The Lincoln Land Community College Academy of Lifelong Learning and the Illinois State Museum invite the public to the final two programs in the special bicentennial series “The Culture and Heritage of Illinoisans.” These presentations will be held Sept. 16 and Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. in the Thorne Deuel Auditorium at the Illinois State Museum, 502 S. Spring St.
Laura Mueller will be the featured speaker on Sunday, Sept. 16. In her presentation, “Illinois in Art and Literature, 1818-2017,” Laura will offer a slide-illustrated presentation indicating the wide-ranging ways in which Illinois has been represented artistically throughout its history as a state over the past 200 years. The presentation will emphasize works of visual and literary art by Illinoisans but will also incorporate works by artists and authors from elsewhere that illuminate significant aspects of life in our state.
Mueller is a teacher and artist who earned her bachelor’s degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and pursued graduate study in comparative literature at the University of Chicago. For 29 years, she worked as a lecturer and later as a drawing teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago and has also taught the humanities and English literature at various colleges.
Phil Passen, a Chicago-based singer and hammered dulcimer player, presents “From Prairie to Farm to City: Music to Commemorate Illinois’s Bicentennial” on Sunday, Oct. 21. The music performed by Passen reflects the story of Illinois and will include songs of the Underground Railroad as well as musical selections representing farmers, workers, labor struggles, disasters and tragedies in addition to a few blues and rock-‘n’-roll songs. Passen will provide commentary about the histories of the selections and the contexts in which they have been sung and played in Illinois. This will be an informative and entertaining look at Illinois, its history and its people. After Phil’s performances, members of the audience, young and old, musicians and non-musicians, are welcome to take a closer look at the dulcimer and try their hand at it.
Passen is one of few performers who sings while accompanying himself on the hammered dulcimer. He performed for many years for the Chicago Department of Aviation’s tourist programs at O’Hare Airport. Passen regularly performs at area libraries and is included in the Best of the Best by the Library Administrators and Coordinators of Northern Illinois. He also played in the World Symphony Orchestra’s performance of The Lord of the Rings Symphony at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater.
These final two bicentennial programs are made possible by the support of Illinois Humanities. Illinois Humanities is an independent, nonprofit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. Illinois Humanities creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding of, appreciation for and involvement in the humanities by all Illinoisans, regardless of their economic resources, cultural background or geographic location. Illinois Humanities is supported by state, federal and private funds.
