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 Us for an In-Person Presentation by Evanston/California Photobook Artist Richard (Chip) Hay, Jr. on Thursday, September 24, 2026, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at 1310 1/2 B Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL. You are invited to meet Richard (Chip) Hay, Jr. as he presents and leads a discussion on his inaugural photobook, Resounding with Echoes: Sojourns across Africa and America. (Kehrer Verlag, 2026). Through a nuanced interplay of black-and-white and color photography, Hay traces quiet correspondences between West Africa and the Americas, offering a lyrical meditation on everyday life across geography and time. Framed by an essay by renowned Nigerian author Emmanuel Iduma, the images are situated within a broader reflective context, collapsing temporal distance and proposing photography as a means of attentive witnessing—one that honors the ordinary while acknowledging the layered histories embedded within it. As part of the discussion, Hay will also provide his insights into the process of using images from a multi-decade archive to create a printed photo volume. Reviews of Resounding with Echoes have appeared in About Photography and in All About Photo. More information about the book can also be found on his website: RHayPhotography.com. About the Artist Richard (Chip) Hay visually explores the dynamics between people and the environments that they create and inhabit.&nbsp;Reflecting his interests and training in sociology, architecture, photography and design, Hay views built and natural environments as cultural manifestations of people and their societies. Hay has exhibited in several group shows including those at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, the Los Angeles Center of Photography, PhotoPlace Gallery, Blue Ski Gallery and the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel.&nbsp;&nbsp;He studied photography at Northwestern University, where he earned a PhD in Sociology.&nbsp;He lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area.

Gallery Talk and Book Presentation with Richard (Chip) Hay, Jr.

Block Cinema launches its 25th-anniversary season with Olivier Assayas’s IRMA VEP (1996), the film that opened its inaugural program in September 2001. Starring Maggie Cheung as a Hong Kong actor cast in a troubled Parisian remake of Louis Feuillade’s silent serial LES VAMPIRES, the film moves across a century of cinema while exploring creativity, cultural exchange, and reinvention. Its global perspective and expansive sense of film history make it a fitting beginning for Projecting the Future: Block Cinema at 25, a year-long celebration of the moving image. The connection continues October 14 with a 16mm presentation of “Hypnotic Eyes,” the sixth episode of LES VAMPIRES (1916), accompanied live by Chicago musicians Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart. Projecting the Future: Block Cinema at 25 is a year-long series of screenings, performances, conversations, and special initiatives celebrating Block Cinema’s twenty-fifth anniversary and exploring the evolving possibilities of the moving image.

Projecting the Future: Block Cinema at 25

CAVA's Signature Annual Juried Exhibition&nbsp;Later Impressions&nbsp;Opens August 7 at The Art Center Highland Park (Highland Park, IL). More than ninety contemporary works by artists age 50 and older will fill the galleries of The Art Center Highland Park when the Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists (CAVA) presents Later Impressions, its signature annual juried exhibition and longest-running yearly exhibition, August 7 through September 26, 2026. The exhibition marks CAVA's first partnership with The Art Center Highland Park and showcases artwork created within the past two years, emphasizing the continued creativity and vitality of experienced artists.&nbsp;&nbsp;Selected from more than 230 submissions, the exhibition features 93 works spanning painting, photography, printmaking, encaustic, pastel, mixed media, and sculpture in bronze, wood, metal, assemblage, and other media. Installed throughout the Main Gallery, the Cindi Elkins Gallery, the main foyer, and additional first-floor spaces, the exhibition offers visitors an immersive fine art experience.&nbsp;Fellow Highland Park artist Julie Scoma describes her acrylic painting “Clouds” as quiet and meditative, adding that she values CAVA because "so often people don't find their art until later in life."CAVA’s Exhibition Manager Susan Bennett believes The Art Center Highland Park provides an exceptional setting for CAVA's signature exhibition, allowing visitors to experience the remarkable diversity of the artwork. James Lynch, Executive Director of The Art Center Highland Park, called the exhibition "a wonderful way to close out our gallery season. Many of CAVA's members regularly exhibit at TAC, and we're excited to welcome both familiar and new artists into our galleries,” while TAC Gallery Manager Caleb Smith said the exhibition will foster new artistic connections and creative collaborations.Awards of Excellence, including Best in Show, will be presented during the Opening Reception on Friday, August 14, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., with awards announced at approximately 6:30 p.m. Admission to both the exhibition and reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. All artwork is available for purchase with proceeds supporting independent artists and The Art Center Highland Park.CAVA will also present its annual Learning Symposium on Saturday, September 26, from noon to 3:00 p.m. at The Art Center Highland Park. Topics include estate planning for visual artists, the VibrantCast digital platform, and a panel discussion on gallery representation for older artists. The symposium is free for CAVA members and open to the public for a $10 fee.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;About CAVAFounded in 1988, the Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting, exhibiting, and promoting experienced visual artists through exhibitions, education, professional development, and community engagement. Learn more about&nbsp;CAVA, its events and exhibitions, or to become a member at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wearecava.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.wearecava.org</a>.&nbsp;About The Art Center Highland ParkThe Art Center Highland Park is the North Shore's home for artistic discovery and creative exploration, offering exhibitions, classes, and programs for artists and the community. Learn more at&nbsp;<a href="http://theartcenterhp.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">theartcenterhp.org</a>.&nbsp;The Art Center Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road in Highland Park IL and is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. -- 4:00 p.m.&nbsp;Closed Sundays.

