Over 50 area artists to be featured at Side Street Studio Arts' anniversary exhibit
On Friday, March 1, Side Street Studio Arts, 15 Ziegler Court in downtown Elgin, is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a night of art making, visual art, live music, and more from 6 to 10 p.m. The event is all ages and open to the public. There is a $5 suggested donation at the door.
The event is sponsored by the EFS Foundation, Elgin Public House, and the Reva & David Logan Foundation.
Since opening March 1, 2013, Side Street Studio Arts has become a home for both fringe and mainstream performing and visual artists. During 2018 alone, it hosted: 24 visual art exhibitions, 35 music performances, over 50 live art events, over 300 on-site arts education programs, over 240 hours of Community Moves arts education outreach programming, five artist-internships, three arts-admin internships, two Elgin Community College Future Workforce Leaders, weekly free gallery hours, 100 hours of activities per week, donated space for fundraising events for area organizations, coproduced the Elgin Fringe Festival and Elgin Literary Festival with the City of Elgin, and featured a downtown Elgin Gallery, Lab, and Theater that were active every all year.
The "Year 6" event is highlighted by an uncurated visual art exhibition, which features the work of over 50 area artists, including: Georgia Alderson, Sam Arnold, Christian Arrecis, Bruce Bachelder, Doc Boucher, Jamey Boumeester, David Bremer, Nakeita Brewer, Kristin Child, Val Cocks, Christian Cuellar, Ivette De Santiago, Jane Erlandson, Sandra Farrell, Michael F. Gallagher, Daniel Galvin, Tim Galvin, Christine Goetz, Katie Gregory, Rachel Iverson, Karl Jahnke, Suzann Jonson, Anton Kroncko, Jeremy Lampkin, Kathryn Lollar, Lance Long, Jessica Lopez, Jade Morem, Patrick J. Murphy III, Rico Nunes, Janelle O'Malley, Jon Oloier, Lisa Orton, Natalia Orton, Chris Palm, Lupe Pena, Jason John Phillips, Annelise Pollar, Mike Rende, Beth Ritter, Jess Rocha, Bobby Rowland, SamTheJam, Erin Schreiner, Stephen W. Schreiner, Lisa Sexton, Ken Simonsen, Charles Sourile, Laura Stoecker, Sierra Tuazon, Jack Vonty, Kimberly Witz, Alicia Zapata, and more.
"For a second year, a panel of judges will adjudicate the works and a $600 prize will be awarded to a single selected artist," said Tanner Melvin, co-founder and executive director. "The prize is sponsored by our friends at Elgin Public House."
There also will be a crowd favorite vote, and the winner of that vote will receive a yearlong Lab membership and additional prizes from Side Street Studio Arts.
The "Year 6" judges are Elgin Community College and Northern Illinois University educator and artist Peggy Dee, Kishwaukee College educator and artist Miles Halpern, area artist Melina Scotte, and "Year 5" judges' choice winner Joni Sullivan.
Judging and voting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Winners will be announced at 9 p.m.
The Lab space, located at 11 and 13 S. Spring St., hosts an ever-expanding lineup of art classes for families and adults, and new lower membership prices for area artists to gain access to darkroom, printmaking, and screen printing tools. During the "Year 6" celebration, the Lab will host live art-making demonstrations, featuring area artists, including Brewer, Erlandson, Eric Martin, Julian Medriano, Palm, and more.
"The Lab expansion has allowed us to open a greater number of arts education experiences for all ages," Melvin said. "We have found that our community is looking for easily accessible hands-on art experiences, and we are excited to be able to provide those opportunities for all ages and experience levels."
The anniversary festivities kick off with the monthly First Friday drop-in "Small Wonders" from 4:15 to 6:15 p.m. in the Theater, located at 15½ Ziegler Court. For a $5 fee, parents can drop their young artist for two hours of visual and performance art fun. This monthly event is first-come, first-served, and fills up fast.
The evening also will include performances from area bands Dramaglider and Quiet Cove, free cake donated from Elgin's Herb's Bakery, and more. All spaces will be open to the public from 6 to 10 p.m.
Side Street Studio Arts was founded by Elgin residents Melvin and Erin Rehberg in 2013 as an outlet for the Elgin arts scene. It provides educational and creative resources and an inclusive space, run by artists. Its mission is to support the artist and artistic journey through collaboration. For details, visit www.sidestreetstudioarts.org, call (847) 429-2276 or email sidestreetstudioarts@gmail.com.