Ora Harris attended every class offered at the Levy Senior Center as part of Arts Week Evanston two years ago.
“People are allowed to come free of charge to explore the opportunity to make something,” she said. “That’s good therapy no matter how you cut it.”
The Chicago resident, who lives two blocks from Evanston, has participated in the annual event ever since.
“If I didn’t have this outlet for art, it would diminish my capacity for growth,” she said.
The 10-day Arts Week featured performances, workshops, classes and expositions as a tribute to arts and culture in Evanston. This year’s festival began Oct. 10 and ended Sunday.
Evanston puts on one of the largest arts weeks in Illinois, second only to Chicago’s, said Jeff Cory, Evanston Arts Council Director. More than 60 activities were planned this year.
“It’s designed to increase the visibility of the arts and to enable people to recognize or appreciate the variety of offerings that are out there,” Cory said.
The first Arts Week Evanston took place during the 1980s to encourage people to participate in the arts.
It ran in conjunction with the Illinois Art Council’s efforts to establish a week-long celebration of the arts throughout the state. The event stopped running in Evanston for several years during the 1990s but was reinstated in 2001.
“It went along with the mission of the Arts Council, which was to bring the artists in Evanston together, showcase their work, show off the different arts organizations and let all the galleries showcase themselves to the community,” said Jill Brazel, a member of the Arts Council.
Some Arts Week participants said creative arts are still relevant in the Information Age.
“People are forgetting about it a little bit, especially in this day and age,” said Evanston resident Nancy Sippel, a ceramics and crafts instructor at the Levy Center. “All they think about is computers and stuff they see on TV. They don’t do much with their hands and creative activities.”
Besides promoting local art, Brazel said, Arts Week brings the city together.
“I think it creates a strong sense of community when people to get to know the artists and the different arts organizations who are around them,” she said.
Stephanie Kwan, an Evanston resident, said Arts Week is an important opportunity to publicize local artists and help them stay in the city.
“If you’re on a limited budget, which many artists are, you simply can’t afford (Evanston),” she said.
Arts Week Evanston may become a month-long event next year. The Arts Council will consider putting on activities throughout October that focus on both arts and humanities.
“It may not be a concentrated period like the Arts Week is,” Cory said. “But there may be activities during the month of October that are scheduled.”