Later Impressions

Join Art Encounter at the Ravenswood studio of Chicago painter Marcia Festen to explore her unique process of painting with ink, pigment powder, oil pastels, and other media on flexible, translucent film. See how Marcia’s large-scale works explore change through loosely-drawn organic imagery that does not resolve into a fixed or final structure. Engage in a lively discussion of Marcia’s work, watch a demonstration of her process, and have the chance to step into the artist’s shoes by experimenting with materials and intuitive mark-making. No experience is necessary! The event will be led by Art Encounter’s Alex Stevenson and Sarah Packer. Visit <a href="https://www.artencounter.org/materials-and-mark-making" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">artencounter.org/materials-and-mark-making</a> to register.

Materials and Mark Making: Marcia Festen Studio Visit

In-person&nbsp;Artist’s Talk:&nbsp;Thursday Sept. 17th, 7 PM.&nbsp; The Gallery will host a show by Perspective member William Bridges. Titled “MY Photographic Memory?”, this exhibit features recent work in which he explores an alternate possible linkage between memory and photography.&nbsp;He writes, “Some people are said to have “photographic memories”, the ability to recall comprehensive, detailed pictures of everything they have ever seen.&nbsp;I am asserting that everyone has a photographic memory, but that the type of visual image differs from one person to the next. What I am trying to offer here are not crystallized pictures of the past, but photographs of how my recollections appear in my head.”&nbsp;

Bill Bridges: MY Photographic Memory

In-person&nbsp;Artist’s Talk:&nbsp;Thursday Sept. 17th, 7 PM.&nbsp; Perspective Gallery is proud to present a new show by fine art photographer, Maria Finitzo. It will be the first public viewing of her work, titled, Ice &amp; Light which revisits a body of photographs made in 1993 on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic, one of the most remote and rapidly changing landscapes on earth. Unresolved at the time of their making, the original color transparencies were set aside for three decades before being rediscovered. Their return underscores both the material endurance of analog photography and the fragility of the subjects depicted. The ice shelves of northern Ellesmere Island, among the oldest in the Northern Hemisphere, have since undergone significant loss due to climate change, rendering these images a record of a landscape in disappearance.The Gallery will also host a companion show by Perspective member William Bridges. Titled “MY Photographic Memory?”, this exhibit features recent work in which he explores an alternate possible linkage between memory and photography.&nbsp;He writes, “Some people are said to have “photographic memories”, the ability to recall comprehensive, detailed pictures of everything they have ever seen.&nbsp;I am asserting that everyone has a photographic memory, but that the type of visual image differs from one person to the next. What I am trying to offer here are not crystallized pictures of the past, but photographs of how my recollections appear in my head.”&nbsp;

