Summer brings a wealth of opportunities for getting out and experiencing all the region has to offer. While concerts abound and carnivals beckon, some of our favorite summertime options can be found in the area’s parks and galleries, where works of local artists find an audience in public art fairs and shows.
So it seems like a good time to remind you that, on Waubonsee Community College’s campuses, you can access art all year long.
Our main exhibition space, the Arrowhead Gallery in Dickson Center on our Sugar Grove Campus, annually features nationally and internationally recognized artists in four solo or duo exhibits, a faculty show and at least one student exhibit. Each spring, the space features student artwork selected by a guest juror for the first tier of the annual Skyway Juried Art Competition. And every eight years, we host the entire Skyway Competition and Exhibition, a two-tiered juried art competition featuring the work of students from eight Chicago area community colleges.
Dickson Center also houses our Window Art Project Space. Able to be viewed from outside the building at any time day or night, this space features sculptures and installation pieces by Chicago area artists.
Other campus exhibition spaces focus solely on student artwork. Twice each year, we present student exhibitions in the Todd Library and in Von Ohlen Hall on our Sugar Grove Campus. Von Ohlen Hall also houses our studio art classrooms and photographic processing labs, near to which visitors can find bulletin boards and glass display cases that always showcase student artwork.The café on the first floor of our downtown Aurora Campus features rotating group and solo exhibits of student artwork.
In addition to the ever-changing temporary exhibits, the college also owns a permanent collection that is on display at our Sugar Grove, Aurora and Copley campuses. This two-pronged collection includes our ceramics collection, with works from nationally and internationally-recognized visiting artists, as well as our student collection, which covers a variety of artistic media.
The permanent student collection is enhanced each term, as the college purchases new student works to beautify spaces throughout our campuses.You can begin or start your own art collection by buying a piece of student artwork at one of our exhibitions or at our popular pottery sales, hosted by the Ceramics Club each semester.
To go beyond the works and get an insight into the creative process, Waubonsee offers a regular schedule of lectures and workshops with visiting artists. While participation in the workshops is limited to registered students, the public is welcome to attend the free lectures.
Area residents should also keep an eye out for exhibitions within the community. For instance, this month the Batavia Public Library is hosting a show, coordinated by Waubonsee student Wynette Edwards and featuring the work of Waubonsee photography students. Past exhibitions have been hosted by the Paramount Theater, the Provena McAuley Manor in Aurora and the Wendy Ellen Salon in Geneva. Waubonsee has also collaborated with the Aurora Council on the Arts and participated in the Geneva Art Fair and the Sandwich Art Fair.
This year, come out and experience Waubonsee’s vibrant art scene. Whether in a gallery, project space or at a local fair, don’t miss out on the artistic expression right in your own backyard. Visit www.waubonsee.edu/art for more information.
Sharon Garcia is the Assistant Dean for Communications, Humanities and Fine Arts.
