Blue Moon Gallery to host special juried exhibition starting Aug. 2

Finding Creativity Within features almost 40 pieces of fine art and honors the Beloit Art Center’s 25th anniversary.

The multimedia exhibition comes to the Blue Moon Gallery in Grayslake in a special encore presentation beginning Aug. 2 and running through Aug. 23.

Blue Moon Gallery is hosting an opening reception at the gallery to kick off the exhibition from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.

2025 marks a significant milestone for the Beloit Art Center in Beloit, Wisconsin, as it celebrates its 25th anniversary of supporting the arts.

As part of the special milestone year, the Beloit Art Center recently presented Finding Creativity Within, a juried exhibition of almost 90 pieces of art to showcase the artists who have been part of its journey over the last quarter century.

Almost 40 pieces of fine art from the exhibition will be on display at Blue Moon, representing exhibitions from the Beloit Art Center from 2000-2025. Oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings, collage, photography, ink, charcoal, colored pencil drawings, stone sculptures and ceramics are included in the show.

Genres range from traditional to whimsical to abstract, showcasing a broad spectrum of the work featured at the Beloit Art Center over the years.

A few years ago, leaders from the Beloit Art Center and the Blue Moon Gallery began visiting each other’s art spaces, sharing ideas and discussing operations as a way to cultivate support and inspiration. This year, the two organizations decided to take their networking with each other to another level by collaborating in support of the Beloit Art Center’s milestone exhibition.

“We are very excited to host this beautiful and diverse exhibition showcasing the many talented fine artists who have been a part of the Beloit Art Center’s rich history these past 25 years,” Kendra Kett, director and owner of the Blue Moon Gallery, said in a news release. “We are eager for our Lake and Kenosha County art enthusiasts to come see this show and be introduced to a whole new group of visual artists.”

Participating artists are Jean Apgar, Cindy Bear, Billy Bishop, Ella Blame, Alice Blue, Dana Borremans, Joan Bredendick, Jo Christofferson, Leslie Crowhurst, Dava Dahlgren, Arthur Durkee, Roger Dutcher, Jane Erlandson, Connie Fry, Tom Gage, Steve Hauri, Kelly Hausknecht, Sue Herring, Katheryn Hess, Jennifer Kennedy, John Kirkpatrick, Paul Kopp, Greg LaMont, Cora Hutchison, Barb Mathews, Barb Meade, Bill Midgett, Woody Olsen, Paul Pinzarrone, Susan Porubcan, Lynette Redner, Brad Schmitt, Beata Sowicz, Pat Sparling, Katie Swanson, Cindy Vondran, Douglas Wetzel and Linda Williams.

Opening reception attendees can enjoy live music, wine, socializing with other art enthusiasts, a pop-up metal art show by Mundelein artist Barb Sistak Baur and new art from the gallery’s three resident artists, including Michael Litewski and Dave Clausen.

Blue Moon Gallery is located at 18620 Belvidere Road in Grayslake. Gallery hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

For more information, visit thebluemoongallery.com/events.