Arts and Culture

As Central Illinois swelters in the summer heat, most people have someplace to go to cool off. Not so long ago, it wasn't like that. 1934 was the year air conditioning came to Bloomington-Normal.

More Than a Game! will remain installed at the McLean County Museum of History for at least five years. It's a rare new permanent exhibition drawing from the museum's collection and local baseball lore on loan for the occasion.

Nan is based on the true story of Stevi Zabawa's grandmother, who picked up the pieces when her husband unexpectedly left her and her children in 1960.

There will no doubt be apple pie on the menu at many July 4 celebrations this year. There is every year. This quintessential American fruit, however, has varying cultural weight in different regions of the country. That's according to folklorist Lucy Long, author of the new book, Sweet, Tart, & Golden — Apples in the Midwestern Imagination.

Toni Tucker departs after 14 years as the primary steward of the estate's home and gardens in Bloomington, part of a collective 38 years with Illinois State University.

As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a Lincoln scholar from Bloomington-Normal is saying Abraham Lincoln relied on the Declaration all his life.

Cathy Hyland Moon and the Collective Arts and Learning Network make the annual concert bigger than music by sending all proceeds to the Therapeutic Arts Program in East Africa.

Arts Alliance Illinois, along with several other nonprofits and government partners, released a two-part study this week providing evidence of the creative sector's economic impact in Chicago — and across the state.

With support from the Illinois Arts Council, the McLean County Juvenile Detention Center has added two murals to areas frequented by youths held in pretrial detention. Staff say adding color to the walls is a small thing, but can make a big difference in the lives of youth staying in the facility.

At first, concerns rolled in from all sides of the political spectrum about the politics of patriotism. The collection of pieces by local artists respond to a series of questions about revolutionary moments, how migration and settlement impact the natural world and what it means to be an American.