2026 Season Opening Welcomed 150+ Visitors | See the Photos + Season Introduction from CEO, Chuck Benya
Opening our 2026–2027 season with one of our most ambitious exhibitions, yet: Generations — Influence + Innovation featuring 17 artists, mentors and mentees displayed side-by-side.
We welcomed 150+ people to our September 12 reception at Artspace Southern Illinois—304 Cultural Arts Center. Artists, neighbors, friends, and first-time visitors filled the gallery with conversation and curiosity. It was a joyful beginning to a season built around connection.
Curated by Fern Logan, Artspace Southern Illinois’ Curator Emeritus, this exhibit explores how artists influence, encourage, and inspire one another. Across disciplines and generations, creative ideas take shape through mentorship, friendship, and shared experience. The exhibition invites us to consider how those relationships shape the art we make and the communities we become.
It also opens a new chapter in our curatorial and programmatic vision: Rooted & Restless.
Over the past 18 months, that vision has grown through conversations with artists, staff, board members, community partners, and funders. As we look toward the next two years, Rooted & Restless gives our work a shared direction: grounded in Southern Illinois, curious about the wider world, and open to new ways of seeing.
We are excited to welcome artists from our own communities and around the globe into our house. Bringing their work together invites us to encounter new perspectives, recognize shared experiences, and see this region’s creativity in a broader context. We want Artspace Southern Illinois to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome, where questions spark conversation, and where people return because there is always something to discover.
That spirit extends beyond the gallery. Our exhibitions and humanities programs create opportunities for learning and exchange. Through youth programming, support for working artists, and regional partnerships, we bring creative experiences to communities across Southern Illinois.
As Artspace Southern Illinois approaches its 40th anniversary in 2027, we are building on four decades of exhibitions, performing arts, and community programs that have strengthened the artistic life of this region. We are also looking ahead, supporting the people, ideas, and relationships that will shape Southern Illinois’ creative future.
Thank you to Fern, the participating artists, our staff, board, volunteers, supporters, and everyone who joined us for the opening. You made the start of this season a celebration of our creative community.
Our house is open. Stop by our various venues to explore the exhibits on view: Generations — Influence + Innovation and Are You Really Winning? — plus watch our events calendar for what’s coming next the rest of this year and next.
With warm regards and deep gratitude,
Chuck Benya, EdD, MPP, EMBA
CEO, Artspace Southern Illinois