Rover: Mobile Arts Center

The McLean County Arts Center presents in the Brandt Gallery August 15 - 30, 2014 the student and instructor artwork exhibition of ROVER: Mobile Arts Center. The exhibition is the culmination of the MCAC’s rural and urban community outreach arts workshops from the past year. A free and public reception for the exhibition will be on Friday, August 15, from 5 to 7 pm.

ROVER: Mobile Arts Center is an arts education program for youth that mirrors the classes offered at the McLean County Arts Center (MCAC) and is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts for Arts Education in American Communities, the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation- Mirza Arts & Culture Grant, and local private donors.  Ten rural and urban communities hosted twenty-two arts workshops lead by local professional artists for youth ages ten to eighteen from October 2013 to July 2014. At no cost, youth were taught techniques and created art in various media. The artwork from the ceramics, 2D, 3D, and fibers workshops and a video of a musical theatrical performance, as well as the instructors’ artwork, will be installed in the Brandt Gallery to share with the community.

The three-dimensional workshops offered ceramic and wire sculpture exploration, construction, and decoration while the two-dimensional workshops explored light, shape, space, and color through printmaking, collage, watercolor, and figure drawing. During the fibers media workshop, participants explored processes like sewing, papermaking, and paper mache. MCAC takes pride in providing quality art education lead by local, working artists. In support of the local artists and their communities, MCAC will now be administering the same quality arts education to rural and urban McLean County youth. More information in regards to ROVER: Mobile Arts Center can be found on our website, www.mcac.org, and the MCAC’s Facebook page.

Workshop Locations included: Heyworth Jr/Sr High School, Tri-Valley Middle & High School, Lexington Jr/Sr High, Danvers Public Library/Historical Society, Chenoa Public Library, Towanda Public Library, Boys and Girls Club, Bloomington Public Library, and a Home School Group of Heyworth.

Artist Instructors included: Rachel Carpenter, Erin Furimsky,  Kelly Gauwitz , Joseph Hooten, Gina Hunt, Sam Ingram, Kathryn Jackson, Jeri Kelly, Denise LaGrassa,  Krista Profit, Stoney Sasser, Sarah Sciba, and Grace Sheese.

ROVER: Mobile Arts Center was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts for Arts Education in American Communities and was generously sponsored by the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation – Mirza Arts & Culture Grant, GE Foundation, Jim and Pam Raymond, Linda Willis-Fisher, Illinois, Bloomington/Normal Junior Womens' Club, and Tsetse Fly Graphic Communications.

The McLean County Arts Center is located at 601 N. East Street in downtown Bloomington. Arts Center hours are Tuesday, 10am- 7pm; Wednesday-Friday, 10am-5pm; and Saturday, noon-4pm; Sunday and Monday, closed. For more information, please call 309/829-0011, like us on Facebook, or check on our website: www.mcac.org. MCAC is supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.