Art in your backyard!
The Tri-Cities have an abundance of cultural venues and activities for all to enjoy. Batavia is quickly becoming a burgeoning art community and Geneva is home to an assortment of art galleries and unique shops featuring inventive jewelry, fashion, and furniture. St. Charles has a niche all its own in the art world. The city has long held the market on bigger stage productions at extraordinary venues such as the Norris Cultural Arts Center, the Fox Valley Repertory Theatre, the Steel Beam Theatre and the Arcada Theatre. The St. Charles Arts Council (SCAC) is helping the city explore new artistic avenues through its neXt Pop Up Galleries and it’s “Art at Home” program. In addition, the Downtown St. Charles Partnership hosts the St. Charles Fine Arts Show in May, where juried artists display their creative works.
Amanda Schleede, Program Director for the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles, says that their organization draws artists from far and wide. “Most of our artists are typically from the Chicagoland area, and the majority are local, but we have students from all over who take classes here,” she explains. The Fine Line Arts Center contains the Dempsey Gallery which shows artwork done by Fine Line members that is for sale. “It’s a gallery that continually changes out,” explains Amanda. “It’s kind of like a retail gallery show where you can come in and buy work. If you needed to buy a gift for someone you could come buy something. It’s all affordable, hand-made, one-of-a-kind pieces, like scarves or jewelry.” The Fine Line Creative Arts Center, in conjunction with the SCAC, hosted the most recent neXt Pop Up Gallery which ended in late January.
Like St. Charles’ SCAC, Geneva and Batavia have art councils of their own. Each art commission is specifically tasked with enriching the art culture in their respective cities. From local artists and galleries, to festivals and award winning performances, there is a plethora of art in the Tri-Cities. Here are just some of the many ways to find Art in Your Backyard…
St. Charles Arts Council (SCAC)
630-443-3794 • stcharlesartscouncil@gmail.com
The St. Charles Arts Council’s mission is to serve and promote the arts and cultural activities in St. Charles, to the mutual benefit of the arts and the community. They are involved in many art activities around St. Charles including the neXt Pop Up Galleries, and the “Art at Home” Program. The “Art At Home” Program is an initiative of the St. Charles Arts Council intended to support artists by giving them opportunities to showcase and be compensated for their talent. The events typically take place in someone’s home and can include the work of performing artists, visual artists, culinary artists, etc.
St. Charles Fine Arts Show
May 26-27, Downtown St. Charles
downtownstcharles.org/FineArtShow
Sponsored by the Downtown St. Charles Partnership, this award-winning, highly regarded show features the work of 100 juried artists in various mediums which are exhibited and available for sale during the event. Festival goers enjoy live music and artist demonstrations throughout the weekend.
Theater/Performance
Fox Valley Repertory—Live Theater at Pheasant Run
4051 E. Main Street, St. Charles
630-584-6342 • foxvalleyrep.org
Fox Valley Repertory (FVR) is a not-for-profit Performing Arts Company dedicated to entertaining, enriching and educating lives in the Fox Valley Area. As the largest, professional arts organization in the area, FVR strives to present outstanding productions and provide exceptional education programs through the FVR Performing Arts Academy.
The Dellora A. Norris Cultural Arts Center
1040 Dunham Road, St. Charles
630-584-7200 • norrisculturalarts.com
Founded in 1978, the Dellora A. Norris Cultural Arts Center includes an art gallery and a 1,000-seat performing arts theater. It is located on the St. Charles East High School campus.
Steel Beam Theatre
111 W. Main Street, St. Charles
630-587-8521 • steelbeamtheatre.com
Steel Beam Theatre is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing high quality theatrical entertainment, training, and arts awareness to the Fox Valley community. Located in the heart of downtown St. Charles, it features a variety of adult and children’s performances as well as classes, workshops and special events.
Arcada Theatre
105 E. Main Street, St. Charles
630-962-7000 • oshows.com
Arcada Theatre is an historic 888-seat performing arts center. A vaudeville venue in its early days, the theater has been hosting a variety of performing arts acts and movies since it was refurbished in 2005.
