Art Encounter

We are doing a big mural in the Fulton River District this year, and today is the kick-off! We’re bringing three exceptional Chicago- Jordan Nickel/ POSE, Max Sansing, and Jeff Zimmermann - together to collaborate for the very first time, on two massive walls at the Fulton and Milwaukee UP underpass. Today is a meet & greet with the community from 4-6 pm. With .0 🙏🏼 to and for the opportunity

After visiting the beautiful exhibition of work by Alma Thomas currently on view at the Smart Museum of Art, 4th graders in our ARTiculations program created these lovely paper mosaics inspired by her work! Collaborating in groups of four, each student worked on their own canvas before combining them into one finished piece.

Our 10 week ARTiculations program reaches hundreds of 3rd–5th graders throughout Chicago every year, and is funded entirely through grants and individual donations. If you'd like to help sustain and grow Art Encounter programs like this one, we hope you'll consider a donation during the last few days of our Spring Fundraiser! Visit artencounter.org/make-a-donation to show your support.

It's our birthday! 🥳 🎉 Art Encounter was founded in 1978 by three dedicated artists who saw the power and purpose of making art a part of our everyday lives. Over the last 48 years, we've brought transformational art experiences to hundreds of thousands of youth, adults, and seniors across the Chicago area. Here's to this day, to you, and to what's on the horizon as we near our big 50th in 2028!

If you share our belief in the power of visual art, we hope you'll help us celebrate by making a donation to sustain our programming for years to come. Visit artencounter.org/make-a-donation to contribute to our Spring Fundraiser!

Pictured: Art Encounter's founders: Bonnie Hartenstein, Joanna Pinsky, and Ellen Kamerling; and current staff: Dustin Harris, Leslie Luning, Joanna Pinsky, Lea Pinsky, Annie Trincot, Miriam Bahena-Cardona Bisby, Yadi Roysterm and Sarah Packer

New project in Downtown Evanston! Participants from our evening art program with the Center for Independent Futures just completed their culminating project for the year: an art installation on the storefront windows of CIF’s headquarters! Talented muralist Molly Z led the group in designing and painting their own colorful, abstract patterned forms over the course of four sessions this spring. Come check it out at 1015 Davis Street in Evanston!

This program is sponsored in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the Evanston Arts Council as well as individual donors.

New mural alert! We had a wonderful time partnering with King Arts School and lead librarian Shalana Jacquess this school year to elevate their library with this powerful mural about Civil Rights Leaders from Around the World- by the phenomenal artist Damon Reed! With Evanston Mural Arts Program Lea Pinsky Thank you Evanston RoundTable for the coverage. This mural was made possible in part by a grant from Union Pacific Community Ties.

King Arts School unveils mural celebrating activists - Evanston RoundTable Unveiling of a new mural at Dr. Martin Luther King Arts School featuring global activists, designed by Chicago-based artist Damon Lamar Reed.

We brought our Chicago Public School 3rd and 4th grade students to see the stunning Alma Thomas exhibit at the the Smart Museum this month, and they’ve had an amazing time back in the classroom creating their own artworks inspired by her aesthetic! Thank you to everyone at and for being so welcoming and kind to our groups ❤️

We are so pleased to partner with again this year for their spring show, providing guided tours of the art gallery area of the fair! Our teaching artist is leading programs on Saturday April 25 at 2 pm and Sunday April 26 at 1 pm. Join us!

Coming this summer.

Evanston Arts Council considers graffiti permission wall - Evanston RoundTable Evanston Arts Council considers transforming an old embankment wall into a permission wall for graffiti-style art, fostering community and creativity.

Back at King Arts with and a very talented group 8th grade graders to paint the completed design for their mural on Civil Rights Leaders from Around the Globe. Excited to install the finished piece in the school library, just in time for the 8th graders graduation gift to the school. Much gratitude to foundation, and King Arts School for helping make this project happen!

Join us this month for Lasting Impressions: Looking from the Outside In: An Art Encounter + Center for Independent Futures Art Show. April 1–30, 2026 at the Evanston Public Library, 3rd Floor Exhibition Space (see for library hours).

Lasting Impressions features work by artists from Evanston’s , created in an evening art program led by Art Encounter. Over the course of six art-making sessions, the artists dove into how we view strangers, what changes when we become friends with someone, and what connects us as humans. Our conversations and thoughts became inspiration for the mixed media artwork shown. Through several kinds of art making—collage, assemblage, painting, and creating a collaborative book—the artists explored how the way we view others can change from first impressions to last, how strangers become friends, and how we fit into the world.

Featuring work by Alan Cohen, Alana Keleher, Ben Gershon, Drew Cornog, Gabe Freeman, Jill Futransky, Josh Gray, Laura Stein, Robert Carfang, S, and Will Sullivan. Program led by Jamie Thome (Art Encounter) and Traci Laffey (CIF).

This program has been partially sponsored by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and Evanston Arts Council.