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

Join Brushwood’s poet-in-residence Kathryn Haydon and fellow haiku poet David Green for a midwinter poetic stroll along woodland paths near the Des Plaines river. As we walk, we will quietly gather observations and inspiration from the nature around us, jotting thoughts and haiku in our notebooks. When it’s time to warm up, we will gather at Brushwood Center to write more haiku, share, converse, and eat.

Haiku "Ginkgo" Walk with Brushwood Poet-in-Residence Kathryn Haydon

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to&nbsp;Evanston Art Center’s Faculty Exhibition. The exhibition will be on display from January 14 – February 15, 2026 in our First Floor Gallery and will be free and open to the public.The Evanston Art Center boasts over 90 accomplished artists as faculty members teaching in ten visual art departments. This January, we spotlight our talented instructors in this biennial exhibition, displaying the breadth and depth of our faculty's artistic abilities. The biennial EAC Faculty Exhibition is a visual testament to the dedication and professionalism of our faculty who both teach and maintain their own artistic practice.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.

Evanston Art Center’s Faculty Exhibition

Are you looking for an opportunity to share and discuss your creative practice? Our monthly Artist Critique Group offers a positive and productive space to develop your ideas through in-depth conversations. Bring your complete or in-progress work and join our supportive artist community. All mediums are welcome! Join us for an individual session or register for the full five session series. Series participants will have free access to all of Art Encounter's Weekend Art Walks, and will also have an opportunity to show their work in an exhibition at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in September 2026. Group meets at Space 900 Gallery in Evanston, IL. Email program leader Joanna Pinsky, Artistic Director and Co-founder of Art Encounter, at <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:joanna@artencounter.org?subject=CGN%20Art%20Encounter" target="_blank">joanna@artencounter.org</a> with any questions. When: Tuesdays, 1:00–3:00 pmWhere: Space 900, 816 Dempster St., EvanstonMember Price: $35 per session; $140 for full series of 5 sessionsNon-Member Price: $45 per session; $175 for full series of 5 sessions Spring 2026 Series: Feb. 17, Mar. 17, Apr. 21, May 19, Jun. 16 Flexible pricing is available for anyone who inquires. Please email&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(44, 175, 154);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:annie@artencounter.org?subject=Flexible%20pricing%20option%20for%20Artist%20Critique%20Group" target="_blank">annie@artencounter.org</a>&nbsp;for our “pay what you can” registration form. <a style="color: rgb(238, 247, 239); background-color: rgb(44, 175, 154);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/E3YFeWZMnmBqubrOnQPxrg" target="_blank">Register and Submit Payment</a> Visit <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.artencounter.org/artist-critique-group" target="_blank">artencounter.org/artist-critique-group</a> for more information.

Artist Critique Group: A Monthly Series for Practicing Artists

Winter Series 2026:&nbsp;Collaboration Wednesdays, 1:00 pm&nbsp;|&nbsp;Online: 1/14, 1/21&nbsp;|&nbsp;In-Person:&nbsp;2/11, 2/18 Join Joanna Pinsky for two Zoom programs and two in-person museum visits exploring different concepts of what it means to collaborate on the production of art, including creating work with another individual, partnering within oneself to portray different aspects of one’s interior, and incorporating communities into the art-making process.

Winter Series 2026: Collaboration

RECEPTION AND GALLERY TALK: FEBRUARY 19, 7PMCelebrate Women Artists at the Field with Rebecca Banasiak, Peggy Macnamara, and Adrienne Stroup, whose work bridges art and science in bold, imaginative ways. Inspired by the museum’s collections and mission to connect all of us to the natural world, their creations reveal the beauty of discovery and the power of visual storytelling. Join this visionary collective during Women’s History Month, February–March 2026, in celebration of STEAM and creativity.