Marquee Youth (MY) Stage
3800 E. Main Street, St. Charles • marqueeyouth.org
MYStage is a youth-driven performing arts organization dedicated to providing young performers with a variety of enrichment opportunities throughout the year. Offerings include classes, workshops and full-scale plays and musicals in comedy and drama. MyStage’s goals are to empower youth, build character, enrich minds, and serve the communities they reach through their programs.
Art Studios/Galleries
Fine Line Creative Arts Center/Dempsey Gallery
6N158 Crane Road, St. Charles
630-584-9490 • fineline.org
The Fine Line provides quality art education to promote exposure, expression, and the celebration of art. Their goal is to nurture the creative spirit in an inspirational, natural setting which engenders a sense of community. Internationally known artists teach a variety of workshops and membership draws from the Chicago area and surrounding states. There are as many as 1,100 students a year, a teaching staff of 37-plus and well over 200 class offerings a year. The center is run almost entirely by volunteers. Fine Line members’ artistic works are displayed and sold in the Dempsey Gallery, located on the first floor of the center.
La Galerie Fine Art
219 W. Main Street, St. Charles
630-584-7373 • lagalerieltd.com
Tony & Friends Art Studio
731 N. 17th Street, Unit 16, St. Charles
630-377-5377 • tonyandfriendsartstudio.com
Tony & Friends Art Studio in St. Charles teaches art workshops and classes including painting, sculpture, watercolors and more. Most workshops are taught by Tony Carnesecchi and the studio has classes for both children and adults.
neXt gallery/Pop-up Art Gallery Program
nextgallerystcharles.org
The neXt gallery is a “Pop Up” gallery, which is typically an empty storefront/office building that is transformed into a temporary art gallery for a short period of time. The neXt gallery program is an initiative of the St. Charles Arts Council designed to create energy, excitement, and opportunities for artists—as pop up galleries have done in Chicago’s Loop, Evanston, and cities around the world—and to provide opportunities for artists to showcase and be compensated for their talent. The program is called neXt gallery, because you never know where it will pop up next!
Norris Cultural Arts Center/Norris Galleries
1040 Dunham Road, St. Charles
630-584-7200 • norrisculturalarts.com
Music
The Fox Valley Academy of Music Performance
fvacademy.org
The Fox Valley Academy of Music Performance is a premier orchestra program that strives to enrich the life of Chicago’s far western suburbs through the celebration of symphonic music. It is comprised of the Fox Valley Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus as well as the Fox Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra. The Academy’s mission is to provide a challenging opportunity for musicians of all ages to study and perform great music together, while fostering creativity, friendships and life-long enrichment through the common language of music. The Academy also offers musical instrument instruction through its Access to Music program.
St. Charles Singers (SCS)
311 N. Second Street, Suite 201-B, St. Charles
630-513-5272 • stcharlessingers.com
The mission of the SCS is to perform, promote and preserve the finest choral music. This thirty-two voice, internationally-recognized, professional choir performs throughout the Chicagoland area and appears as guest performers with other arts organizations in concert including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. SCS engages in educational and community outreach through its outreach ensembles and educational scholarship programs.
Dance
3rd Street Dance & Theatre Academy, Inc.
101 S. Third Street, St. Charles
630-443-0041 • 3streetdance.com
Beth Fowler School of Dance
2400 E. Main St. Suite 107b, St. Charles
630-945-3344 • bethfowlerschoolofdance.com
Nelson Dance Center
1901 W. Main Street, St. Charles
630-584-2535 • nelsondance.com
St. Charles School of Dance
1429 W. Main Street, St. Charles
630-524-2602 • saintcharlesschoolofdance.com
Underground Arts Connection
1820 Wallace Ave., Suite 123, St. Charles
630-444-1464 • undergroundartsconnection.com
Download the complete Tri-Cities Arts Guide here.
