The Gay and Lesbian Association of Decatur is hoping to make the community aware of AIDS in Macon County with the inaugural Decatur Artists Against AIDS Art Show and Benefit Sale, being held today through Sunday at the Beacon Art Gallery and Entrepreneurship Center in downtown Decatur.

Kim Kimberly, treasurer of GLAD, said Macon County has a high number of AIDS cases, putting it among the top 20 counties in Illinois. The fastest-growing segment of the population getting AIDS, Kimberly said, is 12- to 23-year-old African-American females.

"Our main goals are to create awareness and educate our young people of AIDS and how it's contracted to keep it from spreading," Kimberly said. She added that the event is to make the whole community aware.

About 75 artists, the majority from Central Illinois, have contributed art to sell at the event. Kimberly said half of the proceeds made will go toward organizations that have an outreach program dealing with people affected by AIDS, including Dove Inc., the Community Health Improvement Center, the Macon County Health Department and Planned Parenthood.

The art show will feature a performance artist in the front window on North Main Street demonstrating spray-brush art. A memorial tablecloth will be available at the event to be signed by people who have lost a loved one to AIDS.

Hours for the art show and sale are 7 to 9 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, call the Beacon Art Gallery at 391-6476.

BEACON ART GALLERY: The gallery will be open until 8 p.m. Wednesday as part of the Downtown Christmas Walk. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Art supplies and custom matting and framing are offered at the gallery.

For more information, call 391-6476.

BLUE CONNECTION: Blue Connection is also extending its hours to 8 p.m. for the Downtown Christmas Walk. After 5 Live will feature ceramic artwork by Stacey Conrad, and Kevin Long's theater students will sing holiday tunes from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public.

Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The 2006 Limited Edition Vespers Ornament is currently for sale through Blue Connection's Web site.

For more information, visit www.millikinblueconnection.com or call 428-0112.

DECATUR AIRPORT/LIBRARY: Watercolor paintings by Marianna Anderson will be displayed for the month of December on the second floor of the Decatur Public Library.

Artwork by Gallery 510 charter members that relates to Christmas can be seen in the exhibit "Holiday Colors" at the Decatur Airport Salon, in the main passenger terminal.

DECATUR AREA ARTS COUNCIL: XMAS ARTicles 2006 will feature works by more than 40 artists and artisans in the Anne Lloyd Gallery of Madden Arts Center.

The gallery will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday as part of the Downtown Walk. It will feature performances by the Decatur Youth Symphony Woodwind Quintet and String Quartet, along with the Sacred Madrigal Singers. Refreshments will be served.

The gallery will be open Dec. 7 to 29 during its regular hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Holiday art activities are planned from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, 9 and 16, by the Decatur Area Arts Council. The activities are designed for students ages 7 and up, with a $10 fee per session. Reservations are strongly suggested.

For more information or to learn about 2007 exhibits, visit www.decaturarts.org or call 423-3189.

TARBLE ARTS CENTER: An opening reception for the 16th Biennial Drawing/Watercolor: Illinois Exhibition will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Eastern Illinois University's Tarble Arts Center, at Ninth Street and Cleveland Avenue in Charleston.

Awards will be presented at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free. The exhibit will continue through Jan. 14 in the Main Galleries.

A Holiday Art Sale featuring original work by area artists will be held next week at Tarble. Hours are 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 9 and 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 10. There will also be a Holiday Open House from 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 10.

Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Tarble Arts Center will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 3 for the holidays.

For more information, visit www.eiu.edu/~tarble or call 581-2787.

GALLERY 510 & NOVA FRAMING: Gallery 510 & Nova Framing will have an opening reception for its Holiday Marketplace from 5 to 7 p.m. today. Refreshments will be served. The Holiday Marketplace will be open through December during regular gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The gallery will also extend its hours to 8 p.m. Wednesday for the Downtown Christmas Walk.

For more information, call 422-1509.

GIFTS FROM THE HEART: Gifts From The Heart, a handmade gift store, will have an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday inside the Beacon Art Gallery. Refreshments will be served, and free gift-wrapping will be offered. The event is free.

For more information, call 391-6476 or call Areli Duran at 855-0937.

HOBBY LOBBY: A Christmas crafts workshop for children ages 5 to 14 will be offered from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Hobby Lobby in Decatur. The cost is $5 and includes all materials.

For more information, contact Areli Duran at 855-0937.

FIELD MUSEUM: "Portrait of West Africa" opens today at the Field Museum in Chicago and will run until Feb. 24.

The exhibit is of photographic portraits of the people of Ghana, Togo and Benin taken by David Weinberg and from the museum's archives. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

For more information, visit www.fieldmuseum.org or call (312) 529-5090.

ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCIL: The Illinois Arts Council is now accepting applications from artists and performing arts companies for inclusion in the 2008-2010 Arts-in-Education Residency Program Artists Roster. The application deadline is Jan. 16.

The AIE Residency Program provides support to Illinois not-for-profit organizations for professional artist residencies lasting from two weeks to six months.

Guidelines and application materials are available at the Illinois Arts Council Web site, www.state.il.us/agency/iac. For more information or to receive a hard copy of the materials, call (312) 814-6780 or e-mail IAC.AIE@illinois.gov.

Alicia Spates can be reached at aspates@herald-review.com or 421-6986.