Prairie Center of the Arts

CIAO & Friends Invitational Art Show at the Peoria Riverfront Museum The Peoria Riverfront Museum (PRM) will be having their grand opening in October. CIAO has the opportunity to curate an exhibit in the museum during the first five months of opening activities.  With thousands of visitors planning to tour the museum, this presents a great opportunity for CIAO .  This is a call for entries to the CIAO & Friends Invitational exhibit to be held at The Peoria Riverfront Museum from October 2012 to March 2013 featuring Central Illinois artists. If you would like your art considered for the show, you have until May 30 to respond. Check out the details at CIAO's website. http://ciaopeoria.com/blog/ciao-friends-invitational/ “I might work on a painting for a month, but it has to look like I painted it in a minute.” -Willem De Kooning

“Laughter is the language of the soul.” ― Pablo Neruda Well, the sun is shining and the fields near the artists house are greening!  We have a new artist in residence that has joined our merry little band of art-makers... she is Maureen .  We welcome her! More artists arriving in the next few days... FYI...we have many more international artists that will be visiting in the next months...that should make for great conversation and exchange of ideas...more to come!

Here are a few updates for Prairie Center of the Arts ... Gallery Hours for the Mid-Illini Art Show: Gallery Hours – March 15 - 28 Daytime: M-F   10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Evenings:   Mondays, March 19 & 26 only - Open till 6:00 p.m. Weekend:    Saturdays, March 17 & 24 only   -   1:00 p.m.   –   4:00 p.m. Others by Appointment; please call 309-657-6767 The Mid-Illini High Schools are Canton, Dunlap, East Peoria, Limestone, Metamora, Morton, Pekin, and Washington We have some very talented artists in our communities.  Be sure to check it out. We joined CIAO and will participate in Open Studios – Friday, March 2 AND every first Friday after that!  Please drop by and see the interesting work that our group of artists-in-residence are creating... See us on Facebook! Residency Applications are due 4/15/2012 for residencies beginning July 2012 through September 2012 Local Artists applications being acce...

“Every act of perception, is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination.” ― Oliver Sacks , Musicophilia: La Musique, Le Cerveau Et Nous

The house is buzzing with activity!   There are currently 6 artists from around the country in residence at Prairie Center of the Arts .  Every morning both kitchens are full of artists making breakfast (and copious amounts of morning coffee and tea!), then they load up the van and are driven to the studio space to work for the day...or the night. Jeff is building an installation/performance piece with hydroponic plants and sound... Christina made a short film that combines hand painting and live action... Josh is mapping the 90,000 square foot industrial facility where the studios are... Cara is painting another in her series of  "Roadkill" oil paintings on canvas... Cobi is adding details to a photorealistic series of oil on canvas paintings... Mutt is cutting plexi for a new installation... We have had a couple of Artist Dinner nights the last two Fridays and a good time was had by all... Living/working in community is vibrant,...

New Program Director arrives end of January - Ron Ray joins the staff at Prairie Center Of The Arts in 2012 as the new Program Director.  Ron comes to Peoria from Paris , France , where he has been living and working on staff at an artist residency in the French countryside.  He has been a working artist for over 20 years and will continue his art while at  Prairie Centers .  His studio will be open for visits by residents as well as the public.  Ron has an extensive background as a curator and has worked in the gallery side of art as well.  He has lived and worked in The United States, Italy , France , Spain and China and attended artist residencies in several countries, bringing a world view of art with him. We welcome him and look forward to a great new year at Prairie Center Of The Arts filled with a celebration of art, exploration and wonder. ********************************************************************************************** Looki...

Sunday, Oct 30 - 2:00 – 5:00 pm - Warehouse Gallery One 2011 Peoria Area Artist’s in Residence Reception and Poetry Reading (3:00 pm) and Book Signing (2:00-5:00 pm)  2011 Peoria Area Artists in Residence Reception : Kelly Krainak , painter, and Lisa Nelson Raabe , fiber artist and installation Kelly and Lisa's Exhibition opens Oct. 17 – Nov 17 Warehouse Gallery One hours - M-F 10:00 am – 4:00 pm; others by appointment Poetry Readings from Bluffs and Five Bridges: Poems From Peoria - A new collection of poems from the Grandview Hotel Poets: Barbara Clevenger, Michelle Cusack, Jannett Highfill, Mark Liebenow, Janeil Page, Thomas Palakeel , Burt Raabe, and Elizabeth Klise von Zerneck.