Blog

Dear Students.

2025 will mark our 65^th anniversary as a not-for-profit institution serving the North Shore region. We’ve seen a lot in those years and nothing as tumultuous as the past few with the COVID pandemic and then the community-shaking event of 2022. Our hope is that we’ve been that ‘welcoming space’ for you, an oasis from the pressures of the ‘outside world’ throughout it all.

As you may know, last year we increased prices for most classes by a few dollars – no more than $5 or $10 in most cases. We consistently monitor your other choices for similar classes and make every effort to remain competitive while assuring you quality and consistency in our educational programming. The good news is that although some individual prices may change throughout the year, we have no intention of a general price increase in the near future.

The not so good news is that starting with the Spring 2025 class session,  we will no longer be able to offer pro-rating for classes. This has been a benefit that we’ve offered students who are members of TAC if they knew ahead of the start of the session that wouldn’t be able to attend all of the scheduled classes. Since our commitment is for the entire period – teacher’s fees, classroom use, etc. – this policy has become too costly for us to continue as well as being difficult to track.

We understand that this option has been important to many of you, and this may pose a disappointment for some, but this is a decision we feel we must make for the sake of the financial security of our educational programming.

I always value your feedback on our programming and my door, literally, is always open.

Sincerely,

James M Lynch

Executive Director

The Art Center Highland Park

847-432-1888, ext. 104

847-780-8004 (Direct)

Art is often seen as decoration or entertainment, but in reality, art can serve a deeper purpose. Art, whether in visual arts, performative art, or any medium between them, plays a crucial role in both community growth and personal development.

• Cultural Expression:

Art reflects a community’s values, traditions, and aesthetics, and helps understand the history, culture, and experiences of others. People often create art to express their culture, and others can use art to help them understand someone else’s culture. While many cultures are diverse and distant from each other, art helps build the bridge across cultural landscapes. 

• Community engagement:

Art brings people together through galleries, museums, and performance spaces. It creates a platform for collaboration and invites everybody to connect with art and one another. Public art projects further enhance engagement, in turn making stronger bonded communities, fostering a sense of collective identity and pride.

• Education and creativity:

Art programs provide opportunities to learn new skills and foster innovation and creativity. Fostering these attributes is important for personal growth, development, and critical thinking skills. Art is necessary to achieve full creative potential and unlock skills such as emotional intelligence, and cultural awareness.

• Economic growth:

Art contributes to the local economy through tourism, cultural events, and the selling of arts and goods. It creates a good source of revenue, creates jobs for artists, and has a larger economic impact than other sectors such as construction. Whether it be galleries, museums, or programs, art delivers financial benefits.

• Health benefits

Participating in and experiencing art improves mental health, reduces stress, and enhances well-being. Art is a creative outlet people can use to express their emotions and thoughts, leading to a deeper understanding of themselves. Art therapy can further help disorders such as depression and reduce symptoms of PTSD.

• Personal development

Creating and experiencing art can promote personal growth, self-discovery, and a sense of accomplishment. Art can be used to explore personal goals and express thoughts or feelings. Expressing feelings through artistic means can help one develop creativity and problem-solving skills, and can lead to self-exploration and self-reflection.

• Communication beyond words

Art can transcend linguistic and cultural barriers, serving as a universal language. Art allows people to communicate complex emotions and thoughts non-verbally and allows anybody to create their own interpretation. Art can also inspire others to create art of their own, and can then further inspire more people.

• Emotional impact

Viewing art can help inspire creation, and impact people’s own thoughts or emotions. Art is profound and evokes deep emotions that may have been impossible to reach without art. Whether it is the narrative of a film, colors, and shapes on the canvas, or the sounds of combined instruments, art allows people to unlock and understand their emotions.

• Voice

Art gives people a voice when they feel as though they might not have them. Although some might struggle to express themselves through writing or speech, Art provides an alternative way to reach people. Art can inspire change, challenge harmful norms, and impact the world for the better. Art’s ability to evoke emotions and provoke thought makes it a powerful tool for sparking conversations about important social issues that may otherwise go unnoticed or unaddressed.

• Aesthetic enjoyment

While art is so much more than just something cool to look at, it can also be just that. Art doesn’t always have to be meaningful and can just be a decorative piece or a funny movie. Art contributes to the beauty of the environment and boosts the morale of communities. This enjoyment and appreciation for art creates a sense of pride and connection in communities.

Ultimately, art transcends mere decoration. While it can be as simple as a cool painting, it can also be a creative outlet to express emotions, thoughts, culture, and experiences. Incorporating art into communities not only enhances our environments but also fosters creativity, empathy, and a deeper understanding of each other. Art encourages the exploration of thoughts, feelings, and cultures,  making it essential for creating communities where everyone has a voice in the ability to express themselves creatively.

Dylan Daniels, TAC Intern, with AI tools and Image by Canva

TAC unveils its new Project Gallery. This space acts as a studio gallery for working artists to participate in artist residencies. It’s located downstairs on TAC’s studio level, where classes, camps, and workshops are held throughout the week.

The first artist to commemorate the space is Bari Wieselman Schulman. Bari is a painter and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Chicago. Her background in the psychology of language informs her style, which is very gestural, full of abstract shapes that bring to mind cursive lettering, or even cave paintings and hieroglyphics. She has filled the gallery with her work on paper, wood, and fabric, and will soon host an artist discussion on May 30th.

Bari will work on select days in the Project Gallery throughout May and June, using it as a studio and exhibition space to showcase her work as it evolves in real-time. She has named the current body of work, which adorns the walls in swaths of color, chaotic coherence coherent chaos.

With the Project Gallery finished, we hope the students and guests at The Center are inspired by seeing a working artist creating freely. Stop by to see the Project Gallery anytime during TAC gallery hours, Mon-Sat, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.