Gallery Talk: Women Artists in the Field

Register&nbsp;for the Virtual Artist's&nbsp;Talk&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=9baafc17b6&amp;e=d73170d386" target="_blank">here</a>Join us this evening from 5-7pm at Perspective Gallery in Evanston for an opening reception for&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=992d0b9f13&amp;e=d73170d386" target="_blank">Hold</a>,&nbsp;our invitational show&nbsp;featuring six artists currently pursuing their BFA in photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.Curated by Aimée Beaubien, Professor and Chair, Department of Photography, SAIC,&nbsp;Hold&nbsp;is a meditation on loss, distance, identity and memory. The&nbsp;exhibition reflects the many ways images attempt to grasp what is already slipping&nbsp;away, asking us to consider what we keep, what we return to and what holds us. Featured artists are:Abigail Brooke Ackles&nbsp;@abi_brooke.jpgEthan Kunoff&nbsp;@ethankunoff.artIsabel Lim&nbsp;@_isabellimCollin Lust&nbsp;@carbon_lustSarah Price&nbsp;@sarahpricephotosDev Kili Stolkiner&nbsp;@dev_photographs In this show, we are invited to enter a space of continuum, where photographs become conduits between generations, between past and present, between the remembered and the reconstructed. Childhood homes are revisited and family snapshots of everyday life are re-contextualized within the emotional architecture&nbsp;of belonging. These photographs invite us to&nbsp;look with, through and all around - to linger, to listen and to recognize the echoes of our own histories held&nbsp;in proximity.The exhibition runs through Sunday, March 1, 2026 with a&nbsp;virtual artists' talk&nbsp;on Thursday, February 19&nbsp;at 7pm. This Zoom event is free to join but preregistration is required. You can sign up for the talk&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=8d4c1b8bd2&amp;e=d73170d386" target="_blank">here</a>.

Artist's Talk (virtual)

Saturday, February 21, 2PM, In-Person, FREE﻿The thirty portraits in the exhibition&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://northwestern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=904f932038284b4d9eea69636&amp;id=2a032550f6&amp;e=64540e863b" target="_blank">Hamdia Traoré’s “Des marabouts de Djenné” and Muslim Portraiture in Mali&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;reflect the artist's intimate connections to the city’s people and deep history. Learned and devout, marabouts teach in Jenne’s over 50 Qur’anic schools, offer spiritual guidance, and treat ailments through their knowledge of the Qur’an. This public program will discuss Hamdia Traoré’s portraits of marabouts in relation to an earlier generation of Muslim portraiture, and will also consider the role of archives in preserving the history of West African photography.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://northwestern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=904f932038284b4d9eea69636&amp;id=81c7a85e25&amp;e=64540e863b" target="_blank">RSVP FOR OPENING KEYNOTE</a>

Hamdia Traoré’s "Des Marabouts de Djenné," West African Portraiture and the Archive

Featuring student artists from Districts 112 &amp; 113

February's Youth Art Month Exhibitions

Join us this Sunday, January 11, to celebrate the beauty of Lake Michigan. Beginning in September of 2015, artist Lincoln Schatz began taking lake pictures, dedicating a month to photographing the lake each day in morning or evening. These daily trips to photograph the lake continued past that first month. One month became two, two became three, and the project has continued ever since. Those first lake photos are now the foundations of the Lake Series, a serial exploration of the landscape of Lake Michigan through photography. The reception opens at 1:00 pm at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods. The program begins at 1:30 pm with an artist talk, and will conclude at 3:00 pm. Light refreshments will be provided. Can't attend the opening? Lake Series will be on display through February 22.

Lake Series: Photographs by Lincoln Schatz

February 1st - February 28th, 2026 <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://vividartgallery.net/matthew-schaefer-february-featured-artist" target="_blank">See the Exhibit</a>

Matthew Schaefer: Journey of Intention

Exhibition of art of and by ВІРОС (Black Indigenous People of Color) ArtistsCurated by Fran JoyPictured: Reuniting Family (Leaving the South Under Threat of Klan Violence) by Jevoid Simmons

