating their art galleries to sell artwork by the owners and other artists. The owners/artists are Linda Austin and Bob Hageman, Joe Emery, and Dale McReynolds. The panel will discuss opening an art gallery, obtaining artists, writing contracts for artists selling in their galleries, insuring artwork, advertising, handling commissions with artists, presenting artwork to a gallery, community support, and other pertinent information in supporting and maintaining their galleries.
PRESENTER BIOS: Linda Austin and Bob Hageman were co-owners of Anthill Gallery and Vintage Curiosities in Cobden, Illinois, for 10 years before closing their gallery. The Art Gallery Off the Square, after 6 years, has changed from a gallery for Southern Illinois artists and craftsmen to a gallery and studio for Joseph Emery’s artwork in Vienna, Illinois. Dale McReynolds has owned and operated her studio/gallery, Dale’s Art Den, in Metropolis, Illinois for six years.
SESSION 1C - PRESENTER: Matt Meacham
SESSION TITLE: Allocation of Political Power and Public Resources in Illinois from Rural and Urban Vantage Points
SESSION DESCRIPTION: In 2020, Illinois Humanities produced a three-part video series called People, Places, and Power. The series examines the complex relationship between population distribution and the allocation of political power and public resources in Illinois from the vantage points of places where that relationship seems especially significant. Matt Meacham, who co-wrote and directed the series, will show excerpts from the videos, identify and discuss several recurring themes, and invite participants to share their responses and reflections.
PRESENTER BIO: Matt Meacham was a program manager with Illinois Humanities from 2013 to 2025. He was based in the organization’s southwestern Illinois office in Edwardsville and managed or contributed to many of its activities. Originally from Randolph County, Matt has professional experience in journalism, creative nonfiction, teaching, music, and folklore. He is the author of A Bicentennial Crossroads: 200 Years of Continuity and Change in Rural Illinois (Illinois Open Publishing Network, 2023) and of Obscurity’s Magnet, a column published monthly in the County Journal.
NETWORKING LUNCH – Noon – 1:30 pm
GENERAL SESSION – ALL ATTENDEES
PRESENTERS: Representatives from Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Humanities, and Arts Alliance of Illinois. Moderated by Najjar Abdul-Musawwir
SESSION TITLE: Making the Most of Statewide Resources
SESSION DESCRIPTION: A panel of representatives from our state’s most active arts and humanities funding agencies will walk participants through the various types of public funding available from the State of Illinois and how the creative community can access it. The goal of these representatives is to help artists and arts organizations in Southern Illinois be positioned to take advantage of these resources. A moderated panel discussion will follow brief presentations, concluding with the opportunity for Q & A. In addition to their lunchtime presentations, the representatives will be available throughout the day in the Atrium for one-on-one questions.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
SESSION #2 – 1:30 – 2:30 pm
Attendees can choose from one of the following three sessions
SESSION 2A - PRESENTER: Robert Spahr
SESSION TITLE: CRUFT: Approaching Machine Aesthetics
SESSION DESCRIPTION: Robert Spahr's recent auto-generated art examines the relentless flow of information on the Internet. Attendees will be looking at automated algorithmically generated digital animations that are the result of a computer process. This work raises many questions and topics for discussion, including: What is the role of algorithms in our lives? What effect do they have on our media consumption and our democracy? What does it mean to make art using automated computer processes? Who owns the work if it is freely available for download? What artistic value does the work hold, even though it is free in cost? Who created the digital tools most people use to create art and design? What are the biases of those tools? What might be the impact of Artificial Intelligence when no one knows how large language models work?
PRESENTER BIO: Robert is a visual artist who produces code-based auto-generated art, live art actions, and mixed-media collage, all of which examine the relentless flow of information on the Internet. Spahr received his M.F.A. from Parsons School of Design and his B.F.A. from the Art Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He has also served as the inaugural Director of the School of Media Arts.
Co-founder and artistic director of the critically acclaimed theatre company, Expanded Arts, Robert produced and/or directed over 300 productions, including the "Free Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot" series and the "94 plays in 94 days summer festival" presented on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Past technical work includes over 10 years of web development, user interface design, and product management at New York City companies.
SESSION 2B - PRESENTER: Stephanie Susie
SESSION TITLE: Marketing Your Art Business or Organization
SESSION DESCRIPTION: In this beginner-friendly class, artists and creative organizations will learn the basics of building a strong online presence. We’ll cover the essentials of simple, effective websites and social media. What you actually need, what you can skip, and how to make it work without feeling overwhelmed. We’ll also talk about the power of good photos and video to showcase your work, while keeping your content authentic and approachable. The goal is to help you present your art clearly, connect with your audience, and build a marketing foundation that feels natural and sustainable.
PRESENTER BIO: Stephanie Susie is a Southern Illinois photographer with more than 20 years of experience and 14 years running her photography business full-time. She’s built her career photographing children and families while using strong visuals, simple marketing strategies, and an authentic online presence to grow her audience. Since 2023, she has also served as President of ARTSCO, where she leads marketing and promotion for the organization and its arts programs.
SESSION 2C - PRESENTER: Emerson Eads
SESSION TITLE: Sounds of Belonging: Trust and Empathy Through Improvisation
SESSION DESCRIPTION: Through guided improvisation, this workshop invites participants to discover their own voice, practice courageous listening, and take risks in community. By learning to respond in real time—supporting and being supported—participants experience how a group can become a space where we risk together, breathe together, and resonate together. This workshop honors the idea that “voice” is not just classical technique—it’s identity, story, and agency.
