Welcome, Lisa Nemacheck, and the Yellow Heart Memorial. You can see it during all normal open hours in our atrium, the student entrance to our building, off the parking lot on the north side of our building.
Author: James Lynch
Ivan Hernandez Salinas: From Intern to Faculty
Meet Ivan Hernandez Salinas, a faculty member at The Art Center. Ivan came to the center in the summer of 2020 as an intern – and we all know how that worked out. With no live summer camp or classes, Ivan and Executive Director James M. Lynch created a new plan. Drawing on his experience as a graffiti artist they approached Curt’s Cafe, a local not-for-profit with ties to the arts community, and offered them a mural for the side of their Highland Park facility.
Ivan held brainstorm sessions with Curt’s Cafe students and came up with a design idea. Because of COVID strictures, the work had to be done in small groups, over time, but Ivan managed to create an 8×8′ mural entitled ‘Rise Up’. He made sure that each of the students got a chance to add their own brushwork to the finished piece, creating a sense of pride and ownership.
This summer Ivan returned to The Art Center as a full-fledged faculty member, leading several of the summer camp sessions and contributing as an artist to several projects, including ‘Draw Together’ and the recent National Night Out, sponsored by the Highland Park Police Department. A favorite with students and staff, Ivan heads back to Illinois State University on August 16 to finish his final year of studies, a culmination of years of hard work and a much-deserved reward.
The youngest of 3 boys, Ivan’s family is from Waukegan, where his brothers are in construction. As a teen he worked in landscaping and construction and came to Highland Park High School as part of an outreach initiative, earning a spot in the College Bound Opportunities program, and a Minority Teachers Scholarship. It was his mentor, Allan Rossman, who introduced him to the art center with support from local philanthropist Jonathan Plotkin. “Things have worked out great,” says Ivan, “and I will always feel like part of the TAC team, no matter where I go or where life leads me.”
Follow Ivan on Instagram: _Chico_brown_
Draw Together – a community-wide art event
Board member and event co-chair David Wigodner shares a little bit about the upcoming event.
The Art Center Highland Park Will Never Look the Same
Starting mid-April of this year The Art Center Highland Park will feature a new
website with a more dynamic ‘look and feel’, according to Executive Director James M. Lynch. That’s not the only change coming in the next few weeks, as the 61-year old not-for-profit arts organization looks to a dynamic, energy-charged future. Aside from a new overall look, the new website will feature an updated Mission and Vision Statement and, for the first time in many years, a completely redesigned logo.
“We are extremely lucky to have some amazingly talented board members who offered their services pro bono,” says Shana Guthman, Board President. “The team worked for months, brainstorming, doing market research, presenting ideas, and working in a committee specially created for this purpose. When they pre
sented the results of this months-long project to the full board, the response was unanimous approval.”
Debbie Hall, board member and past board president, of MindsView Innovation, led the brand strategy committee. The challenge was to make the TAC brand more relevant and important to the target consumers, especially young families who are once again moving into the area. For TAC it is important to reach the art ‘dabblers’ and experimenters of all ages, and also the skilled and advanced artists looking to learn, grow and create. Another segment that TAC is targeting is the ‘Arts Edu-tainment’ seekers, from the art curious to art enthusiasts looking for cool city culture in a convenient, suburban location.
Associate Board members Rietje and Sam Becker of Rietje and Sam Design, stepped up to do the design work that would complete the new ‘package’. They presented three concepts to the committee, with the major challenge that all three were ‘winners’. Ultimately the team decided on a logo which was based on the actual shape of TAC’s building that will ‘frame’ social media, banners and marketing and be featured on a new line of t-shirts, aprons, pins and tote bags, plus other ‘swag’, soon to be featured in the new online gift shop.
“With these new developments, we’ve opened up a whole new world of possibilities,” says Lynch, “As we expand to be not only an arts center, but a cultural center, with new classes on offer, new programs like the monthly ‘Sunday Salons’, where creative artists from multiple genres, film, dance, theatre, will present and discuss their work. It is not just a win-win for us and the community, it’s a win-win-win for our extended community, for our growing national and international partners, and for the supporters who have stood by and invested in the growth and success of The Art Center Highland Park for 61 years.”
For more information on art classes, events, and other activities, visit: theartcenterhp.org or call 847-432-1888.
TAC is located at 1957 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, with plenty of street parking available, only three blocks from the Metra Stop. Hours are Monday-Friday, 10AM-4PM, Saturday, 12-4PM.
Talking to Judith Joseph in TAC Talk
Get to know the TAC Faculty
Ana Spencer continues her series of TAC Talks, this time with Judith Joseph, multi-talented teacher, artist and, surprisingly, former sailing instructor.
In View 2021: Members and Faculty Exhibit
For those that can’t make it to see the exhibit live (Monday-Friday, 10-4, Saturday 12-4) at 1957 Sheridan Road, here are the images you’d see. If you are interested in purchasing one of these pieces please reach out to us at info@theartcenterhp.org
TAC Talks Highlight our Teachers: Amy Butts and Eloise Heinrich
Long-time TAC teacher, Ana Spencer Reed, talks to two of our teachers in an ongoing series. Find out more about our teachers by watching these videos and find out more about our classes by CLICKING HERE.
Two TAC Talks and Three Teachers
TAC Faculty Ana Spencer interviews some of our faculty members. Check out the conversation and then check out our classes.
Videos: Of Time and Place
These fantastic videos, dealing with our topic of COVID and its effects, were submitted by local video artists Spencer Sabath and Tema Temamnesh Summerfield as part of a project at Highland Park High School. Great work.
Sell your Movie! Introduction to Screenplay Marketing
Do you have a story to tell? Sign up now!
Whether you’re contemplating writing a screenplay, completed one you’re unsure how to market, or you are a producer attached to one: Oritte will take you through the story fundamentals and marketing strategies that can make your project stand out to financiers, producers, talent, and agents. She will also demystify the filmmaking landscape from a buyer’s perspective and the how-tos of packaging and submission.
Oritte Bendory is a Hollywood screenwriter and writing coach, with a sci-fi screenplay in development at Amblin Entertainment (Steven Spielberg’s studio) and a thriller script sold to Twentieth Century Fox & in pre production at STX Films (of “Hustlers”). She has also written, developed and produced independent films and secured financing for award winning shorts and features.
Find out more about Oritte at her website https://www.thepitchsmith.com/
The instructor will teach this live online class via Zoom. Please download Zoom on the device of your choice and sign up. Computer: www.zoom.us. Phone or Tablet: download the app. At least one day prior to the class, you will receive an email with instructions on how to enter your Zoom meeting. This will include a unique URL address and a meeting code.
FRONT LINE WORKERS/MILITARY: Use code FLWM10 to receive $10 off each class.