And just like that – April is nearly here and the full lineup for Ebertfest just dropped. With Bob Fosse’s Star 80 headlining opening night and Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man featured center stage, …
Posts by Amy Penne:
20 Days in Mariupol is screening at Spurlock
If you missed the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol when it premiered on PBS’s hard-hitting series Frontline last November, now is your chance to watch it on the big screen at Spurlock’s Museum of …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
Artists Against AIDS marches back to Urbana’s art scene
I love Urbana’s Independent Media Center. I love love it. It’s one of my happy places. The return of the Greater Community AIDS Project’s Artists Against AIDS art fair filled the IMC with everything that …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
Engage in curated conversation at the Giertz Gallery
Curation is an art. Selecting works for exhibits, or stories and poems for a collection, or putting together a playlist is an expression of who we are. The star of The Distance Between now showing …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
Donate art supplies to Developmental Services Center
Spring cleaning season is upon us. Like many spring breakers, I’m home cleaning out my closets instead of partying on a beach. Not your idea of spring break? Wait until you see how organized my …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
Color and craft at EIU’s Tarble Arts Center
The stars of the Artists-in-Residence exhibit at Eastern Illinois University’s Tarble Arts Center were the artists in residence producing art in real time. Studio space became gallery space. Sadly, I missed that part. What’s left …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
Urbana’s Market at the Square seeks mural artists
We are inching closer to the May 4th opening of Urbana’s weekly Market at the Square. Ahead of that, the City of Urbana seeks a new artist/designer to work on and plan a mural set …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
Five things in arts: March 2024
Punxsutawney Phil announced our early spring back on Groundhog Day. Savvy little rodent, but we’ll all be cursing him if we get a random snowstorm in April. For now, it’s a great time to come …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
Ebertfest announces opening night and centerpiece films
Hold onto your hats, especially your bowler hats, because Bob Fosse’s final film, the controversial Star 80, will open Ebertfest’s 25th annual film festival at Champaign’s Virginia Theatre. The festival, which runs April 17-20, never …
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely
The magic of summer under the stars at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival
Amy captures the magic of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and encounters some familiar C-U thespians along the way.
Amy Penne
Arts Editor at Smile Politely