OPAL NEWS | JULY 2026

Dear Friends of OPAL,

A very warm summer welcome to you all, especially our newest members and newsletter subscribers, and sincere thanks to everyone supporting the Oak Park Art League.

June highlights included A Day in Our Village where we offered live figure drawing and hands-on button making activity while we met so many art enthusiasts! Our gratitude to all the volunteers whose energy made the day memorable.
BLOOM Exhibition opened a joyful celebration of the beauty of plants in our lives. Congratulations to all the exhibiting artists and our appreciation to the juror and everyone who attended. Check out the online exhibit and learn more about the artists.
For the OPRF Garden Walk we hosted over 500 visitors on June 28 in our courtyard garden, enjoying the outdoor sculpture installations and gallery exhibition, and made for a peaceful and cooler art-filled stop. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day a success.

We look forward to more classes, workshops, and community events ahead, check out what’s coming up! Whether you are new to OPAL or have been with us for years, your participation keeps us vibrant and welcoming. Please consider volunteering or bringing a friend to join in the creativity.

Warm Regards,
Bryan Northup Grayson
Executive Director

UPCOMING

Take a look at what is happening at OPAL in July

Saturday July 4, 10am - Walk with us in the Fourth of July Oak Park Diversity Parade
July 4, 1-3pm, OPAL MEMBERS - Ice Cream Social, RSVP
July 4 & 5 - OPAL gallery will be closed on observance of Independence Day
Saturday July 18, Bake Sale fundraiser at the Oak Park Farmer’s Market - volunteers needed to bake and help at the booth
Thursday July 23, 6-8pm - Gallery After Dark, Plastic-free July and Crochet Coral Club maker’s meet up

There’s a Spot for You at OPAL

If you’ve ever walked past our gallery on Chicago Avenue or attended an event and thought, I’d love to be part of something like that, well this is your invitation.

The Oak Park Art League, serving the community for 105+ years, is growing and seeking volunteers. Whether you can spare an afternoon a month, help at events, or give a few hours weekly, there’s a role that fits your time and skills.

Ready, Set, BAKE!

The Oak Park Art League at Oak Park Farmer’s Market, will have a Bake Sale fundraiser on JULY 18, 2026.
Help bake items to sell and/or help organize and work at our tent the day of. Thank you for your help!

2026 HOUSE of OPAL

2026 HOUSE of OPAL

Saturday Sept 12, 6-9:30pm
at The Nineteenth Century Charitable Foundation
178 Forest Ave, Oak Park, IL

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Join OPAL in ITALY, 2027!

The Oak Park Art League has partnered with La Romita School of Art in Umbria Italy to form a group artist retreat in summer 2027. Currently we are sharing this opportunity and gathering interested

OPAL’s Garden

OPAL’s Garden and gallery was part of the Garden Club of
Oak Park & River Forest Garden Walk on Sunday June 28.

You can still enjoy BLOOM: Art of Flowers, Foliage & Fruit in the gallery through August 2, and our Summer Sculpture Exhibit in the courtyard garden through August 30.

IN THE STUDIO

Our SUMMER 1 Adult Classes
are running now!

Look for Summer 2 mid July

W O R K S H O P S

Botanical Sun Prints Workshop 1
Monday, July 13, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
&
Botanical Sun Prints Workshop 2
Monday, July 27, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
with Elaine Luther
Capture flowers, foliage and the energy of summer with a cyanotypes workshop! Create imagery without drawing, arranging fresh blossoms and plants on pre-treated paper to produce blue and white prints.

Gallery After Dark:
Plastic Free July & Crochet Coral Club
Thursday July 28th, 6-8pm
Join us to learn about transforming everyday plastics into art with artists Bryan Northup and Linda Dunbar. This is part talk, demo and hands on maker session. We’ll revisit our 2025 crochet series and share what we’ve been up to with a current exhibit at Maze Library for the month of July. Register Here, $15 Fee

Figure Drawing

Work on your figure drawing skills at your own pace in our three hour, non-instructional sessions.
We offer 3 sessions per week
Thursdays, 9am - noon
Fridays, 6:30 - 9:30pm
Sundays, 10am - 1pm
The first two sessions of each month, models are clothed so younger artists can attend.
See our full figure drawing schedule and register here,
Pre-registration is required.

PLEASE NOTE - FIGURE SESSIONS will take a summer break from Aug 7 - Sept 10

IN THE GALLERY

BLOOM runs through August 2, come see the exhibit!

ART ~ TRANSFORMS Exhibit

To mark Plastic-Free July and raise awareness of plastic's harms, Oak Park Art League artists Linda Dunbar, Bryan Northup, and Karen Sugay show how art can reclaim trash by upcycling plastic into attractive art objects.
Their month-long exhibit of upcycled works will be accompanied by an artist talk and hands-on community workshop on July 11 at Maze Branch Library

SATELLITE EXHIBITS
The Oak Park Art League offers artists a chance to display their work outside our main gallery, in local businesses we have partnered with to provide more exposure for artists.
OPAL Members are eligible to exhibit in these venues, please sign up for this opportunity.

Remaining 2026 Calls

We have a couple more exhibits on the horizon, Our Fall Member Exhibition and to close out the year, Barely There a multi faceted show featureing mini artworks.

Artist Opportunities

This is where you will find all the opportunities we come across or that come in especially to be shared with the OPAL artist community.

As funding for arts and nonprofits continues to decline, your membership and support is more crucial than ever.
Join us in safeguarding this historic, creative sanctuary—renew your membership today and help ensure OPAL thrives for everyone who needs it. Thank you!

DONATE SPONSORSHIP BECOME A MEMBER

Oak Park Art League

Founded in 1921, OPAL is one of the longest, continually-running nonprofit arts organizations in Illinois, fulfilling its mission by offering high-quality art education, lectures, artist demonstrations, critiques, and monthly exhibitions in our historic gallery.

Our Mission

The Oak Park Art League's mission is to be a welcoming center of artistic inquiry, creative expression and art appreciation in Oak Park and the surrounding communities.

Board of Directors

President: David Baker
Vice President: Mia Garcia Hills
Secretary: Ginger Brent
Treasurer: Shira Slack
Directors:
Margot McMahon Barbara McClure
Dave Palomares Colleen Campbell

Staff
Bryan Northup Grayson, Executive Director
Katrina Petrauskas, Programming Coordinator

GALLERY HOURS

Thursday & Friday 1-5 pm
Saturday 10 am-4 pm
Sunday 1-4pm
Monday -Wednesday Closed or by appointment

Land Acknowledgement

Each exhibition, program and class associated with the Oak Park Art League (OPAL) takes place on the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires - the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa -
as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk Nations.
OPAL recognizes that the region we now call Chicago and Oak Park was the traditional homeland of many Indigenous nations,
and remains home to diverse Native people today. The land we walk was, and remains Native land.

Thank you to our generous sponsors

Oak Park Art League is partially funded by the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Village of Oak Park, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts.