When a series of Evanston businesses closed earlier this year, the city rushed to fill their empty spaces with sculpture, paintings and photography. Rather than generate revenue, the growing number of displays of local art now foster culture in a new trend that is changing the look and feel of the city.
The aesthetic makeover of downtown Evanston foretastes a series of festivities in the city in October that will celebrate Arts and Humanities Month, a statewide initiative to drum up appreciation for the arts and humanities.
Every year Evanston hails the beginning of October with Arts Week, a seven-day showcase of local artists’ work and performances. This year, however, the city will host art-related events almost every day in October as part of the Arts and Humanities Month program started by the state of Illinois in 2008. Designed to promote local talent, the event will also use Northwestern University facilities and affiliates.
“We were having trouble with Arts Week, because there are so many art organizations and artists that we would end up leaving out a lot of organizations who wanted to showcase,” said Jill Brazel, a local photographer and chair of the Evanston Arts Council. “This month is an opportunity to include more organizations and have a little more variety.”
The Council comprises a network of volunteers who are also part of Evanston’s professional art scene.
Extending Arts Week to a month-long event will also boost the city’s cooperation with Northwestern, Brazel said.
“We usually miss what’s going on at Northwestern, but having a whole month helps,” she said. “This is probably the most they have been involved.”
As part of the program, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall and Josephine Louis Theatre will host several performances, while the Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art will feature local artists’ work.
Moreover, the Humanities Department will put on a lecture series in the Evanston Public Library featuring NU professors. The event also includes a performance by the Northwestern Symphony Orchestra, as well as a special “March with the Wildcat Marching Band” geared towards Evanston families.
“My lecture wasn’t originally planned to be part of this larger city initiative,” said history professor Edward Muir, who will be speaking at the public library on Oct 8. “But it’s definitely great to promote and be involved.”
As part of Arts and Humanities Month, the next round of Art Under Glass displays — the program that fills empty stores with art — will replace the current group of pieces that have occupied storefronts along Orrington Avenue since June.
The initiative began as a way for business and art to come together, according to Penny Rotheiser, co-chair of the Arts and Business Committee of the Evanston Arts Council.
“There’s been a good response. The community seems to like it,” Rotheiser said. “Artists get to showcase their work, and it also brings more attention to those empty windows… so it’s a win-win situation.”
Rotheiser added that Art Under Glass will continue as long as there are empty store windows in Evanston.
The recent trend, Brazel said, also shows that economically hard times seem to correlate with a renewed interest in arts in Evanston and beyond.
“One thing that happens, especially when the economy is bad, is that people… start expressing themselves,” Brazel added. “And going to see art is an inexpensive and cool way to check out the city.”
The festivities begin with a kickoff reception on Oct. 2 at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center that will feature music, dance and theater. The program will showcase everything from the visual arts to dance and theater performances to literature discussions.
“We want everyone to know what treasures we have,” Brazel said. “It’s our chance to show off!”