The LLCC Big Band will perform a spring concert on Monday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. in A. Lincoln Commons. The event is free and open to the public. The band, under the direction of Manley Mallard, LLCC adjunct instructor of music, will perform favorites, such as “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Over the Rainbow” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”  Featured student performers are Emma Bachman, vocalist; Tanner Stephens, trombone and vocalist; Madison Leek and Aaron Burkholder, trumpet; and Jeff Milner, percussion.

EndGame Expo (formerly called Video Game Design Tournament) will be held in A. Lincoln Commons today, April 25, from 10 a.m. to noon. The expo will host teams and the video games they have created in Video Game Design I and Video Game Design II classes. Student teams will showcase the art, animation, sound and coding skills that they have acquired from various courses.

Members from one of last year’s teams will also be on hand to open the event. This team has recently published two of their games, which are available for download in the App Store.

LLCC Art welcomes the college community and the public to join them at a reception Thursday, April 25 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. during which award winners of the Annual Student Art Show will be announced in several categories. The student show is open in the James S. Murray Gallery on the second floor of Menard Hall until Friday, May 10. Corrin Smithson McWhirter, artist and gallery director for the Springfield Art Association served as juror for the show.

EndGame Expo (formerly called Video Game Design Tournament) will be held in A. Lincoln Commons tomorrow, April 25, from 10 a.m. to noon. The expo will host teams and the video games they have created in Video Game Design I and Video Game Design II classes. Student teams will showcase the art, animation, sound and coding skills that they have acquired from various courses.

Members from one of last year’s teams will also be on hand to open the event. This team has recently published two of their games, which are available for download in the App Store.

LLCC’s Annual Student Art Show is now open in the James S. Murray Gallery on the second floor of Menard Hall. Corrin Smithson McWhirter, artist and gallery director for the Springfield Art Association served as juror for the show.

LLCC Art welcomes the college community and the public to join them at a reception Thursday, April 25 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. during which award winners will be announced in several categories. The digital media and app design program will be showcasing their games at the EndGame Expo in A. Lincoln Commons from 10 a.m. to noon the same day. A very special invitation is extended to all students (and their families) who put forth the effort to enter their artwork for jurying. The student show will be open for viewing until Friday, May 10.

The LLCC Choir will present its spring concert, Fly Me to the Moon: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing at noon today in A. Lincoln Commons. Works by Rodgers & Hart, Henry Mancini, Eric Whitacre and more will be featured. The choir is under the direction of Professor Laurie Lewis-Fritz.

If you  have not yet had a chance to view the exhibit “Flora & Fauna,” featuring paintings by Amy Denny and Kevin Veara, it is on display in LLCC’s James S. Murray Gallery through April 11. The public is invited to view the exhibit weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A statement by the artists about this exhibit says, “Flora and fauna are a beautiful distraction from our crisis-prone times. The ephemeral makes you stop and notice, or the moment is gone … Beauty of these moments should be treasured, absorbed with the eyes, inhaled deeply.”

Denny was born in Springfield and earned an associate degree from LLCC and a bachelor’s degree from Sangamon State University. She has worked in graphic design in both Illinois and California. Her painting skill has been recognized most recently in the 2018 Illinois State Fair Exhibition and the 2017 Lincoln Memorial Garden Exhibit at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

Veara is a bird guide for Lincoln Memorial Gardens and has been leading hikes for nearly 20 years. He is currently restoring seven acres of land on the banks of the South Fork of the Sangamon River to create a haven for birds and animals. Living out in the country has allowed him to immerse himself in his subject’s habitat — seeing the arrival of birds in the spring and migration in the fall.

The public is invited to attend a reception for the exhibit “Flora & Fauna,” which will be held today, March 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The exhibit features paintings by Amy Denny and Kevin Veara, and is on display in the James S. Murray Gallery through April 11.

A statement by the artists about this exhibit says, “Flora and fauna are a beautiful distraction from our crisis-prone times. The ephemeral makes you stop and notice, or the moment is gone … Beauty of these moments should be treasured, absorbed with the eyes, inhaled deeply.” Read more about the artists.

The LLCC Arts and Humanities Department invites the public to a free film and discussion series entitled, “Tuesday Nights at the Movies.” The final film showing in the series will be of “Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids” today at 6 p.m. in Menard Hall, Room 2209.

March 19: “Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids” (2004) – Documentary photographer Zana Briski travels to Calcutta with the intention of photographing female brothel workers. Instead, she ends up developing relationships with their children and proceeds to teach several of them photography. Kochi, Avijit and Shanti are among several who begin to document their own lives, the light and dark. Some discover that photography is their passion and artistic voice. Each must decide how she or he will continue to use their new skills or whether art can open doors to more education or a way out of poverty and enslavement.

The film series is be hosted by Dr. Deborah Brothers, John Paul Jaramillo and Cara Swafford, professors of English; Joseph Hoff, professor of Spanish; and  LLCC students.

The exhibit “Flora & Fauna,” featuring paintings by Amy Denny and Kevin Veara, opens in LLCC’s James S. Murray Gallery today. The public is invited to view the exhibit weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through April 11 and attend a reception on Thursday, March 21 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

A statement by the artists about this exhibit says, “Flora and fauna are a beautiful distraction from our crisis-prone times. The ephemeral makes you stop and notice, or the moment is gone … Beauty of these moments should be treasured, absorbed with the eyes, inhaled deeply.”

Denny was born in Springfield and earned an associate degree from LLCC and a bachelor’s degree from Sangamon State University. She has worked in graphic design in both Illinois and California. Her present medium of oil is the result of a lifelong love and study of the fine arts. Three years ago, she began making artist canvases and frames for her artwork and others. Her painting skill has been recognized most recently in the 2018 Illinois State Fair Exhibition and the 2017 Lincoln Memorial Garden Exhibit at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

Veara is a bird guide for Lincoln Memorial Gardens and has been leading hikes for nearly 20 years. He also enjoys traveling around the country for bird watching vacations. Veara is currently restoring seven acres of land on the banks of the South Fork of the Sangamon River by planting appropriate native plants and removing others in order to create a haven for birds and animals. Living out in the country has allowed him to immerse himself in his subject’s habitat — seeing the arrival of birds in the spring and migration in the fall.