We are pleased to welcome award-winning photojournalist and SIU Associate Professor of Photojournalism, Julia Rendleman, and Alee Quick, Journalist,the Daily Egyptian (SIU student newspaper) faculty advisor & Director of Development for the statewide nonprofit newsroom Capitol News Illinois
This program will examine the state of local journalism in Illinois, with a focus on what’s happening in communities like those in Southern Illinois. We’ll look at the challenges created by dwindling news coverage, as well as recent successes and important reporting specific to the region.
Exhibit On View Now:
Featured Photojournalism Exhibit | A Weekend in Murphysboro—Community Storytelling by Saluki Photojournalists
Together, the program and exhibit invite us to think about what local journalism means, what happens when it fades, and why these stories still matter.
Presenters—We are honored to welcome these accomplished journalists to share their knowledge and insights
Julia Rendleman, Award-winning Photojournalist and Associate Professor of Photojournalism at Southern Illinois University
Ms. Rendleman is an award-winning photojournalist who works for The New York Times, Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki, Finland), ProPublica, Capitol News Illinois, National Public Radio, and other national and regional news outlets. She received hostile environment training through Reuters in 2019 and 2025 and is FAA Part 107 Drone Certified. In 2020, a photo she made of two young ballerinas at the foot of the Robert E. Lee monument during the Black Lives Matter protests went viral. For three years, Julia served on the board of Brown Ballerinas for Change, an organization that was created by these young ballerinas and their mothers. Julia is a member of Women Photograph and is available for assignment in southern Illinois and across the Midwest and South.
Honors and Awards Include:
2026 Teaching Excellence Award at Southern Illinois University for tenured and tenure-track faculty.
Four grants from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting — the 2024/25 grant supported her work with students at Southern Illinois University to tell stories about America's fastest-shrinking county: Alexander County, Illinois.
2020 work was chosen for the Best of American Photography 37
March 2019 7th annual New York Portfolio Review Attendee
July 2019 Project Support Awardee of the “DocumentaryProjectFund” for her personal project "Down the Pike," a series about American housing insecurity
September 2017 Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists Grantee, investigating the implications of drug use and drug policy on women as it relates to the opioid crisis
2010 named a Getty Images Emerging Talent Photographer
2010 Getty Images Grant recipient for Editorial Photography for a Southern Illinois women’s prison story
Alee Quick, Journalist, Director of Development for the statewide nonprofit newsroom Capitol News Illinois & Faculty Advisor for SIU - the Daily Egyptian
In addition to her role at Capitol News Illinois, Ms. Quick is the faculty advisor for the Daily Egyptian, Southern Illinois University's independent student newspaper where she also teaches journalism. She previsouly served as director of community engagement at the national education nonprofit the News Literacy Project, as well as leading the award-winning newsroom at The Southern Illinoisan, and worked at SIU’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism.
Exhibit On View
Location: Artspace Southern Illinois—On the Strip, 607 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL
Summer Hours: Tues - Sat, 12 - 5 pm
Event Details
FREE & Open to the public
Date: Saturday, August 15
Presentation: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Exhibit & Speaker Reception: 1:30 - 3:30
Light refreshments provided
Location: Artspace Southern Illinois—On the Strip, 607 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL
This program is an Illinois Humanities Foreground Rural Hub Program. Artspace Southern Illinois is proud to present this program in partnership with:
