Mr. DeWilde Art

LATELY:
🌀 Attended the Rockford Area Arts Council SPARK! Somnium Showcase at Discovery Center of Rockford
🏮 SOMNIUM: The Book of the Hollow Earth students shared their creative writing, animations, kinetic sculptures, puppetry, prop construction and flow arts to families and friends
🎂 Celebrated my birthday with the Arts Council team with a delicious lunch outside at Lucha Cantina
🐾 Stopped bLucha Cantinauncil’s SPARK! Mosaic camp where artist, Susan Burton instructed yoSusan Burtonc sculpture and began new public art projects!
🎤 Introduced Trinity Rucker as she acceTrinity Ruckerdeserved Emerging Leader award at the Dignity of Belonging Awards at Rock Valley College 🎓
🧡 CRock Valley College 🎓ina as they accepted the award for Community Impact at the Dignity of Belonging Awards. This organization has made a positive impact on our community through the many immigrant families they serve.

🏒 🐷 🥅

Calling all local artists!

The Rockford IceHogs and the Rockford Area Arts Council are looking for original designs for the 2026–27 Local Artist Hat Series. Three winning designs will be selected and transformed into exclusive hats distributed to fans during select games throughout the season.

Need inspiration? Check out previous winning designs and meet the artists who created them:
https://icehogs.com/artisthatseries

This is your chance to showcase your creativity to thousands of IceHogs fans and become part of a fan-favorite tradition.

Submission deadline: Friday, July 17
View the guidelines and submit your design here:
https://www.artsforeveryone.com/rockford-icehogs-2026-27-local-artist-hat-series/

📣📣📣

Maybe it's your turn.

You don't need a title. You don't need a book deal. You need one
idea ... specific, grounded, and real.

The idea is the qualification. Not the resume.

Applications close June 26.

Congratulations Trinity!

The Rockford Area Arts Council was proud to present Trinity Rucker with the Emerging Leader Award at the 2026 Dignity of Belonging Awards, hosted at Rock Valley College.

Since completing her term as the 2024 City of Rockford Youth Poet, Trinity continues to lead and inspire. Through her use of the arts, her words help build bridges and empower youth in the Rockford Region. We are so proud of Trinity and cannot wait to see what she accomplishes next!

I'm excited to hear from those building up our community at TEDxRockford! Speaker applications are now open. Share with those who inspire you!

Something big is happening in Rockford.

TEDxRockford — Rockford's independently organized TEDx event is officially accepting speaker applications.

June 12 to June 26, 2026. That's your window.

We're not looking for polished. We're not looking for credentials.

We're looking for people with powerful ideas — educators, entrepreneurs, artists, healthcare workers, community leaders, innovators, and people with lived experience who have something worth saying.

The idea is the qualification. Not the resume.

If you've been sitting on an idea that deserves a bigger room, or you know someone who has, now is the time.

Apply or nominate someone at tedxrockford.com/speakers
Applications open June 12 through June 26.

LATELY:
🎨 Observed youth at SPARK! At Washington Park after school arts program. 📸:
🖼️ Visited the Budding Artists event, showcasing youth artwork
🍹 Enjoyed a drink at .rockford with artwork by
🧠 Participated in Building Bridges to Understanding event, sharing information about ‘s SPARK! At Washington Park youth arts program with a focus on art therapy and creative expression.
🏦 Visited at to support young artists and entrepreneurs.
🖌️ Attended the mural reveal at created by youth under the direction of artists .fromearth and
🌊 Met for a new tattoo at
👨🏻‍🏫 Facilitated a training event for youth arts instructors on “Leading with Intention” led by and “Creating an Inclusive Arts Program” led by
🐯 Tested relief prints for a series I’m calling “Tiger’s Bedtime”

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️❤️

June is Pride Month, and the Rockford Region is a-buzz with acknowledgment and activities. On June 1, 2021, Mayor McNamara officially proclaimed LGBTQ Pride Month in Rockford for the first time in our city’s history.

The proclamation celebrates the contributions of Rockford’s LGBTQ community and commemorates the anniversary of the gay rights movement. The Arts Council, too, is an open and welcoming agency-our mission is to increase access to the arts, for everyone. I am proud to be in a community that acknowledges our differences and celebrates our connections to one another. Please consider attending one of the many events celebrating and elevating our LGBTQ community

—and get to know your neighbors!