Galleries

Gallery Opening Reception

February 9th, 6-9pm

Exhibition runs February 9th - March 3rd

Join us this Friday for our monthly Second Friday Gallery Opening! This exhibit features artists Joseph Mayernik, Eric Rippert, and Randal Stringer. Admission is FREE, but donations are greatly appreciated. Drinks and snacks available at our cash bar. See you there!

Let us know you’re coming!

Hopes & Dreams
Exhibition runs through March 2nd

Come visit our "Hopes & Dreams" show in the Community Gallery upstairs. This show encouraged artists to share what inspires them! This exhibit also features the "Share A Dream" initiative where low-income art students designed wood cubes to be displayed in a collective art project to show the power of Collective Dreaming! 

School of Art
Featured Classes

Martin’s Big Words: Read Aloud & Collage Workshop
Saturday, February 24th, 3:30-4:30pm
Instructor Rose White
All ages

The workshop will begin with a moving read aloud of ‘Martin’s Big Words” by Bryan Collier, a powerfully impactful look at the life and dreams of MLK. The words as well as the remarkable collage work lend themselves to meaningful discussion and creative expression. After our read aloud, we will create our own images of life, hopes and dreams using the illustrator's technique of mixed media collaging. This time for story, discussion and creative collage work engaging children and adults alike is sure to open our hearts and minds and renew our spirit of hopes and dreams!

This unique class is a fundraiser with all funds raised going directly to provide instruction and supplies to local low-income students. Please complete a free registration and bring a cash donation the day of class. Suggested donation of $20 for individuals, $40 per family.

Learn more/Register here!

Jump-start your Creative Writing (ages 14+)

4 week Course on Tuesdays

March 5th - 26th, 5-7pm

Instructors Barbara Barrows & Eric Bodwell

In this course, participants will explore four different methods for accessing their creativity and generating new writing.

The methods will include:

- Mining your life and experience

- Responding to art

- Working with constraint

- Remixing source material to create new creative works!

This class is for everyone 14+ who wants to learn the art of creative writing. Learn more about the instructors in the next section.

Learn more/Register here!

Ceramics for Young Artists (12-16)

7 Week Course on Tuesdays

Feb 27th - April 9th, 4:30-7:30pm

Instructor Jeremy Foy

Students will learn the basics of both wheel throwing and hand building techniques to create bowls, mugs, cylinders and bottle forms. Different texture and glazing techniques will be demonstrated to send students home with a collection of creations at the end of this course.

Learn more/Register here!

Welcome to our three new Instructors!

Barbara Barrows

Barbara is the co-founder and leader of the Non-Intimidating Writing Workshop - a weekly online writing workshop since 2020. This workshop is designed for writers of all levels and many genres: poetry, memoir, fiction, essay. Many of the techniques developed for these workshops will be used here.

She was the features editor and writer for the online arts magazine, Reverie Fair, a member of and reader for Waterline Writers, and a personal essay judge for the Upstate Eight Literary Festival. She works with Eric Bodwell leading workshops for the Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow. Barbara's approach to teaching is to create a space where the inner critic is distracted to allow for creative and surprising writing to occur.

Eric Bodwell

Eric Bodwell is a poet and high school teacher living in the Chicago suburbs. He has a bachelor's degree in English Education and a master’s degree in library and information science. He has worked with children, teenagers, and adults in various teaching and mentoring roles for over 30 years, 23 as a high school teacher. Since 2015, he has mentored youth spoken word poets who compete in local poetry slam competitions.  In 2020, he co-founded the Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow, an itinerant poetry writing workshop that meets in various locations around the suburbs. His work has been published in several publications, and he has been a featured reader at several events around the Chicago suburbs. He can be found online at ericbodwell.com

Lacy Foy

Meet area native, Artist and Arts Educator, Lacy Foy She had an incredibly creative, unique childhood in which open-minded problem solving, the outdoors, and a passion for creating art began.

She received a BFA at the University of Illinois at Chicago in Art Education with a focus in Conceptual Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Eastern and Western Visual Studies & Art History.

As an instructor, she engages students in a variety of materials, techniques, ideas and concepts utilizing the Artistic Process while fostering and encouraging authentic expression and a love & respect for Art. Lacy has served as a high school art teacher in the area for 20 years and has assisted in creating and maintaining the vibe and culture of our local area her entire life, in which she shares with her children and students.

Artist Opportunities

“Telling Her Story” Community Gallery Open Call
Deadline to submit: March 1st, 2024
Exhibition runs March 16th - May 31st

CALL FOR ART! Please join us for the next Community Gallery exhibit, "Telling Her Story", an exhibit celebrating women! All ages, skill levels, and mediums are welcome.  

Who inspires your art and life? Do you know a woman behind the scenes, or sometimes forgotten whose story resonates with you and we all should know? Whether it is mythological Mother Nature, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Jane Goodall, or your very own Aunt, show us artwork inspired by who you admire and think deserves more recognition. This exhibition is an ode to the often unsung, mythological, and legendary women in your life!

Included in the cost of submission is a small wood framed mirror to enhance, paint and customize as the collaborative group project portion of the exhibition. All the mirrors will be combined to create a "Mirror Wall" where we all can see our reflections in the context of all the art in the gallery and be part of the exhibit. 

Submit your work

“Rebirth” Bar Evolution Open Call
Deadline to submit: February 15th, 2024
Exhibition runs March 5th - May5th

Interested in sharing your art with the community? The Batavia Public Art Initiative is seeking artwork for its next pop-up show REBIRTH hosted at Bar Evolution in Batavia, IL.

Learn more/submit your work

Batavia Public Art Initiative

Come visit Small Wonders at The Batavia Public Art Initiative Pop-up Gallery in Bar Evolution. Enjoy the works of nine talented artists that celebrate intention and admiring the Small Wonders all around us, on exhibit now through March 3rd. 

Community Partners

Brother Chimp Brewing and Gallery
Featuring Rebecca MacLachlan and Jim Jenkins
Opening Reception Feb 22nd, 6pm

Brother Chimp Brewing has teamed with Water Street Studios to bring to Brother Chimp’s Gallery walls the work of outstanding local and regional artists. Join friends of Brother Chimp Brewing and Water Street Studios at the opening reception for the inaugural show featuring the work of Rebecca MacLachlan and Jim Jenkins on February 22 beginning at 6PM.

Location: 1059 West Orchard Road, North Aurora, IL 60542

Phone: 630-800-1724

Email: [email protected]