Resilience in Color

Perspective Gallery presents&nbsp;"HOLD,"&nbsp;Perspective Gallery’s 2026 Invitational Exhibition featuring works by selected BFA students from the School of the Art Institute.&nbsp;Curated by Aimee Beaubien, Professor &amp; Chair in the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,&nbsp;"HOLD" features work by six emerging artists currently pursuing their BFA, and working within the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Abigail Brooke Ackles, Ethan Kunoff, Isabel Lim, Collin Lust, Sarah Price, Dev Kili Stolkiner.The&nbsp;Opening Reception&nbsp;will be held on Saturday, February 7th, 2026 from 5-7pm at Perspective Gallery. Guests will have the opportunity to experience the art firsthand and meet the artists. On Thursday, February 19th at 7 PM, Perspective will host an&nbsp;Virtual Artist’s Talk&nbsp;via Zoom on February 19th, 2026.The curator and the exhibiting artists will be present to answer your questions and discuss their work.&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=a5bc6d2433&amp;e=49b9939ea4" target="_blank">Register here</a>&nbsp;for the Artists’ Talk.&nbsp;"HOLD" is a meditation on loss, distance, identity, and memory. This exhibition reflects the many ways images attempt to grasp what is already slipping away. Together, these works ask us toconsider what we keep, what we return to, and what holds us. We are invited to enter this space of continuum, where photographs become conduits between generations, between past and present, between the remembered and the reconstructed.

Hold

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition by Eli Williamson,&nbsp;Fellowship.&nbsp;The exhibition will be on display from January 24 - March 1, 2026.In&nbsp;Fellowship, South Side Chicago native and photo essayist Williamson&nbsp;visually&nbsp;explores the sacred spaces where Black men and boys learn, grow, and heal in each other’s presence. Through imagery, the exhibition asks: Where are the rituals that teach manhood?&nbsp;Fellowship&nbsp;is an installment of Williamson's ongoing series,&nbsp;The Four Virtues,&nbsp;a four-part monograph that cements the virtue of Black men and boys through images and writing.Fellowship&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.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.

Eli Williamson: Fellowship

Anne Loucks Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibition featuring the work of Lisa Ridgers and Linc Thelen. The show will be on view in our Glencoe gallery at 309 Park Avenue until March 2nd. Please join us for a reception with the artists this Saturday, January 24th from 4 - 6 pm (this has been rescheduled from January 23rd due to cold weather) Lisa Ridgers is known for her abstract compositions that balance harmonious color, movement, and emotion. Her recent paintings invoke a quiet presence, soft palette, and intuitive visual rhythm. Linc Thelen's work represents his ongoing study of color, texture, form and light. His abstract compositions focus on free-flowing organic forms, circular shapes and gestural marks, all depicted in rich saturated color.

Lisa Ridgers & Linc Thelen: Fresh Tracks

Paul Rinaldi Retrospective

Paul Rinaldi: Seeing Through Time — Selected Works from a Creative Life, a retrospective exhibition honoring the late Paul Rinaldi, a beloved Prairie State College professor who taught for over twenty-five years. This exhibition brings together a wide range of Rinaldi’s extraordinary work as a painter, tracing a creative practice that evolved from early figurative imagery to non-objective abstraction. The works reflect his lifelong commitment to experimentation, looking, and transformation, offering insight into an artist who continuously redefined his visual language. The exhibition celebrates not only Rinaldi’s artistic achievements, but also his enduring legacy as a teacher, mentor, and creative force within the Prairie State College community. Faculty are encouraged to visit the exhibition and to share this opportunity with their students. Proceeds from the sales of the work will fund the Rinaldi Family Prize in the Arts Scholarship Fund at Prairie State College.

PAUL RINALDI (1961-2025), Seeing Through Time - Selected Works from a Creative Life

ESSENCE&nbsp;witnessed by clouds&nbsp; Eight black artists. Seven men, one woman. Seven Nigerian, one American. Through spirit, story, emotion, nature, and culture, ESSENCE reflects the truth that every human being carries within them a light that gives life value, direction, and meaning, and gives voice to the desire to leave something meaningful behind. Opening Reception: February 21, 2026, 5-9 PM ShadowBoxX Gallery, 116 Washington St, Waukegan IL Zoom Collectors Preview/Artist Talk: Friday February 20, 9 AM

Essence

Women Artists in the Field

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;In Paper &amp; Shadow. The exhibition will be on display from&nbsp;February 21 - March 15, 2026, and will be free and open to the public. Sarah Nguyen is a mixed media artist, working primarily with paper. Storytelling is central to her hand-cut fiber panels and paintings. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions and publications. Her work has been part of exhibitions in museums and festivals, including (but not limited to) Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific Experience, the Daum Museum, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Grounds and Museum, the Truman Museum, Cheekwood Estates &amp; Gardens, and Kansas City’s 2018 Open Spaces. She has taken part in a number of artist residencies from around the world as a visiting artist and teacher, including Serbia, Bulgaria, Japan, and France, as well as the United States.

