West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Kinzie Corridor, Humboldt Park

West Town

Wisconsin

IL • MI • IN

West Loop, Fulton Market, East Garfield Park

West Loop and West Side

Evanston, The North Shore, Northern, Western and Southern Suburbs

Suburbs

Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park

North Side

Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, The Gold Coast, The Loop, and South Loop

Michigan Avenue

Pilsen, Bridgeport, Chinatown, plus Hyde Park, Jackson Park/Dorchester, and Bronzeville

South Side

Superior and Franklin streets, West Chicago Ave, and down to Merchandise Mart and the River

River North

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;La Jaula De Oro | Azul Alberto Nogueron. The exhibition will be on display from&nbsp;March 14&nbsp;–&nbsp;April 19, 2026, with an opening reception on&nbsp;Sunday, March 29, and will be free and open to the public. Inspired by Los Tigres Del Norte song and curated by Azul Alberto Nogueron,&nbsp;La Jaula De Oro&nbsp;asks artists to respond to the illusion of the American Dream from the perspective of marginalized artists, using personal narratives about immigration, assimilation, and acceptance of identity. Artists Taly Inkz, Lily Guillen, and Gnat Rosa Madrid respond to the question: “What does it mean to be disillusioned?” La Jaula De Oro&nbsp;is the first of three exhibitions for our COMPASS Curator Residency, which provides an emerging curator with the opportunity to curate three shows in the Evanston Art Center’s Lobby Gallery space. The EAC’s Lobby Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting emerging and underrepresented artists and curators and responds to current and social events. EAC’s 2026 COMPASS Resident Azul Alberto Nogueron is a queer non-binary multidisciplinary artist from Chicago, IL, whose practice reflects on their personal beliefs and experiences as a trans person to create stories of acceptance, fear, and curiosity. La Jaula De Oro&nbsp;will be exhibited in the Lobby Gallery of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.

La Jaula De Oro | Azul Alberto Nogueron

On View: April 2-24Reception and Awards: April 9, 7pmGallery Talk with Prize Winners: April 22, 2pm The President’s 18th Annual Art Exhibition highlights the top artwork from Lewis Students and Alumni. This important juried exhibition is hosted by the Department of Art and Design and sponsored by Dr. David Livingston,President of Lewis University. Image Description:&nbsp;Electric Madonna, oil on canvas by Annabelle Makselan, First Place 2025

Gallery Talk with Prize Winners: The President’s 18th Annual Art Exhibition

Reception and Awards: April 9, 7pmGallery Talk with Prize Winners: April 22, 2pm The President’s 18th Annual Art Exhibition highlights the top artwork from Lewis Students and Alumni. This important juried exhibition is hosted by the Department of Art and Design and sponsored by Dr. David Livingston, President of Lewis University. Image Description:&nbsp;Electric Madonna, oil on canvas by Annabelle Makselan, First Place 2025

The President’s 18th Annual Art Exhibition

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 7th, 2026 from 2 to 5 PM&nbsp; The Women Painting Women Exhibition expands upon our collective identities as figurative artists. In this exhibition of figure paintings, we challenge the male gaze by exploring alternative topics such as our individual selfhood, archetypical figures and Surreal depictions of the human form. Our focus on our own authentic, complex bodies provides a vehicle for change and elevates our position as artists.&nbsp; Saturday, April 4th at 2 PM: Gallery Talk with Joanna Pinsky, Artistic Director and Cofounder of Art Encounter. Artists: Melissa Arostegui, Pochis Bank, Gaby Bozeman, Kate Citrin, Jennifer Cronin, Karen Fike, Nicole Gordon, Ellen Holtzblatt, Sarah Kaiser, Victoria Loeb, Joanna Pinsky, Lea Pinsky, Mary Porterfield, Patti Ray, Nancy Rosen, and Eleanor Spiess-Ferris.

Women Painting Women

*Registration is required. Visit&nbsp;www.EvanstonArtCenter.org&nbsp;for more information.The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;Joan Ruppert | Making the Cut. The exhibition will be on display from&nbsp;March 28 - April 26, 2026, with an opening reception on Sunday, March 29 from 1–4pm that will be free and open to the public. Joan Tortorici Ruppert is a television producer and media content creator based in Glenview, IL. Her exhibition&nbsp;Making the Cut&nbsp;showcases live-action collages that combine characters from her late father’s vintage negatives together with contemporary environments. Each new collage is organic, unpredictable, and unrepeatable, disrupting time and space to write new chapters in her family’s story.Joan Ruppert | Making the Cut&nbsp;will be exhibited in the Second Floor Gallery of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.Evanston Art Center, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization, is dedicated to fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences. The Art Center offers extensive and innovative instruction in broad areas of artistic endeavor through classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach initiatives.

Joan Ruppert | Making the Cut

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;Sandra Hansen | Our Exquisite Pollution Series: Under the Sea. The exhibition will be on display from&nbsp;March 28 - April 26, 2026, with an opening reception on Sunday, March 29, from 1-4pm that will be free and open to the public.In&nbsp;Our Exquisite Pollution Series: Under the Sea, environmental artist Sandra Hansen&nbsp;creates water scenes with pure, sustainable handmade paper and repurposed plastics found decaying on the beaches. As the environmental crisis grows larger, so does Hansen’s art. Hansen’s work has evolved into installation with lighting, sound, and movement, where viewers are engulfed in an underwater-like space with sea creatures.Our Exquisite Pollution Series: Under the Sea&nbsp;will be exhibited in the Atrium Gallery on the Second Floor of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.

Sandra Hansen | Our Exquisite Pollution Series: Under the Sea

This Winter, the&nbsp;Elmhurst Art Museum&nbsp;presents&nbsp;Living with Modernism: Kelli Connell.&nbsp;Presenting two series by the Chicago-based artist, Connell’s nationally traveling exhibition&nbsp;Pictures for Charis&nbsp;responds to the iconic photographs of Highland Park-born artist&nbsp;Edward Weston&nbsp;through a queer, feminist lens. Her second major body of work—Double Life—explores the evolution of intimate relationships shaped by the changing nature of identity over time, and features new commissions responding to the architecture of the&nbsp;Mies van der Rohe-designed McCormick House. The exhibition marks the largest presentation of Connell’s work in Chicago, placing queerness, power structures, and shifting ecologies in the twenty-first century in conversation with two giants of modernism. The exhibition is curated by&nbsp;Allison Peters Quinn, Executive Director and Chief Curator, and will be on view at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst, from&nbsp;January 24 to April 27, 2026. Peters Quinn says, “The Elmhurst Art Museum is honored to present the arresting photographs of nationally acclaimed photographer Kelli Connell in the Chicagoland area, where she has rooted her art practice and mentored dozens of artists for over a decade. Following its extensive US tour, we have expanded the&nbsp;Pictures for Charis&nbsp;exhibition to include an additional series,&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;by Connell. Connell’s commitment to exploring the everyday moments in relationships with ourselves and loved ones encourages us to cherish both the beautiful and the difficult times in our lives. Chicago is a crucial center for contemporary photography, and we are proud to highlight this through&nbsp;Living with Modernism.” An exhibition in two parts, Connell explores the psyche of human relationships and our connection to nature and architecture. The main galleries will feature 45 photographs from her series&nbsp;Pictures for Charis, a tender and emotional sequence of work placing Connell in dialogue with one of the most innovative American photographers of the 20th Century, Edward Weston (1886-1958). For this body of work, Connell revisited the sites of Weston’s black-and-white landscapes and portraits of his partner of 11 years, writer Charis Wilson, in&nbsp;California and the West&nbsp;(1934-45), to photograph her own former longtime partner, artist Betsy Odom. Connell’s work is presented alongside 48 original prints by Weston on loan from the Center for Creative Photography (Tuscon) and text excerpts from Charis. Shining new light on Weston’s subject, Charis, the installation bridges eighty years of ecological and social shifts with a feminist perspective.The McCormick House gallery features the latest chapter in Connell’s ongoing series&nbsp;Double Life, which the artist began in 2002. For this series, Connell explores long-term relationships with others and the self. The digital images document the fictional relationship of two women, both played by collaborator Kiba Jacobson. Connell describes&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;as “an honest representation of the fluidity of the self in regard to decisions about intimate relationships, sexuality, gender, family, belief systems, and lifestyle options.” For&nbsp;Living with Modernism, the Elmhurst Art Museum commissioned Connell to respond to the architecture of McCormick House designed by Mies van der Rohe. Connell chose to photograph the site - and incorporate poetry from its former owner Isabella Gardner (niece of the Boston arts patron by the same name) - to generate new works adding to the perpetual&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;narrative. Connell says,&nbsp;“I am beyond thrilled to show&nbsp;Pictures for Charis&nbsp;and&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;together at the Elmhurst Art Museum. Both projects portray my commitment to uncovering forgotten histories. Making new work in the McCormick House, a space where the work will also be shown, was a unique opportunity for me to think about architecture and its impact on people and the relationships we have with each other in these spaces.” Pictures for Charis&nbsp;is co-organized by the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, at the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents; the Cleveland Museum of Art; and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Pictures for Charis&nbsp;is curated for each museum by Rebecca Senf, Ph.D., Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, at the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents; Barbara Tannenbaum, Ph.D, Curator of Photography and Chair of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Cleveland Museum of Art; and Gregory J. Harris, the Donald and Marilyn Keough Family Curator of Photography at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta and Allison Peters Quinn, Executive Director &amp; Chief Curator of the Elmhurst Art Museum.This project is made possible by Teiger Foundation. Photographs by Edward Weston are courtesy of the Edward Weston Archive at the Center for Creative Photography. Additional support for&nbsp;Living with Modernism&nbsp;and related programs are provided by the Illinois Arts Council and individual donors. ABOUT THE ARTISTKelli Connell&nbsp;(b. 1974) is a photographer based in Chicago. Through her images, she addresses issues of sexuality, identity, and self-perception. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, J Paul Getty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, among others. Publications include&nbsp;Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis&nbsp;(Aperture and Center for Creative Photography, March 2024),&nbsp;PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice(Aperture),&nbsp;Photo Art: The New World of Photography&nbsp;(Aperture), and the monograph&nbsp;Kelli Connell: Double Life&nbsp;(DECODE Books). Connell has received fellowships and residencies from The Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, PLAYA, Peaked Hill Trust, LATITUDE, Light Work, and The Center for Creative Photography. ABOUT THE ELMHURST ART MUSEUMThe Elmhurst Art Museum is located at 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst (IL), 25 minutes from downtown Chicago by car or public transportation (Metra). On the museum’s campus is the McCormick House, a single-family home designed in 1952 by Mies van der Rohe, one of the great architects of the 20th Century. The McCormick House is one of only three residences designed and built by Mies in the United States – and one of only two open to the public. The Museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Friday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Regular admission prices are $18 for adults (ages 18+), $15 for seniors, $10 for students, and $5 for children. For more information, please call 630.834.0202 or visit <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/" target="_blank">elmhurstartmuseum.org</a>.Images Kelli Connell,&nbsp;Surf, Point Lobos, 2015, courtesy the artist.

