COMMUNITY-CENTERED

Artist Dimitri Pavlotsky at work. Pavlotsky has been invited to jury the submissions for the open call portraiture show in the spring.

By Kelley White | Photos provided by Taylor Egan and Rita Grendze

Step into a space brimming with beauty: The long-awaited Geneva Center for the Arts invites you to celebrate the artistry and impact the local creative community has to offer. Through unique exhibitions, inclusive programming and thoughtful collaboration, Geneva Center for the Arts hopes to spark important conversations and inspire creativity in a space devoted to community. “I think art bridges a gap that may exist between people with different perspectives,” says Taylor Egan, director. “An art gallery becomes a safe space for people to come and think and create meaningful discourse over important issues, even though they may not agree or see eye to eye.” A full experience is already on the docket, with a comprehensive schedule of exhibitions and programming planned into the next year — not just for adults, but students as well. “My goal is to offer up

Geneva Center for the Arts is hosting “Improv for Beginners” class. It begins Feb. 2., 2022 — register online!

our space for kids to find their people and feel the freedom to share or explore their art and their talent,” says Egan. “To give them that safe space is such an important move for the younger residents of our community.” Egan also strives to create a strong bond between the art center and local businesses. “Everything we do will somehow be connected to a local business,” she notes. “For example, we’ve started a new Art Local Eat Local program where all of our openings will be tied to a local restaurant and 10% of the proceeds, after the opening, will come back to the art center.” Artist liaison Rita Grendze highlights some of the exhibitions you can enjoy in the coming months. “We have an open call in December we are calling “LuminoUS” for artists that live and work in Geneva,” she says. “The opening will coincide with the weekend of the Christmas Walk and the tree lighting. We want it to be a true celebration of starting something new as well as an event for the artists in our community that have done so much to make sure the art center could happen.” A solo exhibition starting mid-January entitled “Internal Wanderings” will feature local artist Ana Žanić’s exquisitely imaginative works. “She is what artists around here aspire to be,” notes Grendze. “Her work is incredibly beautiful.” The center is working to build a wide artistic scope.

�ani�’s has given her solo show the title "Inner Wanderings" and will be showing both her abstract watercolors and some of her small clay pieces. Here she stands with her monumental watercolors in permanent collection at Loews Hotel in Chicago, according to Grendze.

“It’s important to keep in mind when we talk about the arts at the Geneva Center, we’re not limited to visual artists,” explains Doug Grier, enrichment coordinator. “We’re really taking a broader view to include performance, literary and film arts.” Grier outlines an example of performance art that will be taught at the center. “One of the things we’ll be doing is offering improv training and that will start in February,” explains Grier. “Improv is a uniquely Chicago art form, and so it is endemic to this area and something we want to present.” Geneva Center for the Arts has set the stage to make an impact on the Geneva community, offering a full range of artistic opportunities and showcasing mastery within a diverse artistic landscape. Egan wishes to foster a welcoming atmosphere in the space. “It is open to artists, art enthusiasts or even people that don’t know a lot about art but have been curious,” she says. “We really want to offer a full cultural arts experience to Geneva.”

 GENEVA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 321 Stevens St., Geneva 630-345-6762 www.genevaartscenter.org

Kathy Green, Mill Creek resident