PIGMENT GOES TO SPRINGFIELD

Pigment International joined nearly 200 arts organizations at Arts Alliance Illinois Capitol Day to advocate for restored funding and a stronger creative future for Illinois

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On April 15th, Pigment International traveled to Springfield as part of Arts Alliance Illinois’ annual Capitol Day — joining nearly 200 arts organizations from across the state to make the case for the artists, educators, and communities we serve. The Alliance’s platform advocates for the Creative Cycle of Opportunity — how arts and culture contribute to opportunity, economic vitality, and quality of life across the lifespan of individuals and communities.

Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Pigment International, Claire Rice, Executive Director Arts Alliance Illinois, Nora Daley, Board Chair Illinois Arts Council, Vicki Heyman Board Member Illinois Arts Council, Joshua Davis-Ruptero ED Illinois Arts Council.

The two-day convening opened with a reception at the Illinois State Museum, where the backdrop couldn’t have been more fitting: Indigenous Beadwork of the Great Lakes, a rarely exhibited collection of works by Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Haudenosaunee artists that speaks to art’s power as an act of resilience and identity. Surrounded by those textiles, the room felt like more than a gathering — it felt like a reminder of what’s at stake when culture goes unfunded.

The evening’s speakers set a clear and urgent tone. Illinois Arts Council Executive Director Joshua Davis-Ruperto, Arts Alliance Illinois Executive Director Claire Rice, Illinois State Museum Director Jennifer Edginton, Representative Kimberly du Buclet, chair of the Illinois House’s Museums Arts Culture and Entertainment Committee (MACE); Illinois Humanities Executive Director Gabrielle Lyon, and Illinois Arts Council Board Chair Nora Daley each spoke to the value of sustained public investment in the arts. Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte offered a poem that anchored the room in something larger than policy — the lived, human need for creative expression.

On Thursday, groups from our South Side community met directly with the offices of Illinois General Assembly Curtis J. Tarver, Robert Peters, and Kam Buckner. The ask was specific: a 20% increase to the Illinois Arts Council — approximately $5 million — to complete the recovery from years of disinvestment that has left funding still below 2007 levels when adjusted for inflation. Critically, this increase requires no new funding mechanism; it draws from the same General Fund already supporting the IAC.

PIGMENT INTERNATIONAL RETURNS AS MEDIA PARTNER TO THE EUROPEAN CULTURAL CENTRE’S PERSONAL STRUCTURES

Pigment International is proud to announce its return as media partner to the European Cultural Centre for Personal Structures, the celebrated parallel program presented during the Venice Biennale. This marks Pigment’s second editorial partnership with ECC.

Additionally, Pigment will be documenting Big **Chief Demond Melancon’s* participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia — In Minor Keys*, conceived by the late Koyo Kouoh — with presentations in both the Giardini and the Arsenale. He will be showcasing his creations with Mariane Ibrahim’s Gallery.

Pigment International’s coverage of Personal Structures reflects our ongoing commitment to documenting Black artists navigating — and reshaping — the world’s most prestigious cultural platforms.

The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia will take place in Venice from May 9 to November 22, 2026

GOLD, INDIGO, AND INTENTION: AGILITY TO SURRENDER ACQUIRED FOR THE BENNETT COLLECTION (Image in drive)

***Knowhere Gallery’s* EXPO Chicago presentation yields a landmark acquisition for the Muskegon Museum of Art

A luminous work by D. Lammie-Hanson is making its permanent home in a distinguished private collection — and with it, carrying forward a commitment to elevating the voices of women-identifying artists working in figurative realism.

Agility to Surrender by D. Lammie Hanson

Agility to Surrender, a 14K gold drawing rendered in Goldpoint and Indigo acrylic on wood panel (34¼ × 26⅛ inches), has been acquired for **The Bennett Collection through the Bennett Collection Acquisition Award**. The work was exhibited at EXPO Chicago by Knowhere Gallery on Oak Bluffs, where it drew sustained attention for its meditative use of precious material and its quietly commanding presence.