Living with Modernism: Kelli Connell

In April, we'll be exhibiting new work from&nbsp;represented artist David Keel.&nbsp;Described as dreamlike, haunting, colorful, nostalgic, and whimsical, David's paintings evoke a variety of reactions and interpretations.&nbsp;

David Keel: The View From Here

In partnership with the&nbsp;Elmhurst Park District, the&nbsp;Elmhurst Art Museum&nbsp;announces the return of&nbsp;Art in Wilder Park&nbsp;to the heart of Elmhurst this spring. The only festival of its kind hosted by an art museum, Art in Wilder Park features over 130 booths showcasing unique, handcrafted treasures including jewelry, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photography, and fiber arts created by talented Midwest artists. Visitors can enjoy a variety of artisan food vendors, a dedicated Kids Court with creative hands-on activities, and community partner and sponsor displays, all set against the picturesque backdrop of Elmhurst’s Wilder Park. The free-to-the-public event annually attracts over 7,000 people to the museum campus and takes place rain or shine,&nbsp;Saturday to Sunday, May 2-3, 2026, from 10 am to 5 pm,&nbsp;at 175 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst.A new offering in 2026 is the addition of an Emerging Artist Pavilion that taps into the talent of the Chicagoland area, including the hundreds of artists coming out of prestigious college and university programs each year. Artists featured in the festival will be selected by jurors Fatima Hendricks, Manager of Exhibitions &amp; Residencies at Chicago Artists’ Coalition, and Whitney Bradshaw, Curator at Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, IN.&nbsp;Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Elmhurst Art Museum&nbsp;Allison Peters Quinn says, “Art in Wilder Park feels like a hometown hug in the spring. It is the best time of year to support diverse artists, eat delicious food, and let the kids run around. This year, we are excited to partner with other regional art institutions to open the door even wider to emerging artists, and connect their work and ideas to our local communities.”Art in Wilder Park is produced by the Elmhurst Art Museum in partnership with Elmhurst Park District. Presenting&nbsp;sponsor Kelly Stetler | Compass. Festival sponsors: All American Gutter Protection, Chiro One Wellness&nbsp;Centers, Discover DuPage, Enjoy Illinois&nbsp;Explore Elmhurst, Great American Exteriors, The Home Improvement Network,, and Renewal by Andersen Windows. Special Event Sponsors: Chicago Event Graphics and Unlimited Heating &amp; Cooling. Sculpture Sponsors: Community Bank of Elmhurst, Lakeside Bank, Wangler and Company, and WinTrust Bank of Elmhurst.&nbsp;ABOUT THE ELMHURST ART MUSEUMThe Elmhurst Art Museum is located at 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst (IL), 25 minutes from downtown Chicago by car or public transportation (Metra). On the museum’s campus is the McCormick House, a single-family home designed in 1952 by Mies van der Rohe, one of the great architects of the 20th Century. The McCormick House is one of only three residences designed and built by Mies in the United States – and one of only two open to the public.The Museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Friday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Regular admission prices are $18 for Adults (ages 18+), $15 for Seniors, $10 for Students, and $5 for Children. For more information, please call 630.834.0202 or visit&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/" target="_blank">elmhurstartmuseum.org</a>.

