PEORIA, IL — ArtsPartners of Central Illinois marked its 25th anniversary on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, with an evening of celebration at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. The annual meeting gathered more than 200 artists, educators, civic leaders, and supporters to honor a quarter-century of collaboration advancing arts and culture across Greater Peoria.
The evening opened with Councilman Alex Carmona, who offered remarks on behalf of the City of Peoria, emphasizing the arts as an engine for connection and economic vitality.
Celebrating 25 Years of Impact
Highlights from the past year included:
- Ignite Peoria 2025, which drew more than 4,000 attendees to the Civic Center for a day of hands-on creativity supported by major sponsors including the City of Peoria, Community Foundation of Central Illinois, PNC Bank, CEFCU, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
- Out and About, the weekly WCBU arts segment hosted by Dr. Gilliland Wright, which produced 50 episodes this year, spotlighting 40 artists and organizations.
- Follow Your Arts Gallery on West Main Street, featuring emerging artists such as Hannah Offutt, Feral, Jeremy Berkley, Jay Babin, Alessandra Carmona, Leslie Schenkel, and Merrel Hickey.
- Arts & Culture Leadership Roundtables, re-established to unite organizational leaders from across Central Illinois, with statewide guests from Arts Alliance Illinois present.
- Business of Art Spark Sessions, short, high-impact professional-development workshops for local creatives.
Sky Art Peoria — 10 Years of Public Art
Everley Davis, Sky Art Peoria Chair, introduced the milestone celebration marking 10 years of transforming billboards into open-air galleries. Councilman Alex Carmona presented a City of Peoria Proclamation honoring the anniversary, marking October 22, 2025 as Sky Art Peoria Day.
This year’s class includes artists Rosemarie Adcock, Connie Andrews, Jordan Delgadillo, Preston Jackson, Lori Luthy, Leslie Schenkel, student artists Allessandra Carmona and Sameera Joshi, and Civic Center vinyl-wrap artists Jaton Sales and Jack Couri.
Sponsors recognized included the Fine Arts Society of Peoria, Victoria High Point Holdings, Miller Hall & Triggs LLC, General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport, RLI Corp., O’Shea Builders, the Peoria Civic Center, Adams Outdoor Advertising, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and PIP Printing.
Arts Dollars Grant Awards
Co-Chairs Chelsea Carmona and Don Shafer announced 15 recipients of $32,500 in Arts Dollars grants made possible through the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Community Foundation of Central Illinois.
Projects ranged from film, theater, and music to education and community art initiatives.
Mary Keltner-King, of Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Education Center, spoke about her program Art Knows No Bounds, now in its third year of funding, which provides inclusive arts experiences for young learners and families.
ArtsPartner of the Year Award
The evening culminated with the presentation of the 2025 ArtsPartner of the Year Award to Mary Jo Papich, jazz educator and co-founder of the Jazz Education Network. Stacy
Peterson, Strategic Communications Manager for the City of Peoria, surprised Papich with a second City of Peoria Proclamation on behalf of Mayor Rita Ali honoring Papich’s decades of impact as an arts leader and educator.
ArtsPartners of Central Illinois promotes the arts as a vital component of central Illinois’ cultural and economic development. Founded in 1999, ArtsPartners of Central Illinois, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to build awareness and strengthen the arts for the economic and cultural enrichment of central Illinois.
