Editing Alton, Illinois (section)

===Arts===
Alton is home to the Jacoby Arts Center (JAC) (formerly the Madison County Arts Council), a not-for-profit organization that supports local arts and art education and is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council.  The JAC is a regional arts center, serving 17 counties throughout south central Illinois, providing a public art gallery, art classes in a variety of media for adults and children, strong performing arts programming including a monthly live music performance, and an outlet to the literary arts, through such programs as the "Poetry Out Loud" high school-level competition and support of the Alton Writers Guild.

Alton is also home to the Alton Symphony Orchestra (ASO). As of 2011, the ASO was in its 66th season, and is considered one of the premier community orchestras in the Midwest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.altonsymphony.org/ |title=Alton Symphony Orchestra Website |website=Altonsymphony.org |access-date=August 30, 2013}}</ref> Musicians range from young adults in their teens to senior citizens. It holds four regular season concerts, a stylish pops concert, and a children's concert; the symphony offers performances to entertain and educate diverse sectors of the community.