Art in Wilder Park

Healing Together: The Artwork of TIERRA&nbsp;features artwork created by facilitators of and participants in the TIERRA program—Transforming Internal Experiences for Resilience and Restoration through Acceptance—a research-informed, nature-based training program that supports Community Health Workers serving communities across Lake County, Illinois. TIERRA equips Community Health Workers with tools to address the interconnected challenges of trauma, health disparities, and environmental injustice. Rooted in mindfulness, restorative practices, and the healing presence of nature, the program creates space for participants to explore their own experiences while strengthening their capacity to care for others. Through visual art, reflection, and creative expression, participants in this program have translated their personal and professional journeys into powerful works that speak to resilience, healing, and connection to the land. The pieces on display offer insight into the inner landscapes of those working at the front lines of community health. These are individuals who navigate complex social and environmental challenges while supporting the wellbeing of others. Created during guided sessions that integrated nature observation, contemplative practice, and artistic exploration, the artworks reflect themes of renewal, rootedness, and collective care. Plants, seasonal cycles, and the natural rhythms of the landscape serve as both inspiration and metaphor for growth and restoration. By sharing these works with the public, the exhibition honors the vital role Community Health Workers play in building healthier, more equitable communities.

Healing Together: The Artwork of TIERRA

Perspective Gallery is proud to host “Teaching,” Nelson W. Armour’s ode to classroom teachers. Resulting from a two-year residency with “<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=8c7e2f36fa&amp;e=49b9939ea4" target="_blank">Artists in the Public Schools, formerly CPSLIves</a>,” the project examines teaching and what it means to be a teacher. This photographic essay is an homage to the challenges, triumphs, hard work and effort of teaching, from the small details to the big picture.&nbsp;“Teaching” opens on Thursday, April&nbsp;2, 2026&nbsp;with an Opening Reception on Saturday, April 4, 2026 from 5- 7 PM. The exhibit runs through Sunday, May 3, 2026. A Virtual Artist’s Talk will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 7 PM. To register for the talk, go to Perspective Gallery’s website,&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.org/april-2026" target="_blank">https://perspectivegallery.org/april-2026</a>.&nbsp;Armour was privileged to follow three teachers over two school years in two Chicago Public Schools, the Lázaro Cárdenas Elementary School in the Little Village area of Chicago (2021-22 school year) and the Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School in the Austin neighborhood (2023-24 school year). This project, sponsored by&nbsp;Artists in the Public Schools, documents how teachers engage and relate to their students as individuals and classes.Above image - Teaching #20

Teaching

Mark your calendars for this annual&nbsp;celebration of community and creativity. This&nbsp;year, The Art Center will highlight the incredible work of celebrity photographer&nbsp;Sandro Miller, featuring his series on members of Chicago’s historic Steppenwolf Theatre, and members of the Chicago Imagists group,&nbsp;Hairy Who.

