This weekend marks the return of Evanston Made’s Big Art Weekend, which debuted last year.
It includes two days devoted to the display of local artists’ works and is capped off on Sunday with the return of the popular Maker’s Market.
The event starts on Friday afternoon with a preview beginning at 3 p.m., followed by a party at 6 p.m., which some participating artists will attend.
Various art pieces that will be displayed at art studios around town on Saturday will be available for preview. The event will be held at Evanston Made’s exhibit space, 1100 Florence Ave.
The idea is to give people the opportunity to decide what type of art they would like to see, so that they can plan which of the 46 participating studios they should target during the Open Studio Tour on Saturday.
The tour runs from noon to 5 p.m. Studios around town, such as those located in the Central Street area, Downtown, Main-Dempster Mile and the Noyes Center, which has ten studios under one roof, are participating in this year’s event. A list of the studios and a map can be found at www.evanstonmade.org.
Sunday will see the return of the Maker’s Market, on the fifth floor of the Maple Avenue parking garage from noon to 5 p.m. This is a recurring event where local people who make all sorts of things, from paintings to soaps, can sell their wares in an inexpensive, low-stress environment.
“Nobody is doing low budget, affordable, funky fun art fairs,” says Lisa Degliantoni, founder and co-director of Evanston Made. She said the organization is member-centered, and one of its aims is to “make their creative pursuits…more authentic or impactful.”
Degliantoni says her organization’s efforts fill an important void in Evanston, because the city does not support many cultural events, and the few art events available to residents are usually commercially run and expensive for artists who wish to participate.
“Culture should be invested in because it is what is gluing us all to this earth and each other,” she says.