Maria Finitzo: Ice and Light

Winnetka Gallery - 564 Lincoln AvenueAnne Loucks Gallery is pleased to annnouce the opening of Summer Days, a solo exhibition featuring photographer, Joshua Jensen-Nagle. The show features sixteen of the artist's large scale works from his Dreams and Journeys, Endless Summer and American Vacation series.Jensen-Nagle is well known for his captivating photographs of beaches, mountains, parks, and grand public spaces. His images capture aerial views of leisure and travel, rendering figures as colorful, semi-abstract elements bathed in light and immersed in the beauty of their surroundings. Details of sun soaked beaches, majestic landscapes, and dramatic architecture become a distant memory, as he transforms his images into a dream state for the viewer. His photos invite viewers into the frame to form their own interpretations. “My lens is not meant to document a reality, but rather attempts to capture a feeling experienced within the photograph, allowing the viewer to reflect on their own memories and dreams.Please stop in the Winnetka gallery to see the show and celebrate summer ~ we'd love to see you!

Joshua Jensen-Nagle: Summer Days

September Exhibit: Julie CowanExhibit:&nbsp;Garden Geometry LithographsSeptember 1 - 30, 2026 ﻿On Friday, September 11th, the Hubbard Woods Design District will once again come alive with its monthly First (Actually Second) Friday event! The evening will include more than 15 participating businesses throughout the neighborhood and feature promotions, complementary cocktails, live music, and more.

Julie Cowan: Garden Geometry Lithographs

Photography historian Greg Foster-Rice examines the relationship between picture-making and lived urban experience.

The Modern Metropolis & Images of the City

Please join us on Sunday, October 4 at 4pm for the next in our series of “Perspectives on Photography” events. We’re honored to host Chicago native Patty Carroll for this free, in-person presentation.Patty Carroll is known for her use of highly intense, saturated color photographs that delight viewers with playful critiques of home and excess. Her ongoing project, “Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise,” is a series of studio installations made for the camera, addressing women and their complicated relationships with domestic life. The resulting photos (made on a full-size “stage”) humorously comment on the mania of running and decorating a home. The objects take over, leading to mishaps and mayhem for the lone figure of a woman. More than 175 “Anonymous Women” have been photographed by Carroll over the years.In a 2024 interview with NewCity Chicago, Carroll revealed some of the strategy behind the staging of the life-size mannequins in her dioramas. “You never see their faces,” she says. “The best response I get is from women who walk around the show and say, ‘That one is me.’ They relate to the domestic situation we’ve created, whether it is collections of crap, a kitchen scene or multitasking.”Carroll’s photographs are exhibited on a dramatically large scale, and previous iterations have been published in several books. The series has been exhibited internationally, has won multiple awards, and has been acknowledged as one of Photolucida’s “Top 50” in 2014 and in 2017, and has been featured in prestigious blogs and international magazines such as the Huffington Post, the BJP in Britain, and NYT LensBlog, Washington Post Insight, Vanity Fair, Italia, and many others. Lecture/Discussion:Sunday, October 4, 2026, In-person4 PM at Perspective GallerySeating is limited and late comers may be turned away. We invite you to arrive early and visit our current exhibition before the event. Regular Gallery Hours:Thursday - Saturday, Noon - 6 PMSunday, Noon - 5 PM Address:&nbsp;1310-½ B Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201Dempster CTA Station (Purple Line) is just two blocks from the Gallery.Founded in 2010 Perspective Group and Photography Gallery is a not-for-profit, community-oriented cooperative of fine art photographers whose purpose is to promote fine art photography. In addition to monthly exhibitions and artist talks, the gallery features:&nbsp;Perspectives on Photography, a guest speaker lecture series;&nbsp;Lens, an international juried exhibition; an annual invitational show;&nbsp;Vicinity, a juried exhibition of photographers from the greater Chicago area; and,&nbsp;Student Perspectives, an annual, juried exhibit for Chicago-area high school students.