TAC's Spring Benefit

A beautifully crafted object can enhance any home or workspace. From a mug for your morning coffee, a plate for your toast, a bowl for your favorite soup, a rocking chair to relax in, a colorful pottery jar for storage, a contemporary hand-blown glass vase, and a woven textile are not just art pieces, but also practical items that can be used in our daily lives. Art can be all around us in the form of these functional pieces that make our spaces fun.The exhibition will showcase artwork from over 30 artists, many from Illinois.Fine Line will host an in-person reception on Thursday, March 26, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM to officially open the show, with several of the participating artists in attendance. As with all Fine Line gallery receptions, this event is free and open to everyone. Light refreshments will be served during the evening.

Home Improvements: The Functional Art Show

<a href="https://rkcgwygbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001F8PqBR1SxUwkNanLfePGlspUn7Ci32rad6YaebB3m3jw0eJ4HivRcS4LTz7sL3Wd0ioc4O1ObRWGRXN3dLPA7IDC4qyZ-o_agERp_AqJyX_4LJ0g7sD_ifMumW4_qIzHKZceYLKQseu4K74spzXnLA==&amp;c=WX5eCvEZwUhiJUQ9W_TG3WsEBfEUe2jSHeHcJL07Jmkn5Y1Qdav9NA==&amp;ch=-Lp4qTcCCxgirixg5KOZqMPo2PM-WTyaAOfo5xfgIt-J8mhihNw-iA==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">Spring Benefit 2026﻿</a>

Spring Benefit 2026

April showers brings us a solo show with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.manvshadow.com/erik-jon-olson-shadowboxx-collective-artist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Erik Jon Olson, ShadowBoxX Collective Artist</a>. Olson is renowned for his unique large-scale artwork that uses quilted plastic waste to illustrate the amount of waste material we produce, prompting viewers to reconsider and reevaluate their relationships to plastics. His work also addresses how our unfettered capitalism and mass consumption can waste our natural resources and damage our society.An ethos of minimal waste permeates Olson's creative process. Each piece is constructed of eight to 12 layers of used single-use plastic, which he quilts together using his grandmother's circa 1960 sewing machine. He uses overstock and leftover thread, plus scrap materials from his own production process. Schedule a Viewing (through 5/9)&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mev@manvshadow.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mev@manvshadow.com</a>

What A Waste: Erik Jon Olson

May 9 &amp;10 | Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods&nbsp;The Mother Earth Market features and celebrates local artists, makers, vendors, and organizations who are inspired by “Mother Earth” and are working towards a more sustainable future. Check out the vendors and don’t miss the BASE Art Supply Clearance Sale.&nbsp;In preparation for upcoming construction, the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange (BASE) is clearing out space with a super sale during the Mother Earth Market. Get your summer art and craft supplies at even lower prices than usual. Tell the teachers, camp directors, parents, artists, and kids in your life!

Mother Earth Market

The Evanston Art Center (EAC), a non-profit arts organization, proudly presents its&nbsp;<a href="https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/sf-0018000000kI1AnAAK/events/vevt:df36c06f-0832-407a-9888-dcabf6d63cdd/home/story" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">37th Annual The Art Party</a>,&nbsp;taking place on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 6:00 pm at 1717 Central Street.This yearly tradition includes silent and live auctions that raise money to support EAC’s mission: fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences. Last year, over 230 attendees from the Chicago and North Shore areas helped to raise $100,000 for outreach, scholarship, and exhibition programs.For almost 100 years, EAC has provided public outreach programs, exhibitions, and resources for art education. The Spring Benefit is an integral part of the Evanston Art Center’s success.To purchase tickets, go to our&nbsp;One Cause&nbsp;page. Individual tickets cost $275. The price for all tickets includes a wonderful dinner by J &amp; L Catering and the opportunity to bid on a selection of items in our silent and live auctions. Items include a vibrant range of artwork, hotel stays, restaurant certificates, weekend getaways, jewelry and accessories, and more.This event will be a lovely evening out and an opportunity to support EAC’s important mission. Even if you can’t attend, you can still participate in the&nbsp;<a href="https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/sf-0018000000kI1AnAAK/events/vevt:df36c06f-0832-407a-9888-dcabf6d63cdd/home/story" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">online auction</a>.The Evanston Art Center is dedicated to fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences by offering extensive and innovative instruction in broad areas of artistic endeavor through classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach.

