FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 7, 2025
Contact: Dr. Mae Gilliland Wright
Telephone: 309-258-1327
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: artspartners.net
ArtsPartners Celebrates 25 Years of Connecting the Community Through the Arts
Annual Meeting to honor 2025 ArtsPartner of the Year Mary Jo Papich and a decade of Sky Art Peoria
PEORIA, IL – ArtsPartners of Central Illinois will celebrate 25 years of fostering collaboration, creativity, and community at its Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. Doors open at 5:00 pm. The event will honor this year’s ArtsPartner of the Year, Mary Jo Papich, and highlight the many ways the arts continue to shape and inspire the Greater Peoria region.
This milestone gathering will celebrate the organization’s history while looking ahead to the next 25 years. Guests will enjoy an evening of art, conversation, and community, featuring programs like Sky Art Peoria, Ignite Peoria, Business of Art, and the Follow Your Arts Gallery. The evening will also include the presentation of the Arts Dollars Grant Awards, which provide vital funding to artists and organizations across Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties.
Prior to the Annual Meeting, the public is invited to attend a special 10-year-anniversary Sky Art Peoria Invitational Exhibition reception at 4:30 pm in the Gilmore Auditorium of the Peoria Riverfront Museum. The reception will showcase work from many of the 29 artists who have participated in the program over the past decade, which has become a model for public art collaboration and community pride.
This year’s ArtsPartner of the Year Award will be presented to Mary Jo Papich, a visionary leader and lifelong advocate for arts education. Papich is internationally recognized as the co-founder and first president of the Jazz Education Network (JEN), active in over 20 countries, and has dedicated more than 35 years to arts education and cultural leadership. Locally, she served as Fine Arts Coordinator for Peoria Public Schools District 150, where she founded the Peoria Jazz All Stars, leading students to perform on world-class stages including the Montreux, North Sea, and Umbria Jazz Festivals. She has served as a founding board member and past president of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois and continues to champion access to the arts through her work with numerous community organizations.
“As ArtsPartners celebrates 25 years, it feels especially meaningful to honor someone whose lifelong dedication to the arts helped shape this organization and the creative spirit of Peoria,” said Dr. Mae Gilliland Wright, Executive Director of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois. “Mary Jo’s leadership, mentorship, and passion for making the arts accessible to all have inspired countless individuals both here and around the world.”
Papich will be recognized during the Annual Meeting, where she will deliver brief remarks.
To RSVP, please email [email protected].
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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.
