Among rooms for voice lessons, acting classes and community meetings, artwork is sprucing up the hallways of the Noyes Cultural Arts Center.
The “New Noyes” exhibit at the NCAC, 927 Noyes St., features works from 32 Chicago-area artists. The works range from paintings hanging on walls to installation pieces propped on the floor.
The show, which will remain open until May 5, includes paintings, sculptures, photographs and mixed-media installations. These pieces are the work of artists in “Dialogue: 32,” a seminar-style critique group for artists working in different mediums.
Group founder and director Sarah Krepp said Dialogue: 32 was formed to help local artists get feedback on their work.
“They help each other by sharing information, and some of them have even (put on exhibits) together,” she said. “It’s a forum of artists that are coming together to expand the possibilities through discussion.”
Because the group’s size has increased since its 2002 founding, the members are now split into three sections that each meet once a month. Last Saturday and Sunday, Krepp brought several participants from each section together at the exhibit. For three hours, the artists commented on one piece at a time, sharing what they liked about the piece and how it worked in the show.
“(Dialogue: 32) enables the individual to talk about their work and to see it in a certain context,” Krepp said. “The more we can talk about our work, write about our work and see other people’s works, the more it allows the artist to see what’s out there.”
Artist Michael Finnegan, who went to Sunday’s session, said he appreciated the chance to both discuss his work and meet new artists.
“There were a few people I’d never met who had strong and insightful ideas,” Finnegan said. “I was really happy about what they said.”
Being part of a group like Dialogue: 32 helps artist Jenn Cooper improve her work, she said.
“An artist must find a way to get feedback at some point,” said Cooper, 28. “For anybody’s work to move into a different level, you have to have feedback from peers, from audiences, from people who don’t know anything about art. If it’s not reading on the same level to other people, it’s not purposeful.”
Though the NCAC exhibition features more than 30 artists, Cooper said she views it as a cohesive show.
“Sometimes group shows don’t hold too well because there are so many different voices,” she said. “(But) this one really pulls together all of the artists’ works and places it in such an amazing context so there is continuous dialogue, even though everyone’s work is so different and distinct.”
