By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The city’s art scene takes center stage this weekend as visual and performing arts fill everything from pubs to pottery shops and other businesses.
There will be a live mural painting by Brett Whitacre at Ernie’s Midtown Pub, poetry at the Rockford Public Library‘s Nordlof Center, quilting lessons at Cleta’s Stay and Sew, and an encore performance Friday of “Somnium: The Book of Dreams and Nightmares,” an outdoor multimedia performance at 715 N. Madison St.
Those are just a few examples of what’s in store at 30 locations around Rockford for Spring ArtScene, a biannual showcase of local artists that started in 1987. (See all locations below.)
“ArtScene is really unique because artists are there for you to talk to,” said Mary McNamara Bernsten, executive director of the Rockford Area Arts Council. “It creates a connection to the pieces in your own home.”
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ArtScene features new and established artists displaying a wide variety of mediums from painting and sculpture to prints, photography, quilts, fiber art, jewelry and other creations.
The Arts Council puts together the event in order to elevate the visual and performing arts and encourage people to purchase art. It’s also done to show that artists are approachable and accessible.
“We’re probably their neighbors. Or we own that shop down the street that they like so much,” McNamara-Bernsten said. “Or we teach their children.”
Whitacre’s mural, which will go up on the side of Ernie’s at 1025 Fifth Ave. in Midtown, is based of a Rockford-centric design by Vic Rivera that incorporates local logos to spell out the city’s name.
Kortman Gallery, 107 N. Main St. in downtown, will use ArtScene to debut a new book, “Collection,” which is a visual journal of fine art and artifacts from Rockford and beyond.
“We have hundreds of works of art by Rockford artists that we’ve been collecting for more than 50 years that not many people have had a chance to see,” said Doc Slafkosky, the book’s coauthor and director of Kortman Gallery.
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The gallery will also have a multimedia exhibition featuring Rockford artists and a video presentation of scenes from the original ArtZone TV series, which aired weekly on Rockford Cablevision from 1991-99.
“Rockford has so many amazing artists now and in the past,” said Jerry Kortman, co-owner of J.R. Kortman Center for Design. “This book and exhibition of art images, along with Art Zone videos should be quite an educational and entertaining experience. It is truly a retrospective look at the arts in Rockford covering almost a half-century.”
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Rockford Art Museum will open a new art exhibition “Life: The Paintings of Deborah Newton–A Retrospective.” It features a collection of six decades of Newton’s artistic ventures, ranging from her work as downtown Rockford booster to supportive community leader.
McNamara said the wide variety helps people learn more about what they appreciate in art.
“What is it that you’re looking for. What are you drawn to? What are the different types of things that you like?” she said. “They really vary, and that’s what ArtScene has is a wide variety of approaches to visual art.”
Know before you go | Spring Art Scene
When: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, April 21; 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 22
Where: (Locations below)
Info: artsforeveryone.com/artscene
2023 Spring ArtScene venues
- 304 Main, 304 N. Main St. (Art Guild of Rockford)
- 317 Art Collaborative, 317 Market St. (I Want To Believe- An investigation into the Unknown)
- Ameriprise – Studio Wealth Advisory Group, 6870 Rote Road
- ArtDeTriumph, 905 Ridgewood Road (Painting of Rockford, Chicago & the World)
- Bennie’s Cleaners, 126 N. First St. (Putting the Fun Back in Dis-fun-ction)
- The Bubble Hive Downtown, 412 E. State St. (4/20 Spring Art Fest at The Bubble Hive Downtown)
- CJ’s Public House, 300 E. State St. (Milestone Colors of Spring)
- Cleta’s Stay and Sew, 1029 S. Main St. (Cleta’s Quilts)
- Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, 946 N. Second St. (The Arc of Winnebago, Boone, and Ogle Counties)
- District Bar & Grill, 205 W. State St. (The Dawn of Art)
- Ernie’s Midtown Pub, 1025 Fifth Ave. (Brett Whitacre mural painting and gallery)
- First Cut Barber College, 1306 Broadway
- Fraim & Mortar, 3022 Wallin Ave. (A Decade of Handmade)
- GEM: Gather, Engage, Make, 406 E. State St. (You’re a GEM)
- Guysie Jenkins Community Resource Center, 911 Michigan Ave. (Health Literacy Poetry Series)
- Kith and Kin Art Collective, 510 E. State St. (REVEAL: A Collection of Contemporary Abstracts)
- Kortman Gallery @ J.R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 N. Main St. (Collection)
- The McPherson, 1210 Buchanan St. (The McPherson: Year One)
- Laurent House, 4646 Spring Brook Road
- Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, 2001 N. Alpine Road (Rockford Lutheran Art Club Shenanigans)
- Nordic Cultural Center, 327 S. Third St. (FIKA – It’s More Than Coffee and Cookies)
- Norwegian Artist Lofts, 1404 N. Main St.
- Real Beautiful You, 420 N. Main St.
- Rockford Security Building, 717 E. Jefferson St. (It’s Big)
- RPL Nordlof Center, 111 N. Main St. (Café RPL presents: An Evening of Inspired Poetry and Quality Caffeine — Friday only)
- Salvaged by Sonya, 510 E. State St.
- Three Ravens Pottery, 1009 Fifth Ave. (Pottery for the People)
- The Underground Art Gallery, 418 E. State St. (Who Is Afraid of Color?)
- Work In Progress!, 10532 Main St., Roscoe (Work In Progress 2.0 – Nexus)
- The Office NiteClub, 513 E. State St., (Pride and Joy)
- “Somnium: The Book of Dreams and Nightmares,” 9 p.m. Friday at 715 N. Madison St. (Get tickets here)
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.