Campus organizations are popping the “Northwestern bubble” this weekend and participating in Arts Week Evanston, a festival of music, dance, stage, art and poetry events from Oct. 15-23.
Facilities such as Pick-Staiger Concert Hall and Block Museum of Art will be working alongside Evanston businesses to provide cultural entertainment to the community.
“I really think this can open people’s eyes to the arts and let them know what we do on campus,” said Megan Aldridge, shift manager at Pick-Staiger.
The concert hall will kick off their arts week events with Kids Fare, where Evanston children can see a concert, learn about musical techniques and practice on various instruments.
“Kids Fare is always an exciting event,” Aldridge said. ” It gets kids involved in the music, lets them move around and sometimes try instruments or march with the band.”
Pick-Staiger will also host the NU jazz ensemble for a Saturday night concert and the Evanston Symphony Orchestra for the first concert of their 60th season on Sunday.
The Block Museum is exhibiting pieces from Marion Mahony Griffin, a Chicago architect who got her start working in Frank Lloyd Wright’s office. On Saturday, the gallery will offer a lecture co-sponsored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust and a tour of the display for $25 a ticket. Next weekend, tours of the exhibit will be free.
Griffin worked closely with her husband, Walter, and often in his shadow, said Block Museum communications manager Burke Patten. Many of the drawings in the show were for building commissions under Walter Burley Griffin’s name. Several of her drawings of the Australian landscape are also on display.
“Marion Mahony Griffin is credited with coming up with the horizontal design scheme that Frank Lloyd Wright is so famous for,” Patten said. “I’m excited because there’s not been a lot of exploration of her before. The more that we look, the more that can be revealed about her mastery of the craft.”
Patten said Arts Week highlights the cultural opportunities in Evanston, and by attending events, students get a taste of what they can do in town year-round.
Even student groups like Dance Marathon are getting involved in Arts Week. The NU charity organization will host its first annual art show and auction on Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. at Cafe Ambrosia, 1620 Orrington Ave. DM will auction pieces by NU students, students from nearby universities and Evanston artists, with bids starting at $25 to $150. The event will also feature a capella performances and speakers from DM’s philanthropies.
“I’ve been excited about this since the first Arts Week council meeting,” said Communication senior Ryan Pollyea, who helped organize the event. “It’s nice when the Evanston community accepts us. Arts Week is a time-honored tradition and people in the Evanston art community are very devoted to it. We’re happy they welcomed us.”
Last year, DM held a pilot auction, which executive co-chairman Ben Woo called “half of an art show.” Everything was sold, so they decided to integrate a larger show into the arts week festivities.
“It’s really an event for Evanston,” said Woo, a Weinberg senior. “We want to show the community that we don’t just wake up on their lawns and throw up in their bushes. We give back, too.”
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