Illinois State Museum

Noir 6: The Truth is now open at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site. Stop by to check out this important exhibit at a gorgeous historic site.

State Historic Sites at Springfield, IL

ISM is proud to announce we won an American Association for State and Local History 2026 Award of Excellence by the Leadership in History awards committee for our partnership with the Beardstown Spanish Club. You can still see one of the exhibits we created with the Beardstown Spanish Club in our At Home in the Heartland exhibit.

We are so proud of the students and their teacher, and share this award with them!

https://aaslh.org/aaslh-2026-leadership-in-history-award-winners/

Beardstown CUSD #15
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

🌈 Happy Pride Month!
This Pride Month, we're celebrating the lives and legacy of two remarkable artists and educators from our collection: Kathleen Blackshear and Ethel Spears.

The two women met while teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1930s and became lifelong partners, sharing a passion for art, education, and each other. Together, they helped shape generations of artists before retiring in the early 1960s to Blackshear's hometown in Texas.

Kathleen Blackshear was a pioneering educator whose progressive approach to art history expanded beyond the traditional European canon to embrace the arts of Africa and the Americas. She also championed Black artists and recognized Black life and experience as important subjects for artistic expression.

Ethel Spears, a Chicago native, was celebrated for her lively paintings of everyday life and was equally admired as a teacher of painting, printmaking, design, and enameling. Her teaching career ended prematurely after she likely developed lead poisoning from years of working in the enamel studio.

Together, Blackshear and Spears left an enduring legacy through their art, their teaching, and their lifelong partnership. This Pride Month, we honor their contributions to Illinois's cultural history and recognize their place in the story of LGBTQ+ artists who helped shape our communities.

1. Kathleen Blackshear, Red Marine Life, 1949, batik with crayon and ink on paper, gift of Stella and Tom H. Kapsalis
2. Ethel Spears, Lincoln Park Winter Scene, 1938, opaque watercolor on board, Courtesy of the Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services Administration WPA, Federal Art Project, 1935-1943
3. Ethel Spears (left) and Kathleen Blackshear (right), undated photos.

Join the ISM team today at Comer Cox Park for the annual Springfield Juneteenth celebration!

Thank you to our curators Austin Wells and Jaliyah Ross for noir 6: the truth. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the reception tonight

Our Juneteenth family day is in full swing at Old State Capitol. It’s is also opening day of the noir 6: The Truth exhibit.

Juneteenth Inc.- Springfield, IL State Historic Sites at Springfield, IL

Get ready to foxtrot, disco, and electric slide the night away for a dance through the decades of Route 66!

Join the Illinois State Museum Society for this blast through the heyday of the Mother Road on Friday, June 26, 2026, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Illinois State Museum! Enjoy a lively evening with great music and Route 66-inspired treats!

Dress up or down; style yourself in your favorite decade, costumes are highly encouraged! A cash bar will be available.
Proceeds benefit the “Miles of Memories: Stories of Route 66” exhibit at the Illinois State Museum!

Ticket Link: bit.ly/ismsdance66

The Illinois State Museum and State Historic Sites will host the Juneteenth Family Day Celebration from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Friday, June 12, at the Old State Capitol.

Enjoy art, explore history, engage with Illinois state agency partners and share in the spirit of freedom, unity, and identity. It will also be the opening of ISM’s sixth annual Noir art exhibition, highlighting powerful original works by artists of color from Illinois.

To celebrate Route 66's 100th anniversary, visitors to the Illinois State Museum's new exhibit, Miles of Memories: Stories of Route 66, can receive a voucher for free weekday admission to the 2026 Illinois State Fair.

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BIG NEWS!!!!