Evanston Art Center’s The Art Party 2026

Reception and Gallery Talk, May 7, 7-9pmThe Lewis University Department of Art and Design is proud to present the Senior Capstone Exhibition. This biannual art show coincides with the capstone course, Senior Project. The course challenges graduating students to put their newly acquired skills and understanding of art to the test by participating in a professional exhibition experience.Image by: Erika OrnelasArtists:Nicholas AguilarEmilia ConnellAmanda DeweyErika OrnelasMarley PiersonJenna Purdy

Senior Capstone Exhibition

Anne Loucks Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of&nbsp;Reflections,&nbsp;a new exhibition in our Glencoe gallery featuring west coast artists Victoria Adams, John McCormick and Leslie Wu.The show includes 35 landscape paintings capturing dramatic skies, glistening water, and meditative vistas.&nbsp;Please join us for the Opening Reception with artist Leslie Wu, Friday, March 13th from 5 - 7 pm at 309 Park Avenue in Glencoe.&nbsp;

Victoria Adams, John McCormick & Leslie Wu: Reflections  

Please join us on Wednesday, April 8th from 5 - 7 pm for the opening reception of our new exhibition,&nbsp;Melanie Parke: Viridescence.&nbsp;The show features sixteen paintings inspired by the landscape, shorelines, fields and gardens surrounding the artist's Northern Michigan studio.&nbsp;Melanie Parke's work combines brilliant color with enchanting views and objects that evoke a sense of sense of warmth and memory. Her layered, painterly compositions reveal an intuitive sense of balance, structure and light.&nbsp;&nbsp;Join us to meet the artist and celebrate Spring with an exhibition that reflects the new light, blossoms, color and promise of the season. We look forward to seeing you this Wednesday at our Winnetka gallery!564 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka

Melanie Parke: Viridescence 

Juried Group ShowHarmony is often hard to achieve. But let's be honest: Do we always want harmony? How tensions are resolved, make peace with, or completely defy opposition can be more enlightening.&nbsp;We want the clash. We want the contradiction. Let's see the fight!CONFLICT OF INTERESTS is about friction. It is about using the “wrong” material on purpose. It is about the disconnect between what something looks like and what it says.ShadowBoxX Gallery has asked 50 talented artists from across the country to show us what that disconnect looks like.

Conflict of Interests

The storied city of Djenné, a center of Islamic learning, study, and scholarship since the twelfth century, is the hometown of Bamako-based photographer&nbsp;Hamdia Traoré&nbsp;(b. 1992, Mali).&nbsp;The thirty portraits in Traore’s series&nbsp;Des marabouts de Djenné (Marabouts of Jenne)&nbsp;reflect his intimate connections to the city’s people and deep history. Learned and devout, marabouts teach in Djenné’s over 50 Qur’anic schools, offer spiritual guidance, and treat ailments through their knowledge of the Qur’an.Made during a time of political and social upheaval in Mali, these portraits reflect enduring cultural resilience. Each image depicts a marabout seated with the tools of his practice—books, Qur’an boards, amulets, and prayer beads—framed by the architecture and atmosphere of Djenné. The consistent format underscores their collective identity, while individual poses and captions highlight personal roles and neighborhoods.Traoré’s work will be shown alongside mid-20th-century black-and-white portraits of marabouts by Malian photographers&nbsp;Mamadou Cissé, Abdourahmane Sakaly, and&nbsp;Tijani Sitou. Drawn from the Archive of Malian Photography, these earlier images share visual parallels and deepen the historical context.&nbsp;Together, these images illuminate evolving perspectives on spiritual authority, identity, and visual representation in Mali.This exhibition is developed in collaboration with the artist and professor Candace Keller, co-founder of the&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://amp.matrix.msu.edu/" target="_blank">Archive of Malian Photography</a>.

