Chicago emerged in the late 19th century as the leading arts center of the Midwest, and it continues to hold this premier position. The major downstate facilities include the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) and the Lakeview Center in Peoria.
Architecture is the outstanding art form in Illinois, and Chicago—where the first skyscrapers were built in the 1880s—has been a mecca for modern commercial and residential architects ever since the fire of 1871. The Art Institute of Chicago, incorporated in 1879, is the leading art museum in the state. Although its holdings, largely donated by wealthy Chicagoans, cover all the major periods, its French Impressionist collection is especially noteworthy. An example of bold contemporary architecture is the $l72-million State of Illinois Center in Chicago, which opened in 1985.
Theater groups abound—there were 116 theatrical producers in 1982—notably in Chicago, where the Second City comedy troupe and the Steppenwolf Theatre are located; the city's best playwrights and performers, however, often gravitate to Broadway in New York or Hollywood. Film production was an important industry in Illinois before 1920, when operations shifted to the sunnier climate and more opulent production facilities of southern California. By the early 1980s, however, the Illinois Film Office had staged an impressive comeback, and television films and motion pictures were being routinely shot in the state.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, organized by Theodore Thomas in 1891, quickly acquired world stature; its permanent conductors have included Frederick Stock, Fritz Reiner, Sir George Solti, who regularly took the symphony on triumphant European tours, and Daniel Barenboim (since 1991). German immigrants founded many musical societies in Chicago in the late 19th century, when the city also became a major center of musical education. Opera flourished in Chicago in the early 20th century, collapsed during the early 1930s, but was reborn through the founding of the Lyric Opera in 1954. Chicago's most original musical contribution was jazz, imported from the South by black musicians in the 1920s. Such jazz greats as King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Goodman, and Gene Krupa all worked or learned their craft in the speakeasies and jazz houses of the city's South Side. More recently, Chicago became the center of an urban blues movement, using electric rather than acoustic guitars and influenced by jazz.
The seamy side of Chicago has fascinated writers throughout the 20th century. Among well-known American novels set in Chicago are two muckraking works, Frank Norris's The Pit (1903) and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906), as well as James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan (1935) and Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March (1953). Famous American plays associated with Chicago are The Front Page (1928), by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, and A Raisin in the Sun (1959), by Lorraine Hansberry.
The Illinois Arts Council was founded in 1965. In 2003, state organizations received $3,405,300 in grant money from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Illinois Humanities Council, founded in 1974, offers ongoing programs that include a lecture/presentation series program called the Heartland Chautauqua and The Odyssey Project, which offer free college-level courses in the humanities to individuals with incomes below the poverty level. In 2000, the National Endowment for the Humanities sponsored 61 grants for state programs, with a total contribution of $7,277,182. A humanities fellowship of $210,000 was awarded to the American Institute of Indian Studies in Chicago in 2003. The state's arts education programs are offered to over 850,000 schoolchildren. There are over 2,200 arts associations in Illinois and over 80 local associations. There are a number of local arts fairs and festivals held annually throughout the state.