Evanston Art Center Explained

The Evanston Art Center is an arts center in Evanston, Illinois offering classes, lectures, exhibitions, and community outreach.^[1] It is among the oldest and largest arts centers in Illinois.^[1]

History

The Evanston Art Center was founded in October, 1929.^[2] It was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1942.^[1]

The center was originally located in the basement of the Evanston Public Library until it began leasing the historical Harley Clarke Mansion at Lighthouse Beach in 1966.^[2] The center rented additional studio space at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in the 1980s. In 2015, the center moved to its current location at 1717 Central Street in Evanston, Illinois,^[2] a 20,000 sq. ft. former office building,^[3] which considerably expanded the available space. The move was funded by a capital campaign that raised $2.5 million.^[2]

Notable people

Artists and students

Artists who were students or who exhibited at Evanston Art Center:

• Jane Fulton Alt, photographer^[4]
• Carol Diehl, painter, art critic, and poet^[5]
• Fay Peck (1931–2016), American Expressionist painter and printmaker^[6]

Teachers

• George Cohen (1919–1999), painter and Northwestern University faculty
• Harry Mintz (1904–2002), Polish-American painter and professor at Washington University in St. Louis and later at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago^[7]
• Corey Postiglione (born 1942), American abstract artist
• Alice Riley (1860–1955), poet; co-founder of the Evanston Art Center
• Paul Wieghardt (1897–1969), German-American painter and professor^[8]

Exhibitions

Past exhibitions held at the Art Center include:

• 2018 – Multiple Perspectives featured photography-based works by Columbia College Chicago faculty member Fred Camper and two other artists.^[9]
• 2018 – Catching Light: The Art of Architecture, which featured works by Heather Hancock and Jack Nixon, was "an exhibition that considers the architecture and design of our intertwined natural and manmade landscapes."^[10]
• 2017 – Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad, a multimedia exhibition including photographs by Jeanine Michna-Bales.^[11]
• 2017 – New Work, which featured abstract pieces by Annette Turow and Linda Robinson Gordon.^[12]
• 2017 – Undefinable: Women’s Health in America, curated by Chicago artist Caren Helene Rudman and including works by herself and nine other female artists, featured commentaries on women's health in the United States.^[13]
• 2011 – Dimensional Lines: Art + Dress featured a collaboration between artists and fashion designers curated by SAIC’s Fashion Resource Center Director Gillion Carrara.^[14]

External links

• Official website

42.0646°N -87.6969°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Evanston Art Center . ArtSlant . ArtSlant, Inc. . 30 May 2018.
2. Web site: Bartling . Charles . Evanston Art Center moves out of the mansion . Evanston Now . Evanston Now LLC. . 30 May 2018.
3. Web site: Evanston Art Center . WhereTraveler . Morris Visitor Publications, LLC. . 31 May 2018.
4. Book: Look and Leave: Photographs and Stories from New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward. 2009. University of Georgia Press. 978-1-930066-90-8. 81. en.
5. Web site: Isaacs. Deanna. February 26, 2004. Postiglione's Women. 2021-01-31. Chicago Reader. en.
6. Web site: Watson. Ella. January 2018. "Fay Peck: American Expressionist" at the Helen. E Copeland Gallery (HECG). 2021-01-31. Montana State University. en-US.
7. Web site: Harry Mintz Artists Modernism in the New City: Chicago Artists, 1920–1950. 2021-02-01. www.chicagomodern.org.
8. Web site: Urban. Christine. 2017-01-17. Ausstellung im Gutshaus Steglitz: PAUL WIEGHARDT (1897–1969) – Maler zwischen zwei Welten – vom 22. Januar bis 19. Februar 2017. 2021-01-31. State of Berlin, BerlinOnline Stadtportal GmbH & Co. KG. de.
9. Web site: Fred Camper to Exhibit at Evanston Art Center's 'Multiple Perspectives'. 31 May 2018. Columbia College Chicago.
10. Web site: Bartling . Charles . 'Catching Light' exhibit at Art Center . Evanston Now . Evanston Now LLC. . 31 May 2018.
11. Web site: "Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad:" An Exhibit . Chicago Tribune . 31 May 2018.
12. Web site: Burakoff . Maddie . Old friends make 'New Work' at the Evanston Art Center . The Daily Northwestern . 31 May 2018.
13. Web site: Thometz . Kristen . Exhibit Reveals 'Undefinable' Nature of Women's Health in America . WTTW . WWCI . 31 May 2018.
14. Web site: Weinberg . Lauren . "Dimensional Lines" at the Evanston Art Center . Time Out . Time Out America LLC . 31 May 2018.