Our organization works to bring new life to downtown Rockford by establishing a weekly tradition that draws people into the heart of the city, creates a vibrant community center, increases business at downtown shops & restaurants, and serves as an incubator for new businesses.
We hope you join us in the goal and meet us at the Market.
The Rockford Area Arts Council (RAAC) supports, promotes, and develops the arts for everyone in our Northern Illinois region. The Arts Council is guided by the vision of a community in which everyone enjoys and participates in the arts - and a community in which successful artist and arts organizations contribute to the vitality of the economy and quality of life. They offer arts programs, awards grants to artists, provide arts information to the community from its office in the historic Shumway Market Building in downtown Rockford, and acts as an umbrella organization and a catalyst for community development. The RAAC believes that everyone deserves access to the arts and that everyone can and will benefit from involvement with the arts. The arts are for everyone!