Hamdia Traoré’s “Des marabouts de Djenné” and Muslim Portraiture in Mali

An exhibition exploring how images of luxury obscure the labor and extraction behind consumer culture.Sammy Baloji’s monumental diptych&nbsp;Raccord #1: Cite de Kawama&nbsp;stages a sharp visual contrast between a Congolese temporary mining settlement and an advertisement for an idealized resort. The advertising image is not merely decorative, but is part of an economic system that manufactures longing, offering miners and their families a fantasy of leisure and mobility even as they remain excluded from the wealth it fuels.Building from Baloji’s photograph, recently acquired by The Block Museum of Art, this exhibition reminds us that beneath the surfaces of leisure, consumption, and profit lie histories of exploitation and environmental damage.&nbsp;Beneath the Surface&nbsp;brings together artworks and advertising from The Block&nbsp;collection and the&nbsp;<a href="https://northwestern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=904f932038284b4d9eea69636&amp;id=31838cac8b&amp;e=ec81127d70" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Herskovits Library of African Studies</a>&nbsp;to make us think about how extractive industries rely on visual strategies to promote consumption, obscure labor, and elevate luxury. By presenting these works side by side, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how our own desires, shaped by photographs and advertisements, are linked to hidden processes of extraction, exploitation, and environmental harm.Beneath the Surface&nbsp;is presented in conversation with&nbsp;<a href="https://northwestern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=904f932038284b4d9eea69636&amp;id=b8f5be7060&amp;e=ec81127d70" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Teresa Montoya’s Tó Łitso (Yellow Water): Ten Years after the Gold King Mine Spill,</a>&nbsp;on view in the main gallery. Together, the projects underscore how the impacts of extraction link distant communities.<a href="https://northwestern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=904f932038284b4d9eea69636&amp;id=0a7ea9386c&amp;e=ec81127d70" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ MORE</a> The exhibition is curated by Uche Okpa-Iroha, 2025‒2026 Art History Graduate Fellow, in consultation with Corinne Granof, Academic Curator. It is generously supported by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and The Graduate School (TGS), Northwestern University. Additional in-kind support is provided by Northwestern University Libraries. Image:&nbsp;Sammy Beloji,&nbsp;Raccord #1, Cité de Kawama, 2011. Digital inkjet print on Baryta paper. Copyright of the artist.

Beneath the Surface: Labor and Consumerism

On August 5, 2015, the rupture of the abandoned Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, released more than three million gallons of toxic wastewater into the Animas River, turning its waters a shocking shade of yellow. In the following year, artist and anthropologist&nbsp;Teresa Montoya&nbsp;(Diné, born 1984) embarked on a road trip from Silverton to Shiprock, New Mexico, retracing the path of the contaminated water and documenting its ongoing cultural, spiritual, and material effects on the Navajo Nation and other Indigenous communities downstream.Marking the ten-year anniversary of the disaster, The Block Museum of Art partners with Montoya to revisit this journey.&nbsp;Tó Łitso (Yellow Water)&nbsp;explores the enduring consequences of the Gold King Mine spill through photography, sound recordings, water samples, and cartographic data.&nbsp;Combining documentary photographs with scientific data and poetic reflection,&nbsp;Tó Łitso&nbsp;invites viewers to consider water not only as a life-sustaining resource but also as a conduit for histories, stories, and harm. In doing so, the exhibition challenges extractive frameworks of land use, centering Indigenous knowledge and resilience. Through Montoya’s interdisciplinary practice,&nbsp;Tó Łitso (Yellow Water)&nbsp;offers a powerful meditation on environmental and cultural justice in the Southwest and beyond."The 2015 spill had discharged more than three million gallons of acidic mine waste fluid into Cement Creek before joining the Animas River and eventually into the San Juan River, which flows directly across the Navajo Nation. Through my photographic journey, I make explicit the enduring presence of toxicity across multiple landscapes and territories. Sometimes it appears beautiful, other times haunting.&nbsp;The images highlight the relationships that various communities sustain through water/tó&nbsp;despite the occurrence of repeated and enduring contamination from upstream locales.&nbsp;The Gold King Mine Spill shows us this, even in that, which cannot be readily seen." – Teresa MontoyaPronounce:&nbsp;<a href="https://navajowotd.com/word/to/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tó</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://navajowotd.com/word/litso/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Łitso</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Teresa Montoya’s Tó Łitso (Yellow Water): Ten Years after the Gold King Mine Spill&nbsp;was curated by Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Marisa Cruz Branco (Isleta Pueblo/Portuguese), Terra Foundation Fellow, in collaboration with the artist. It was supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Ahéhee' (thank you) to Janene Yazzie, John Hosteen, Wade Campbell, and Andrew Curley for Diné language and curatorial guidance. Image: Teresa Montoya (Diné, born 1984), Tó Łitso #22 (Yellow Water #22), from the series Tó Łitso (Yellow Water), 2016, Inkjet print. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Block Board of Advisors Endowment Fund purchase. Image courtesy of the artist

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