(Alton, Ill., March 10, 2009) The Madison County Arts Council has been renamed the Jacoby Arts Center. The name is both descriptive of its main location and its broader service area, which was seemingly limited by the 27-year-old organization�s original name, according to officials.
�Jacoby Arts Center serves many more counties in southern Illinois than just Madison County and we wanted the name to reflect that reality. We moved our center of operations into the former Jacoby Furniture Building in downtown Alton, Ill. and have been running our programs from that location. It only made sense that we would name the organization to more accurately reflect its new location,� said Kathryn Nahorski, executive director of the Jacoby Arts Center.
According to its bylaws, JAC originally was conceived to serve Madison County, Illinois. In 1990, its mandate was changed to include serving arts organizations in a region of southern Illinois stretching from Missouri to Indiana.
The Jacoby Arts Center serves as the distribution vehicle for Illinois Arts Council funds for a 17-county region in southern Illinois through a program called Community Arts Access. Through this program JAC has distributed more than $100,000 to dozens of arts organizations since the program�s inception. JAC provides a 25 percent match before distributing the funds to artists and arts programs.
The purpose of JAC remains the same following the name change. The center�s purpose is to serve as an umbrella organization, with programs that provide services and opportunities for artists and the general public.
�Part of the value of the building we occupy is that it provides visibility and flexibility of programming. It houses an exceptional gallery and artist retail outlet, classrooms and a multi-purpose space that is available for rent. We hold workshops, classes and offer local musicians a place to perform. Over time, we will be expanding the building�s use to accommodate artists� studios as we rehab the upper floors and other rooms of the building,� said Susan Bostwick, president of JAC and a professional artist and educator.
Other programs that JAC sponsors in the region include ARTEAST and �Poetry Out Loud.� It also conducts educational outreach programs in partnership with the Alton Housing Authority, City of Edwardsville and other nonprofit community agencies. �These programs enable us to serve approximately 12,000 people throughout southern Illinois and the St. Louis metropolitan area,� Bostwick said.
JAC soon will announce additional actions to accompany the new name change, as well as more programs to underscore the importance of the arts to the region economically and culturally.
The Jacoby Arts Center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster the artistic development and economic success of artists, and to expand accessibility to the arts through programs that promote education, participation and exploration.
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