March is Youth Art Month All March in the Main Library Lobby Community Space: We’re delighted to welcome back a Youth Art Month display (pictured above and below). Student artists in grades K-5, from all eight Oak Park Elementary School District 97 schools, contributed their art to this display. Come in for a close viewing … Read more
By Kristen Romanowski, Staff Writer & Editor “No harm in trying.” That’s what Oak Park resident Chris Brown told himself last fall when he put in a proposal to exhibit his paintings at the library. A relative newcomer to painting, Brown says he first tried his hand at it “in the depths of the pandemic,” … Read more
By Kristen Romanowski, Staff Writer & Editor Growing up, Jason Dorsey always knew he wanted to travel. “It’s almost like I had a thread of adventure inside of me, always,” he says. So he joined the U.S. Marines in 2000, right out of high school. But after returning home from active duty four years later, … Read more
By Kristen Romanowski, Staff Writer & Editor Want to see some colorful birds during these dreary January days? Just look up. Above the bookshelves at Maze Branch, that is, where artwork by outsider artist Casey Jones went up earlier this month. Using recycled materials like packing boxes and paper, plus paint and glitter “and whatever … Read more
By Kristen Romanowski, Staff Writer & Editor Longtime library regular and self-taught artist Vanley Roebuck will show his paintings in an exhibit this November at the Main Library. We caught up with him this summer, when some of his work was on display at Maze Branch, to talk about how he got into painting and … Read more
Oak Park artist Tia Etu will unveil her latest contribution to art in the library this June, when she presents her mixed-media painting The Call in a Main Library Idea Box exhibit. You can join the artist and see her work in a reception on Saturday, June 18. Juneteenth-inspired piece joins permanent art collection The … Read more
To amplify awareness around the creative work of local BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) artists, a new spring program series combines people and resources from your library and the local community arts organization Compound Yellow. Everyone of all ages is welcome to attend these free educational programs funded by an Illinois State Library … Read more
Did you know your library has a permanent art collection? You can see works of art at all three locations, including two recently donated paintings now on display at the Main Library. And this spring, monthly exhibits by local artists are returning to the Main Library Art Gallery and Maze Branch, after a two-year hiatus … Read more
By Kristen Romanowski, Staff Writer & Editor Artist Jacob Hashimoto stopped by the Main Library in September. While in the area for the opening of his show at a Chicago gallery, he came to Oak Park to make repairs to parts of his intricate artwork in our library’s permanent art collection. Hashimoto’s 8-by-12-foot piece skip … Read more
The Obama Portraits are now on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, through August 25. President Barack Obama’s official presidential portrait was painted by Kehinde Wiley. But did you know that an earlier work by Wiley is on display on the Main Library third floor, open to all to experience anytime the library is … Read more