In Paper & Shadow

Choreographic Place is an exhibition program presented by Bridge, premiering at the Evanston Art Center, that explores the evolving relationships between dance, sculpture, movement, written choreography, and civic space through the framework of William Forsythe’s notion of “choreographic objects”. Bridge collective members Michelle Kranicke, David Sundry, and Michael Workman seek to expand the definition to architectural or sculptural forms designed not simply to occupy space, but to shape how bodies move, and behaviors may be regulated within it, how choreography is written and read, and how movement is negotiated collectively in shared environments.

Choreographic Place

Are you looking for an opportunity to share and discuss your creative practice? Our monthly Artist Critique Group offers a positive and productive space to develop your ideas through in-depth conversations. Bring your complete or in-progress work and join our supportive artist community. All mediums are welcome! Join us for an individual session or register for the full five session series. Series participants will have free access to all of Art Encounter's Weekend Art Walks, and will also have an opportunity to show their work in an exhibition at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in September 2026. Group meets at Space 900 Gallery in Evanston, IL. Email program leader Joanna Pinsky, Artistic Director and Co-founder of Art Encounter, at <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:joanna@artencounter.org?subject=CGN%20Art%20Encounter" target="_blank">joanna@artencounter.org</a> with any questions. When: Tuesdays, 1:00–3:00 pmWhere: Space 900, 816 Dempster St., EvanstonMember Price: $35 per session; $140 for full series of 5 sessionsNon-Member Price: $45 per session; $175 for full series of 5 sessions Spring 2026 Series: Feb. 17, Mar. 17, Apr. 21, May 19, Jun. 16 Flexible pricing is available for anyone who inquires. Please email&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(44, 175, 154);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:annie@artencounter.org?subject=Flexible%20pricing%20option%20for%20Artist%20Critique%20Group" target="_blank">annie@artencounter.org</a>&nbsp;for our “pay what you can” registration form. <a style="background-color: rgb(44, 175, 154); color: rgb(238, 247, 239);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/E3YFeWZMnmBqubrOnQPxrg" target="_blank">Register and Submit Payment</a> Visit <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.artencounter.org/artist-critique-group" target="_blank">artencounter.org/artist-critique-group</a> for more information.

The title of the exhibition is&nbsp;Her Story. The "her" of the title is our daughter, Temma Day Lowly. The title is also a bit of a feminist twist on "history." The&nbsp;Her Story&nbsp;project consists of vertical format black &amp; white paintings, each of which will be accompanied by a text (title + essay, poem, dictionary entry, etc.) written by my partner (and Temma's mother) Sherrie Lowly.&nbsp;Concurrently with paintings of the&nbsp;Her Story&nbsp;project I will be showing a current collaborative project, the&nbsp;Trio Mandorla. This large drawing also depicts Temma, but with her mother Sherrie and caregiver Ellen Herbert). Begun 3 years ago, this project involves a collaborative component wherein people who are interested can draw onto the 2 parts of the drawing that depict quilts. I have exhibited this project previously, and numerous people have joined in the participatory compontent of the piece.

Her Story

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to&nbsp;Ruth Poor: Beatrice. The exhibition will be on display from February 21 to March 18, 2026, in our Second Floor Atrium Gallery and will be free and open to the public.Beatrice&nbsp;is the culmination of a nearly year-long study and performative execution of "grief-work" as a means to ground oneself amidst the shared loss of environmental sanctity, bodily autonomy, and community from rising authoritarianism, Christo-fascism, and consumerism.&nbsp;Ruth L. Poor, an interdisciplinary artist, embraces an evolving process of creation rooted in research and journaling/sketching as observation. Often implementing or commenting on spiritual/religious practice and ritual as it intersects with the macrocosm of American history and politics, alongside the parallelism of the personal.&nbsp;

Ruth Poor: Beatrice

Join us on Thursday, February 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, for an exhilarating evening as we unveil a captivating new show at the Kavanagh Gallery!&nbsp;Meet some of the artists and other members of your Fine Line community and view the incredible art.This reception, like all Fine Line receptions, is free and open to everyone. Light refreshments will be served. Artists' talks and award presentations will begin at 6.30 pm.

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