"Bring the arts to the people."
The mission of the Tarble Arts Center is to engender appreciation for and involvement in the arts, especially the visual arts, as a major arts resource for the people of east-central Illinois and Eastern Illinois University through the presentation of temporary exhibitions and community-based educational and outreach activities. As a division of the College of Arts & Sciences (CLAS), the Tarble Arts Center has a mandate to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret the university's permanent collection of art and to support the educational mission of the university.
We recognize and honor the land upon which we gather to share stories as part of the traditional territory of Native American peoples: the Peewaareews (Peoria), Kaahkaahkia (Kaskaskia), Peeyankihšiaki (Piankashaw), Waayaahtanwa (Wea), Myaamiaki (Miami), Mascoutin, Odawa (Ottawa), Othâkîwa (Sauk), Meshkwahkihaki (Mesquaki), Kiwikapawa (Kickapoo), Bodéwadmi (Potawatomi), Anishinaabe (Ojibwa), Mamaceqtaw (Menomonee), and Hoocąk-waaziija-hači (Winnebago) peoples. Telling the stories of first peoples is an obligation the present owes to both the past and the future. We further wish to acknowledge the land’s sustained historical stewardship by indigenous peoples across North America and their ongoing struggles against injustice and oppression.
The Tarble Arts Center is the teaching museum on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. With an artist-centered approach, the Tarble presents an annual program of rotating exhibitions that provide experiential encounters with art of international significance and local relevance. An onsite Collection Lab, Design Lab, and Education Lab are hubs for transdisciplinary activity, positioning art as a primary tool for research, advancing knowledge, and interpreting the world we live in. The outcomes of this experimentation produce projects, publications, and opportunities that reach EIU students, community members, regional partners, and international collaborators both in museum and wherever they are. The Tarble’s ongoing stewardship of a permanent collection of contemporary art, American Regionalism, and folk art provides opportunities for study and reflection to students of all ages.
Gisela Alvarez
Exhibitions & Collection Manager
Mya Harbison
Audience Development Manager
Kaen Henry
Deputy Director of Public Engagement
Jennifer Seas
Director & Chief Curator
Tristen Hahn
Christine John
Sarah Brown
James Haddon
Alli Hausman
Carli Keller
Alexa Peters
Jenny Teibowei
Grace Walker
Maya Walter
Ellie Yates
José Guadalupe Garza
President
Brad Olson
Vice President
Steve Brantly
Secretary
Oscar Aguilar
Dorothy Bennett
Barbara Bonnekessen (ex-officio)
Lauri DeRuiter-Willems
Anne Flaherty
Laretta Henderson
Ryan Hendrickson (ex-officio)
Chris Kahler (ex-officio)
Alex Lugo
Catherine Polydore
Jennifer Seas (ex-officio)
Fatimah Tuggar
The Tarble has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) since 2001. Accreditation involves a rigorous process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. AAM accreditation demonstrates the Tarble’s commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement. Of the nation’s nearly 17,500 museums, only just over 1,000 are currently accredited. The Tarble Arts Center is 1 of only 32 museums accredited in Illinois, and 1 of 7 accredited university museums in the state.
