Best murals, museums & venues for experiencing Marion’s art scene

Located in picturesque Southern Illinois, Marion is a city known for its excellent outdoor activities and popular academic facilities. The city maintains a small town atmosphere while achieving steady growth and cultural development. From performance art venues, galleries, and museums to public artwork and murals, Marion’s artisans provide a wealth of creativity and culture. Here are five art-related destinations in Marion, Illinois.

Marion Mural Walk

“Mural” licensed under CC0 1.0 via Flickr by A.J. in Chicagoland

The Marion Mural Walk, a part of Marion’s downtown regeneration plan, is open to the public. According to Allison Hasler, the city’s community programming director, artists have completed 11 murals around town, and a 12th one is in progress. Mayor Mike Absher recently displayed a map with the locations of each painting at his State of the City conference. By hovering your mouse over the map markers, you can learn more about each mural and where it’s located.

To launch the project, Marion officials selected potential mural spaces and issued a call for painters. The objective of this creative effort is to get the city’s murals designated as a formal mural district. The city needed seven murals within walking distance of each other to fulfill that aim. These murals received cash awards from the city to support their creation:

• Kris Killman of Marion’s “Postcards from the Past” at Swinford Publications Building.
• John Brown’s on the Square: “Let it Ride.”
• “A Night to Remember” at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center by Matt “Kiptoe” Dean of Yucca Valley, California.
• “End of a Shift” at Goodall Building by Shawn Vincelette of Atlanta, Georgia.
• “Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe” by Rebecca Williams from Johnston City.
• Jordan Murphy of West Frankfort’s “On Top of Spaghetti” at Bennie’s Italian Foods.
• “Ikebana Series” at M Boutique by DAAS, who hails from Austin, Texas.
• Shawn Vincelette’s “Greetings From …” at Future Marion City Hall.
• Madeline Deiters of Marion’s “A Slice of America” at Tower Square Pizza.

Little Egypt Arts Association

Founded in 1995 by a group of about 20 local community artists and sponsors, Little Egypt Arts Association (LEAA) is a nonprofit artist cooperative. The group purchased its own facility after receiving a generous contribution from Mrs. Powell in 1999. After relocating to 601 Tower Square Plaza in Marion, the organization developed into a vibrant teaching and exhibition center for the visual arts, representing artists from across Southern Illinois.

The LEAA is home to a gallery and a gift shop offering jewelry, fiber art, paintings, sculptures, and photographs for sale. Members of the association organize shows, such as group exhibits, individual artist displays, and open contests, at the gallery throughout the year. During the gallery’s show hours, all exhibitions are open to the public. The LEAA also offers ongoing workshops in acrylics, oils, pastels, watercolors, photography, fiber, sewing, and quilting for adults and young budding artists. During the summer and school vacations, it hosts special classes for children.

Marion Cultural and Civic Center

The Marion Cultural and Civic Center (MCCC) takes pleasure in providing an outlet for all cultural and creative activities in Southern Illinois. The center is a 1,094-seat performing arts facility in Marion’s historic town square. Part of the MCCC’s foyer hosts art displays by Southern Illinois artists. The facility also serves as a state-of-the-art theater venue for a reasonable rental fee.

The Marion Cultural and Civic Center is dedicated to supporting the communities of Southern Illinois. Every year, MCCC conducts two series of programs as a community service. The “Patron Series” allows residents of Southern Illinois to enjoy a variety of national touring shows at low ticket prices. The “Young People’s Arts Series” includes demonstrations and shows for children. This series is not available to the public but is offered at a low cost to local schools.

Williamson County Historical Museum

Situated in an ancient jailhouse in Marion, the Williamson County Historical Museum houses relics, archives, and antiques from a bygone age. Visitors can enjoy displays in 17 rooms, including an old-fashioned schoolroom.

Constructed in 1913 and located just a block from the Williamson County Courthouse, this massive brick structure served two roles. It functioned as a jail for inmates, with four cell blocks for males and smaller cells for women. The sheriff and his family also lived there, with the sheriff’s wife cooking meals for the convicts. Steel doors and 13-inch poured concrete walls separated the inmates from the family.

After the new prison’s construction in 1972, the Williamson County Historical Society approved the former structure as a museum. It has since been the home of many priceless relics donated by local families and intriguing antiquities dating back to the county’s founding in 1839.

The Pavilion

The Pavilion, owned and maintained by the City of Marion, is a 40,000-square-foot configurable space ideal for private and public events. This massive facility can fulfill demands ranging from business conferences to trade exhibitions to weddings and receptions. The event center has three carpeted conference rooms and a big exposition hall.

If you’re planning a large gathering, the Pavilion’s Exposition Hall can accommodate more than 1,000 guests for banquets. The center can arrange up to 130 pipes and cover 10-by-10-foot booths for exhibitions and trade fairs. The Pavilion staff also provides food and beverage services, which they customize to create a welcoming experience for you and your guests.

The Pavilion’s conference rooms are large and convenient for private or business gatherings. Each room measures more than 1,900 square feet, with movable walls separating each one. These enable the various rooms to be transformed into a huge dining hall that can seat up to 388 people. You can customize and configure the space in a variety of ways, including as a theater, classroom, and banquet, all with audiovisual facilities to meet your needs. The facility also offers a 25-by-25-foot dance floor. Formal, festive, or fun, whatever your event requirements, the Pavilion has you covered.

So, there you have it: VW of Marion’s best-known art destinations in Marion, Illinois. Did you find this article satisfactory? Did we miss a favorite cultural spot locals love? Let us know, and we’ll add it to our list.