The first member artists’ exhibition, heralding a new emphasis on the visual arts at the David Adler Music and Arts Center in Libertyville, runs through Jan. 25.
The eight Chicago-area artists, some of whom teach classes at the center, are Jim Brooksher, Leisa Corbett, Tanya Facchini, Robert Klunk, Beth McKenna, Susan Russell, Cindi Sartain and Stephanie Toral.
The hope is that the artists will work together throughout the year to help with the new direction under Amy Williams, named executive director of the center last year.
“We want them to feel like they have a home at the center,” said Molly Bunder, media and program coordinator. “We’re really excited to have all these artists together in one space.”
In recent years, the center has been known more for music classes and concerts than visual arts, but the focus was on art in the beginning, Williams said. The farmhouse designed by architect David Adler was home to the Libertyville Arts Center in the late 1950s and music classes have been offered there since 1975.
Under the guidance of Williams, there have been several individual artist exhibitions.
“It’s a great series,” she said. “It doesn’t bring us much money. We do it for the artists and for the community.”
The artists say they love the space, with its fireplaces and paneled dining room.
“There’s something about the atmosphere of the David Adler Center that is very homey,” said Corbett, a Grayslake artist who has two paintings in the current exhibition. “And all the paintings seem to look good there.”
The house was once David Adler’s primary home. When he died in 1949, he left the 23-room farmhouse and 240-acre estate to the Village of Libertyville.
Klunk, an artist from Chicago who has three pieces in the show, said the home itself was what initially drew him.
“The sense of history — the whole David Adler mystique,” Klunk said, adding that the connection to the larger community also is important.
“As an artist, it’s a great place to show our things because there’s such a diverse crowd of people — music classes, day camps in the summertime — a mix of everyone from the community. We get a broad spectrum — not just art people — that come to see the shows.”
The exhibition is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
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