Perhaps you’ve been waiting to see what is planned for the Carriage House Gallery in the coming year? Wait no longer. OPAL has a newly formed Exhibition Committee that has labored over the coming line-up and we hope this selection of calls will give plenty of prompts for art-making and opportunities to share your artwork with the community.

Please consider donating to the Oak Park Art League this giving season. Our Annual Appeal runs through the end of 2024

You can feel good supporting local art and creatives with a tax-deductible gift to OPAL.
We made it easy to donate online, or you can mail a check, or visit our historic gallery and say hello while you drop off your year-end donation to OPAL. Thank you!

OPAL is honored to host multi-media sculptor and Oak Parker, Bethany Cordero as our artist-in-residence through December 2024. You can seen her sculpture exhibit in the gallery through the end of 2024.

This year our Annual Fall Artist Member Exhibition, closes out the year by going small in a big way!

Please note ~ Opening reception:
Saturday, November 30th, 1pm - 4pm

As a way to raise funds for more seating and gallery improvements, OPAL is starting an adoption opportunity for our brand-new chairs. For $25. you can adopt a chair and add your name and website link to the back of your chair!

Juror: Richard Laurent

Cartooning and animation are powerful modes for speaking truth to power, when protest is captioned in a word bubble and dry humor delivers the punch. In honor of Oak Park artist and prolific political cartoonist Keith J. Taylor, this juried national exhibition comes at a fraught time, an election year, and invites artists working in all forms of cartooning and animation to submit works that speak to this moment in human history.

The Oak Park Art League (OPAL) and By Discovery, After School Art Enrichment Program, co-host an evening of
art-making designed for adults to raise funds for art programming at St. Angela School in Chicago's Austin neighborhood.

We are happy to announce that our state grant-funded building renovation will commence in the next week with the tear-off and replacement of our 40-year-old roof. Classes will continue as scheduled but this is your heads-up that work is being done on OPAL. Stay tuned for updates here as the project progresses. 

The Oak Park Art League is a unique space suitable for hosting a variety of events, from birthday, showers, meetings, photo shoots and more. We are now renting OPAL for outside events through Peerspace.

Check out our listing and plan your next event in a beautiful, historic location.

Join us for the artist reception, held Friday, September 20th, 2024, 7-9pm

Shop handmade wares, art and more at our Harvest Market Pop-up Saturday October 19, 10am - 6pm.

FEATURED MAKERS

Jill Kramer Chimerapress Studios, Natalie Birholtz Jewelry and Art, Sam Donahue Photography, Isaac Streiff Desmond & Isaac's Little Guys, Jacqueline Lakely JM Lakely Original Artwork, Robyn Leah, My Eye on the World, little press, guacamollie art and accessories, Weldon Artpothecary, Alexander Stockdale & Jessica Fransen, Ted Sowinski Studio Pottery, Coffee from Grow The Earth

Saturday October 19, 10am - 9pm

Wander our courtyard Garden of Ghosts curated with otherworldy sculpture, shop the Pop-up Harvest Maker’s Market, come for kid’s crafts and costume parade at our ‘Witching Hour’, get spooked up in the Haunted Hayloft  plus some surprise guests throughout the day. Don’t forget to get your tickets for a first look ‘Ghost Stories’ Reception 

9/1/24_______UPDATE_________

Our street-facing installation will be traveling and be part of a Harris/Walz campaign event “Kayaks for Kamala” on Sept 22 in downtown Chicago!

We are the Groundwater Collective: Galen Garapolo, Jacqueline Rueckert Lakely, Kelly Donahugh, and Mary Jo Parker O’Hearn. We are four artists who have met together as a group to share and critique for over twenty years.

October 12 from noon to 9 pm, and Sunday, October 13 from noon to 6 pm, the Groundwater Collective will be sharing an eclectic bouquet of their recent and collected works at the Carriage House Gallery of the Oak Park Art League.

Join us for the artist reception, held Friday, August 16th, 2024, 7-9pm

Join us for the artist reception, held Friday, July 12th, 2024, 7-9pm

The West Cook YMCA has invited the Oak Park Art League to collaborate on an exciting mural project in their community gathering space that will be the focal point of their remodeled first floor.
This partnership showcases OPAL's artistic voices while strengthening our community connections and helping us refocus on art as self-care, expressive empowerment and healing.

Beginning July 5, the gallery will change its hours to the following:
Thursdays & Fridays 1-5pm
Saturdays 10am - 4 pm
Sundays 1-4pm
CLOSED Monday - Wednesday

We’re thrilled to announce that OPAL received a relief grant from the @CookCountyArts Nonprofit Relief Grant program! Public funding for the arts is critical to our community well-being, and this funding will help our organization continue and expand our mission to provide engaging art exhibitions, educational opportunities and programming to promote artistic inquiry for all. 

With generous grant funding from the Mammel Family Foundation, the Oak Park Art League has partnered with St. Angela School in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago to facilitate a visiting art instructor to provide art classes and activities to underserved elementary and high school youth.