PRESENTER BIO: Dr. Emerson Eads began his first year as Director of Choral Studies at Southern Illinois University in Fall 2025. An American composer and conductor, Eads is known for his expressive works centered on themes of social justice.
A signature work, Mass for the Oppressed—which received Honorable Mention in the finalists of the American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music (2021)—was composed to raise awareness for the Fairbanks Four, four Indigenous men from his hometown in Alaska wrongfully imprisoned for eighteen years. His cantata …from which your laughter rises, highlights the impact of mass incarceration on families and was performed alongside Haydn’s Stabat Mater to critical acclaim.
SESSION #3 – 2:45 – 3:45 pm
Attendees can choose from one of the following three sessions
SESSION 3A - PRESENTER: Legacy Training
SESSION TITLE: The Artist Collective on Race, Equity, and Unity
SESSION DESCRIPTION: The Artist Collective on Race, Equity, and Unity is an interdisciplinary group of master and teaching artists dedicated to advancing social justice, diversity, equality, and transformation. Participants will experience how art can serve as a tool for dialogue, education, and healing in community-based organizations, schools, libraries, museums, and beyond. Attendees will leave with strategies for incorporating art into social justice conversations and a deeper understanding of how creative expression inspires equity and unity.
PRESENTERS: Panel members: Visual Artists Robert Ketchens, Dr. Mike Faris, Stephanie Fisher, Dr. Sara Dobie, and Performance Artist Callon Nanny. Co-Facilitators: Ammiel Russel and Lynne Chambers
SESSION 3B - PRESENTER: Valeriya Nedviga
SESSION TITLE: Pivoting in Your Creative Life: Adaptive Career Strategies for Artists
SESSION DESCRIPTION: Conversations about sustainability, care, and intentional career choice are essential to the future of the arts. The workshop will engage artists in meaningful dialogue about how we work, why we work, and how we care for ourselves and each other, with the goal of contributing to a shared culture that values creative longevity as much as artistic output.
PRESENTER BIO: Valeriya Nedviga is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Technical Direction at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a Drama teacher at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Florida. She holds an MFA in Scenic Design from Indiana University, along with an MM in Violin Performance and an MA in String Pedagogy from The Ohio State University.
Her design credits span theatre and opera across the country. Beyond design, Valeriya has held a wide range of production and administrative roles. She has also collaborated with the Indiana State Museum and the Indianapolis Ballet, bringing her expertise across disciplines in both the performing and visual arts.
SESSION 3C - PRESENTER: Shruti Rao
SESSION TITLE: Kitchen Talkies: Reflections on Food and Identity
SESSION DESCRIPTION: Shruti Rao will present a seven-minute film, followed by reflections on her documentation of everyday activity in the community kitchen at the International Student Housing in Carbondale. These observations evolved into a broader examination of how cooking and shared food practices help maintain a sense of home, belonging, and cultural identity. The session will explore how food-centered community art projects can create spaces for dialogue, exchange, and belonging.
PRESENTER BIO: Shruti Rao is an artist, puppeteer, filmmaker, and educator in the final year of the MFA program in Media Arts at SIUC. She is an international student from Bangalore, India. Her practice is process-driven and often labor-intensive, with a strong interest in printmaking and tactile forms of making. Rooted in community and public art, her work explores themes of food, identity, and displacement, and more recently, the shifting landscape of contemporary intimacy and relationships. Through film, performance, and participatory projects, she engages with everyday rituals and overlooked forms of labor, creating spaces for conversation, reflection, and collective storytelling.
IN THE ATRIUM THROUGHOUT THE DAY
REPRESENTATIVE: Danielle Gapinski
BOOTH TITLE: Big Impact, Small Bites: Free Little Art Galleries & Illinois 4-H
BOOTH DESCRIPTION: Danielle will share how Illinois 4-H engages young people through art workshops and leadership opportunities. Inspired by the Little Free Library movement, Free Little Art Galleries, or FLAGs for short, are small, publicly accessible art galleries where people can take art, leave art, or simply view art. These miniature galleries serve as platforms for creative expression, cultural exchange, and community pride.
REPRESENTATIVES: Rob Lopez and Corey Tester
BOOTH TITLE: Diversity is
BOOTH DESCRIPTION: Participants are invited to create a poster to take home or contribute to the Diversity is exhibit scheduled to hang in the Corridor Gallery at the Carbondale Civic Center. One goal of this project is to highlight the work of gifted type designers while also showing the harmony of the varied typefaces working together — a clear, visual metaphor for the beauty of diversity.
REPRESENTATIVES: Charlie Fehrenbacher and Lauren Leshansky
BOOTH TITLE: The “Shot on Smartphone” Film Festival
BOOTH DESCRIPTION: The “Shot on Smartphone” Film Festival highlights the creativity and ingenuity of novice filmmakers and showcases their work without the obstacles of obtaining expensive cinema cameras. The project’s goals include building a local network of artists, skilled workers, and creative problem-solvers who share the same goal of making films, while providing access to a large inventory of gear to support continued creation.
REPRESENTATIVES: Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Humanities, and Arts Alliance of Illinois
BOOTH TITLE: Making the Most of Statewide Resources
BOOTH DESCRIPTION: The goal of these agencies is to help artists and arts organizations in Southern Illinois be positioned to take advantage of these resources. In addition to their lunchtime presentations, the representatives will be available throughout the day in the Atrium for one-on-one questions.
