Partners & Projects

Power House Art is the manifestation of the imagination of Bloomington-based artist Tom Kirk and collaborating artists who

have helped create monumental testaments to the power of art at

410 Sculpture Park & The House on Garling. Watch a short documentary about Tom and his inspiration HERE!

Since 2017, Illinois Humanities Envisioning Justice has leveraged arts and humanities programming to “examine mass incarceration and collectively shape a more just future.” Since 2024, Bloomington-Normal has functioned as one of six regional, grant-funded Hubs of

IH Envisioning Justice. Fellow Hubs include: Carbondale, East St. Louis, Galesburg, Decatur, and Champaign-Urbana.

Partnership with Latinos en BloNo and its founder Yolanda Alonso dates to Fall 2022. In that time, numerous collaborations have taken the form of educational programming and events, visual arts exhibitions, and live performance.  

Significant collaboration with Art Vortex Studio began in Summer 2025. Since, Art Vortex Studio has served as a host site for guest exhibitions, concerts, birthday parties, Downtown Bloomington events, and more. Janean Baird is a Bloomington-based collage artist who facilitates the local BN Artists group. She celebrated 10 years of Art Vortex Studio in May 2026.

Partnership with The Connecting Routes Project first brought a transformative tour of Kerfuffle's The Conductors to Bloomington-Normal young artists and families in Summer 2024. In 2025-26, hej creative partnered again with TCRP to support Stories Connect Us,

an ongoing collaboration with Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble that will continue to bring playback theatre and community storytelling to cities along the railroad.

Meaningful partnership continues with the McLean County Museum of History, a relationship that has sustained since serving in the Education Department from 2014-2022. Partner programming as an independent arts & humanities educator has included events such as Breaking Bread in McLean County, Día de los Muertos, and Christmas Under the Dome; programs including Day Off, Art On; publications including Mourning in McLean: The Story of Death, Grieving, and Funerary Customs in McLean County; and exhibitions including A More Perfect Union: A Community Exhibition Commemorating America 250.