Lake County residents invited to Mundelein’s ‘Lure of the Local – Art Exhibition Celebrating the Artists Amongst Us’

MUNDELEIN – The Mundelein Arts Commission is presenting a one-month art exhibition in the vacant space at Hawley Lake Plaza, 420 N. Lake St., in downtown Mundelein.

The exhibition will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays until Nov. 11, with a closing reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 11. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Attendees are welcome to contact the organizers for a private tour.

“Lure of the Local” refers to our connectedness to a sense of place, the relationship of our interior and exterior environments and the community we have chosen to live, work, serve and create art in, according to a news release. The group exhibition is curated by artist, educator and Mundelein arts commissioner Stacee Kalmanovsky and brings together local artists from Mundelein and Lake County. Together, these talented makers paint a more complete picture of what contemporary artistic practices look like right now, right here.

With the generous donation of the site by Hawley Lakes Plaza, it is possible to engage in a new vision for unused spaces and come together as a community to dream a little bigger, according to the release.

“Lure of the Local” is but one part of a larger cultural plan for Mundelein, which saw the purchase of its first public sculpture, “Susurro,” by artist Bruce Niemi last spring. Niemi is one of the featured artists in this exhibition, along with 24 other participants with close ties to the Mundelein community.

“There truly are many artists among us, and this exhibition is a meaningful way to showcase their work for our community,” Kalmanovsky said.

“Hopefully someone will come home after our exhibition and be inspired to try their hand in making something, too. Maybe it will answer the questions ‘what is art?’ and ‘what is the value of art?’ I believe art appreciation is in the showing and the sharing, and I hope the community enjoys seeing firsthand the incredible art from the everyday makers.”

For private tours of the “Lure of the Local” exhibition, email info@mundelein.org.