The second-annual Fox River Arts Ramble will take in visual and performing arts from Aurora to Elgin, with more than 40 stops, including private and public galleries, artist studios, and performance venues.
Fox River Arts Ramble is a two-day self-guided tour of art in the Fox Valley. The Ramble, a collaborative effort of the Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles, the St. Charles Arts Council, and Water Street Studios, Batavia, will come to the Fox Valley Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, with some musical performances and receptions in the evening.
In-kind sponsors of the event are Fast Color and Cooper-Hong. The event includes nearly 50 participants, in a broad array of media and location, including many collaborative programs. Participating locations for this year’s event are in Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Campton Hills, and Elgin.
Ramble headquarters locations:
• Fine Line Creative Arts Center, www.fineline.org, 37W570 Bolcum Road, St. Charles.
Fine Line will let attendees explore classrooms while regular classes and demonstrations will be going on, including weaving, spinning, blacksmithing, and metal clay.
• St. Charles Arts Council’s 7th Annual Student Show at The Keep Creative www.StCharlesArtsCouncil.org, 220 North 4th Street, St. Charles.
The SCAC’s signature pop-up gallery program temporarily transforms non-traditional spaces into new art venues. The show includes the juried artwork, visual and video, of students in kindergarten through college. The opening/artist reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m..
• Water Street Studios, www.waterstreetstudios.org, 160 South Water Street, Batavia.
Water Street Studios will welcome the work of three artists exploring the human experience without limits in “Earthly Delights” by Les Allen and Bruce Thorn in the Dempsey Family Gallery and “Eclecticism as I See It” by Perry Slade in the Chicago Capital Gallery. Water Street Studios will also feature an artist talk, art demos, gallery tours, and opportunities to meet and purchase artwork.
Art in public places:
ArtinPublicPlacesSTC.com can provide more than 170 pieces of public art in St. Charles. Get the Otocast app, find the AiPP project or St. Charles, IL, and tap on the welcome message to take a walking tour of more than 25 artworks.
Here is a list of the participating locations:
Elgin: Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra at Elgin History Museum, 360 Park Street; Elgin Academy Fine Arts Program, 350 Park Street; Oddball Art Labs Mobile Art Machine, Rediscover Records, 9 South Spring Street; Art for All, 51 South Spring Street; Funky Rooster Tattoo and Art Gallery, 73 South Grove Avenue.
Campton Hills: Murano Midwest Gallery, 8N665 Edgewood Road; Art and Alpacas, 39W856 McDonald Road.
St. Charles: Fine Line Creative Arts Center, 37W570 Bolcum Road; Kimberly Gust, 3101 Greenwood Lane; Norris Cultural Arts Center, 1040 Dunham Road; Mainstage Theater at Pheasant Run, 4051 East Main Street; St. Charles Public Library, 1 South 6th Avenue; Steel Beam Theatre Art Gallery, 111 West Main Street; 116 Gallery, 116 West Main Street; St. Charles Arts Council, 220 North 4th Street; All Things Art Studio, 1106 West Main Street; Sculpture in the Park, Mt. St. Mary’s Park.
Geneva: Proud Fox Gallery, 213 West State Street; Gallery 28, 28 North 4th Street; Haven Interiors Studio Gallery, 5 South Third Street; Greater Geneva Art Guild, American Legion Post 75, 22 South 2nd Street; Geneva History Museum, 113 South Third Street; Crystal Life Technology, 121 South Third Street; The Dutchman’s Woodshack, 315 Westhaven Circle; School of Art, 1772 South Randall Road, Suite 220.
Batavia: Aurora Art League, Batavia Library, 10 South Batavia Avenue; Water Street Studios, 160 South Water Street.
Aurora: Aurora Regional Fire Museum, 53 North Broadway; Aurora Art Studios, 50 East Galena Boulevard; Wyckwood House, 14 W Downer Place, Suite 16; If These Walls Could Talk Custom Framing & Gallery, 32 South Stolp Avenue; SciTech Hands On Museum; Gallery 1904, 1 East Benton; Mays Mayhew, 2525 Coach and Surrey Lane; The Schingoethe Center of Aurora University, 1315 Prairie Street; Denise Wheeler www.Denisepours.com, 2470 Green Valley Court.
For more information visit www.foxriverarts.com.
—Water Street Studios