A DeKalb panel dedicated to amplifying the creative arts is looking to start meeting again monthly in the new year.

The DeKalb Area Arts Council hosted an initial meeting in November since its relaunch.

Under the direction of Jubilee Art Gallery owner Christy Andrews, the panel seeks to restore its functions after a hiatus due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andrews said the group’s goal remains simple.

“The DeKalb Area Arts Council was created to elevate the arts in the DeKalb area, DeKalb County, and surrounding areas, but also to provide programming and events centered around arts and culture,” Andrews said.

The idea of the DeKalb Area Arts Council started in 2012, followed by the onboarding of a full Board of Directors and the group’s incorporation as a non-profit organization.

In 2016, the group announced the creation of a Cultural District, which would be dubbed the Art, Culture & Entertainment (ACE) Corridor in DeKalb, which runs along Lincoln Highway from the campus of Northern Illinois University to Seventh Street. In that same year, the DeKalb Area Arts Council hosted an Art Walk on Oct. 6.

The DeKalb Area Arts Council is an offshoot of a larger arts organization, the Illinois Arts Council. That panel, which is celebrating 60 years in 2025, has a history of contributing to arts and culture on a statewide level, according to its website.

Andrew said she’s long been eager to restore the group and its functions.

“Since opening Jubilee Art Gallery in 2023, I have been very interested in trying to find the people who originally were involved with the DeKalb Area Arts Council and try to revitalize it,” Andrews said.

The initial meeting in November saw representation from interested parties, including the Egyptian Theatre, city of DeKalb, DeKalb County Visitors and Convention Bureau, Artifex Studio, Jubilee Art Gallery, Northern Illinois University, and citizens interested in elevating the arts in DeKalb County.

The work of the DeKalb Area Arts Council is not exclusive to artists. The panel welcomes the involvement of supporters, businesses, professors, and instructors, as well.

Andrews said she believes the community has demonstrated enough interest to restore the panel.

Since the initial meeting, Andrews has taken up the task of brainstorming some ideas for community events to host.

Andrews said the hope is that the group can bring tourism to DeKalb.

One such function, Andrews said, the DeKalb panel is exploring is grant opportunities for local arts.

Whether it’s event programming or learning opportunities, Andrews said the panel would take up the responsibility of empowering the arts locally.

“It is our hope to start doing some fundraising and start raising funds from other avenues to be able to offer those grants,” she said.

Andrews said the community seems excited about this endeavor.

“There is lots and lots of enthusiasm to revitalize this effort,” she said. “All of us got very excited talking about the programming and events that we would like to do, and even possible different grant opportunities.”

The next meeting of the DeKalb Area Arts Council will be a strategic planning session to formulate a plan for the group moving forward.