Perspectives on Photography: Lecture and Discussion by Patty Carroll

Aspects of Nature is a two-person gallery show by Jay Walsh and Carol Zack, both of whom teach at Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles. Jay Walsh is a ceramic artist who has been playing in the mud for years. Having been introduced to ceramics in high school and continuing in college, Walsh has been teaching ceramics for several decades. Walsh says the chemistry of glaze and clay has always appealed to him. For the past couple of years, he has been exploring crystalline firings. The process of crystalline glazing combines chemistry, application, and variable firing schedules. The crystals are grown on the glaze surface, much as they do in nature, reminiscent of frost on windows, agates, snow, and other natural patterns. Walsh says, “I love teaching and creating work from clay. There is always something new and exciting to learn in this art form. Rabbit holes are everywhere when it comes to ceramics. You can dedicate your life to ceramics and there is always more to explore”. Like Walsh, Carol Zack has been teaching at Fine Line for many years. Having always enjoyed finding beautiful places to explore and realizing that artistic expression is everywhere, high school and college formed the basis of her training in Fine Arts, along with teaching certification/ Zack loves playing in the paint, particularly with soft and oil pastels, both of which seem extra-sensory and immediate, and can be quickly pushed and manipulated into beautiful, colorful layers and textures with just fingers and blenders. Just paper and pastel sticks are all she needs. As she says, “The advantage to working with pastel is that it never dries, so you can leave it and return to the painting, picking up where you left off. Clean-up is also less complicated than with other painting media”.

Aspects of Nature

Journalist Natalie Y. Moore discusses the newly opened Obama Presidential Center and its impact on Chicago’s architectural and racial landscape in conversation with historian Leslie M. Harris.

Our Changing City: The Obama Presidential Center

Amy Morrison Heinrich, Honorary Chair &amp;&nbsp;Elizabeth Pruett, Chair Honoring 2026 Environmental Leadership Award RecipientKARENNA GOREAuthor, Climate Activist, and Founder of the Center for Earth Ethics ​​SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 20266:00 PMCHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL <a href="https://brushwoodcenter.org/43rd-annual-smith-nature-symposium/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TICKETS AND SPONSORSHIP</a>

43rd Annual Smith Nature Symposium Awards Dinner

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition, <a href="https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/exhibitions/nancy-good-layl-mcdill-and-jemsy-pradunn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Unseen Connections | Nancy Good, Layl McDill, and Jemsy Pradunn</a>. The exhibition will be on display from September 12 - October 11, 2026 with a closing reception on Sunday, October&nbsp; 11, 1-3pm and an artist talk on Saturday, September 12, 2026 from 1-3pm. Mostly known for mural-sized, physically-interactive/immersive conceptual abstracts, Las Vegas artist Nancy Good's practice is rooted in an unwavering passion to create strong contemporary art that invites dialogue and human connection. Layl McDill grew up in Gillette, Wyoming, where her early works were dollhouses, marionettes, and even an entire “Smurf Village.” Polymer clay has been her medium of choice, using the millefiori technique and mixed media materials. Jemsy Pradunn is a Chicago born and based artist currently attending the School of the Art Institute. Pradunn uses markers, crayons, and paint markers on paper to inspire others to open their perspective and imagination.

Unseen Connections | Nancy Good, Layl McDill, and Jemsy Pradunn

Gloria Contreras: Corazón de Papel, Mexican Cartonería Sculpture is an event running from September 15 to October 14. There will be a public reception on Wednesday, September 16, from 11am to 1pm.

Gloria Contreras: Corazón de Papel, Mexican Cartonería Sculpture

Charlotte Kaplan: This is Knot Art!

Enriching Life Retrospective (Heeyoung Kim and Brushwood Botanical Artists)

Enriching Life Retrospective

Co-curator Eduardo Bello leads an in-gallery conversation about the exhibition.

Curator's Talk:  Modernity in the Making

At Ease In Nature: Nature Holds Our Stories is an event taking place from October 7 to October 24 at the Carnegie Library in Waukegan. The event is associated with Brushwood Gallery, located at 21850 N. Riverwoods Rd., Riverwoods (60015). For more information, visit www.brushwoodcenter.org.

At Ease In Nature: Nature Holds Our Stories

Art Encounter is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of our mural program with special programs throughout the year! This October, join Executive Director and mural program co-founder Lea Pinsky for a guided behind-the-scenes walking tour of the large-scale artworks that have transformed Downtown Evanston over the past decade. See some brand new projects, hear stories about the artists and the origins of the artworks, and learn what's coming next for our mural program. Visit artencounter.org/downtown-evanston-mural-tour-2026 to register.

