In a city with coffee shops on every corner, everyone from the studying student to the business guru can find refuge in an Evanston cafe. But for some local artists, these places provide an opportunity to display new work – and for patrons, they are an alternative to art galleries where “food and drinks are prohibited.”
Eliza Rohr, a Northwestern alumna, first displayed her photography in 2003 in a New York coffee shop. When she decided to stay in Chicago after graduation, Rohr sought the same opportunity at the Unicorn Cafe, 1723 Sherman Ave., where she had purchased many a cup of coffee as a student.
“It was a place I frequented a lot,” Rohr said. “I liked having an outlet to show my work in a place that I was really familiar with.”
Rohr, who received a master’s degree in musicology in 2005, said it is often up to the artist to approach the owner of a venue about showing work but that most artists are successful in getting space to hang pieces.
“They ask to see a portfolio, you meet,” Rohr said. “Normally if it’s a well-executed work – looks good, has a strong general aesthetic – (you) will probably get a good showing.”
In October 2005, Rohr displayed black and white photos of musicians at the Unicorn Cafe. Although the pieces weren’t sold in the coffee shop, Rohr’s contact info was in an artist biography available to customers so they could buy pieces directly through her, she said.
“The main point wasn’t selling it, but getting it out there,” Rohr said.
Work hanging in privately owned coffee shops is often for sale through the artists, not the venue. Ted Angelo, manager of Cafe Mozart, 600 Davis St., said the decor in his shop comes from people who simply walk in and ask if they can display their pieces.
“(The artist) has art that he does, and he just puts them up,” Angelo said. “If a customer likes them, I give them his number.”
As long as the art is “nothing too crazy” he accepts it, he said, because he likes to change the display once a month.
Even large corporations sometimes let local artists display work. At Starbucks, store managers are free to approach local artists under two conditions, said Kelly Mattran, marketing manager for the Midwest region of Starbucks Coffee Company. The artist must be a member of the community where the store is located, and pieces may not be sold in the store. Artists instead may leave business cards with the store.
Some Chicago-area Starbucks stores are now showing art from a local organization called Arts of Life, which gives workspace to artists with developmental disabilities.
If a store manager does not choose to work with local artists, art is designed exclusively for Starbucks, Mattran said.
Sometimes, coffee shops let artists create a more permanent piece. Three murals decorate Kafein, 1621 Chicago Ave., that were painted by NU students when Kafein opened 13 years ago. Owner Irene Sics is considering adding a fourth this summer.
“Art personalizes a cafe and makes it an individual, unique place,” Sics said.
Reach Kristyn Schiavone at
