Welcome to the Illinois Women Artists Project, a unique gathering place to recognize and appreciate the work and experiences of Illinois women artists from the past.

We invite you to read the artists’ stories, search the Illinois Women Artists database, view our online exhibit, design an exhibit of your own, review our programming ideas, take a class—and learn more about art, history, women, and Illinois.

Join us. The Illinois Women Artists Project offers an opportunity for you to become a historian and help document our creative past.

EXHIBITION: Skirting Convention: Illinois Women Artists, 1840 to 1940 opens May 26 and runs through September 6, 2012 at the Tarble Arts Center, at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Previously it has been at the Quincy Arts Center and at Lakeview Museum in Peoria. The exhibit is a unique and distinctive collection of paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture by Illinois women artists who worked in the state in different decades, under various conditions, using a variety of styles and subjects. These outstanding women achieved success during their lifetimes yet little is known about them today. Learn their stories, see their artwork and consider the roles these women played in American history during your visit to the exhibit.

Additional information about the exhibit artists and their work is available on our website under the tab Exhibit/Lakeview where artists, curators, collectors, art historians, and artist relatives talk about the artworks. The online book Celebrating Illinois Women Artists is also available at Exhibit/Lakeview.