Downtown Evanston Mural Tour

The Art Center's massive annual showcase of recycled and rediscovered artwork.We are proud to announce that the&nbsp;2026 Recycled Art Sale&nbsp;will be bigger, and filled with more treasures, than ever before.&nbsp; Over the last year, donors have dropped off a record number of donations. The art at&nbsp;Recycled&nbsp;is carefully curated and priced to be affordable. Make sure you get your ticket for opening night below, or join us during the week of the sale for free.&nbsp; First Look Entry:Friday, Oct 16 | 5 pm Opening Night Event:Friday, Oct 16 | 6 pm Opening WeekendSaturday, Oct 17 | 10 am – 4 pmSunday, Oct 18 | 12 pm – 4 pm Free Entry:Monday, Oct 19 – Saturday, Oct 24<a href="https://rkcgwygbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001shdM4pYLrrQHSx7IJCzsIYZedukQGSp5GKA088AOyu5MHbVyfqYWX5O2pBY0TZXhTMGplt9A5bovGShmr_MhLVKKiTGVvbWQEn9O3jgH5reMsJt4HuigkhsUM_jvoeYfRCUJ_oEEDHrY4OVUG8QEshjmmsnfPL7N0zFUj336NNcBtkfEN6NQgeSOrUreiMQ6PkMRMGvNljo6lt3GYv9GftlIZpiKBo6TTpLSzH1Fs7srj3kjhe8SLMwxIT7I0_e-3njmeL0i6IB44ngqbvKFUg4-nrSJ5NAVCOCqENYkGPcHFHhJle143w==&amp;c=SQKm9DDLdpMQLf-CGyUwqJpILvUjkmq4gB6Co3Gfv3QwsRN6YmalGw==&amp;ch=belmXMhoSl8-jaeyjf0Ex2ByYEuxGjfP2Y85OeEJ5FhF2kFtpno0aw==" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get your tickets here</a>

Recycled 2026

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition, <a href="https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/exhibitions/sarah-sipling" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sarah Sipling | Solo Exhibition</a>. The exhibition will be on display from September 19 - October 25, 2026 with an opening reception on Sunday, September 27, 1-3pm that will be free and open to the public. “I focus on the many possibilities of printmaking, combining traditional and digital techniques. Each printmaking method has a unique visual language and communicative power and I often combine techniques and reimagine the possibilities of each method. My work questions political issues focusing on ideas of protest, power, and perception.” – Sarah Sipling Sarah Sipling is a mixed media artist and printmaker. Sipling received her MFA in Printmaking from Rhode Island School of Design and BFA in Printmaking from Purchase College, State University of New York. She lives and works in New York and Kansas City.

Sarah Sipling | Solo Exhibition

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition, <a href="https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/exhibitions/amy-hanks-over-sea-under-stone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amy Hanks | Over Sea Under Stone</a>. The exhibition will be on display from September 19 - October 25, 2026 with an opening reception on Sunday, September 27, 1-3pm that will be free and open to the public. "My art practice is informed by nonlinear, spirit-filled narratives. I’m inspired by icons, tarot cards, lotería, memoirs, kachina dancers, children’s stories, illuminated manuscripts, and more.I layer, scrape, draw, paint, sew, reveal, and obscure as an analogy to life's transformative journeys over unfamiliar and unexpected landscapes. Through this process, I grapple with earthy and mystic subjects such as time travel, uncertainty, humor, grief and delight.” – Amy Hanks Amy Hanks graduated with a BFA from the University of Texas and an MFA from the University of Michigan, where she was a Rackham Fellow. She has been awarded an Individual Artist Grant from the State of Illinois and is a 2024 Fulbright Fellow Alumni.&nbsp;

Amy Hanks | Over Sea Under Stone

Working in many translucent layers of muted colors helps Jacoby to achieve a quiet quality. The soft-focus quality of her work is used to enhance the delicate haziness and add to the sense of serene, untouched nature. Jacoby says she strives to capture the mood rather than the details by focusing on any atmospheric conditions or elements that deflect or mask the light, blur the details, and leave you wondering what's beyond. An opening planned for October 2 will coincide with the gallery's regularly scheduled First Fridays.

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