From the mid-1970s through the 1990s, M. Joan Lintault was known as the "weaving and fibers/textiles" person in the southern Illinois art community. Lintault came to Carbondale in the 1970s to head up the Fibers/Textile Department at the School of Art and Design at SIUC and continued her tenure there as well as her involvement in the local art community until she retired in 2001.

L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith, an exhibition which spans the last 50 years of this renowned, contemporary metalsmith who pioneered the resurgence of blacksmithing as an American art form. Kington's metal sculpture will be on display at the Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery through August 1, 2008.

The public is invited to the Illinois State Museum for the Funscapes Family Art Event. Celebrate Illinois' diverse landscapes at this special family event, in conjunction with the exhibition Grammar of Landscape: Photographic Visions of Illinois.

The 1893 World’s Fair Crazy Quilt will be the subject of a presentation by noted quilt authority Merikay Valdvogel at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery. This presentation is part of the museum’s series of public programs offered during the run of the exhibition The Urge to Embellish, which will be on view through September 26, 2008.

Ina Dews of Elgin, Illinois, recently donated three quilts made by African-American women to the Illinois State Museum. These are the only African American-made quilts in the Museum’s collections. Ms.Dews, a well-known quilt maker, came to Springfield to make this donation. She presented a quilt she fondly calls “Puffs,” which is the second quilt that she stitched when she was fifteen.

Macomb based acoustic/folk band Wild Moon will perform at the Hickory Ridge Concert Series Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 7:30 pm. Wild Moon combines the influences of folk, bluegrass, blues and jazz with original songwriting creating a relaxed, eclectic style that has won them a large fan base in Western Illinois.

The Illinois State Museum has opened a new exhibition, The Grammar of Landscape: Photographic Visions of Illinois. It will be featured through July 27, 2008 in the 2nd floor art galleries.

The Illinois Artisans Program hosts the FRESH IDEAS ART SPREE on April 16TH & 17TH from 10AM to 3:30PM in the James R. Thompson Center Atrium.

An exhibit titled: "The Illinois Indians: Relationships" will be on view at Dickson Mounds Museum between March 3 and April 27, 2008. The Illinois Indians, consisting of at least twelve groups including the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Cahokia, Tamaroa, Moingwena, and Metchigamea, resided in the region when Marquette and Jolliet made their epic journey down the Mississippi River and up the Illinois River in 1673.

The Illinois State Museum presents an exhibition of the most significant privately held collection of paintings by Chicago artists during the first half of the 20th Century. Chicago Painting 1895 to 1945: The Bridges Collection demonstrates that Chicago has supported generation after generation of inspired artists who painted land and cityscapes, portraits, and scenes of everyday life in the Midwest and beyond.

On Sunday, October 21st, visitors will have the opportunity to meet artist Chris Berti and listen to a presentation of his work at the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery. This will be the first installment in the series of three Meet the Artist events mounted in conjunction with the exhibition While All the Tribes of Birds Sang.

The Illinois Artisans Shop highlights the work of Chicago artist Bonnie Lopez during the month of October. A member of the Illinois Artisans Program since 1999, Bonnie Lopez will create a life size "La Catrina" for the display window of the Illinois Artisans Shop.