Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for February 26, 2009 IN THE NEWS

A two-fer...

Carol Skoufis, a graduate assistant from Chicago in the
education department who works in the University Museum,
sets up a display of sculptures of recycled materials made by
students from Cairo High School for the “Visual Arts Institute”
exhibit Tuesday. Two exhibits, the “Visual Arts Institute”
and “Remembering Old Main,” are scheduled to open at the
University Museum Friday.
Photo by Emily Sunblade ~ Daily Egyptian

Wes Lawson
w4027@siu.edu

The newest exhibits at the University Museum will bring together Carbondale’s past with southern Illinois’ future.

The University Museum will present “Visual Arts Institute” from Friday through March 27, and “Remembering Old Main” from Friday through April 11. Both shows will have receptions on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.

“Visual Arts Institute” is a collaboration between SIUC professors and high school students from Cairo, Eldorado, Harrisburg and Johnson City. Nate Steinbrink, the curator of exhibits for the museum, said teachers would bring their art and architectural work to students at the schools, and then students would craft projects based on the pieces.

“Once the students complete their pieces, we bring them back to the museum to show it,” Steinbrink said.

Carol Skoufis, a graduate assistant in the museum’s education department, worked on the project with her boss, Bob DeHoet, an employee of the museum. She said though this was DeHoet’s project, she got to work closely on the show.

“There are always plenty of pieces that knock your socks off, and this year is no different,” Skoufis said. “This is my third student-art project, and there’s always incredible work coming out of these schools.”

“Remembering Old Main” is a show that looks at the building that once served as SIUC’s main campus building until it burned down in 1969.

”Before Old Main, there were two other buildings, one of which was the Normal University Old Main Building,” Steinbrink said. “The exhibit serves as a timeline to show the progression of these buildings and what they looked like at the turn of the century.”

The art show, which contains photos, saved architectural details and pieces of the buildings, serves as a look back on Carbondale history. For Eric Jones, the registrar for the museum, it also serves as a piece of his family’s history.

“I worked on the project as part of an optional summer project for my graduate student work, but I had other reasons to be interested in the building and its history,” Jones said.

“My father had an office in the Old Main building, and I remember him telling me stories about how the ventilation systems work,” Jones said. “I have a long history with the school, so this exhibit is like a part of me.”

The exhibit also serves as an anniversary piece as Old Main burned down 40 years ago.

Admission to the museum is free. The museum operates 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, contact the museum at 618-453-5388.

Cairo, Illinois has seen its fair share of blows with companies packing up, and morale diving.

NewsChannel 6's Jeff Stensland shows us how planners are targeting teens now to make a better tomorrow. (See the video. Oops, never mind. Checked the link and it went to a "crime watch" video. If you wish to see if they have since fixed it, use the Link to Original Story and try the video link now.)

Abandoned buildings have become the norm in Cairo over the past several decades as businesses struggle to survive. But those who call the river city home say they haven't lost hope just yet.

"Cairo was a nice town. We want to build it back up,” Peter Brown said.

Peter Brown gazes down Sycamore, at empty store fronts and sparse traffic, recalling the glory days of Cairo when he was a child. A group of southern Illinois students have spent the past three years studying the once thriving river community and hearing the stories of locals.

"The students need a little bit of hope. As long as you have hope, you can have success. I’ve found that the community needs to come together and give these students hope,” said Jarel Loveless, contributor to the Cairo project.

The thought is, keep students pushing through graduation. That will equip them to take on better paying, higher skilled jobs. Those jobs would be filled by future employers lured to the area by the talent base. Brown says he sees things changing for the better, but wonders how long it will take.

“I see growth coming. It's not because I'm that good, but people in Cairo are ready to see change. Everybody is basically getting on board,” said Cairo Mayor Judson Childs.

Mayor Childs admits it's not something that can be changed overnight, but it is attainable.

SIU students continue their focus on Cairo this summer, with summer program focusing on preserving historic places still standing. This fall's urban design and community class will also draft their plans for Cairo's future.