The Joliet Arts Commission has received about a $16,000 state grant, adding credibility to the panel formed in 2019 and providing funding for an art walk in the works for later this year.

“This is our first grant, and it’s the first one designating us as a Local Arts Agency,” commission Chairman Erick Deshaun Dorris said.

The designation from the Illinois Arts Council makes the commission part of a statewide network of such agencies, Dorris said.

“Joliet has never had one until now,” he said. “We’re actually part of a statewide network to promote the arts around the state.”

The $15,950 grant from the Illinois Arts Council was announced this week.

Dorris said the commission is working on “two big projects” that could be funded with the grant.

One is an art walk that would include art exhibitors, vendors and food in the downtown area possibly in August or September. Dorris said the commission would like to see the art walk stretch along Jefferson Street from Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park to Joliet Central High School.

The commission also plans a contest soliciting ideas and designs from artists for a possible change in the Joliet city flag.

In 2021, the commission launched its first event as a co-sponsor with the Joliet City Center Partnership when the two groups commissioned five pieces of public art reflecting the city’s industrial heritage.

The commission also has been reviewing the condition of public murals, some of which are in severe deterioration. Dorris said the commission will present the City Council with a plan for the murals this spring.