ARC is an Educational Foundation

ARC dedicates on-going exhibition space to community groups working with under-served populations or individuals that use art primarily as a means of self-expression and/or healing. A forum is created to generate cultural, social and political awareness vis-à-vis artwork and ideas that would otherwise go unnoticed by the general viewing public.

Community Outreach

  • Scholarship Programs

    Introduces graduate and undergraduate art students to the cooperative gallery structure including exhibition development, grant writing, publicity work and much more. Scholarship recipients are paired with a member/mentor who provides guidance and direction as well as opportunities to participate in all traveling, exchange and member shows.

    If you would like to apply, please see our Scholarship application

  • Art Exchanges

    ARC promotes artistic and cultural exchange with cooperatives throughout the world. In the last five years such transformative interchanges took place with: Le Genie de la Bastille ~ Paris, France, Patriothall Gallery ~ Edinburgh, Scotland, Galerie der Gedok ~ Hamburg, Germany, Atelierhof ~ Bremen, Germany, Sydney College of the Arts ~ Sydney, Australia and Red Head Gallery ~ Toronto, Canada. Closer to home, domestic swaps occurred with Amos Eno ~ New York, NY, eye lounge ~ Phoenix, AZ, Gallery 10, Ltd. ~ Washington, D.C. and SPARK Gallery ~ Denver, CO. If your art cooperative is interested in an exchange, contact us at info@arcgallery.org.

  • Tours

    ARC members provide informal tours of current exhibitions for small to medium-sized groups (5-20 max.) Please contact the gallery at info@arcgallery.org prior to a group visit to make sure there’s no conflict in scheduling. There is never a gallery admission fee.

  • Hosting

    ARC rents space during non-gallery days/hours for seminars (C.G. Jung Center and Council for Jewish Elderly); workshops (Chicago Artists’ Coalition); and/or professional meetings (Women’s Caucus for Art, Chicago).

    If your organization is interested, please email us at info@arcgallery.org.

  • Collaborations

    DescriptionARC reaches out, and is invited in, to the community in numerous ways through collaborations with other non-profit organizations, arts organizations, community groups, supporters of the arts, neighborhood residents, businesses and volunteers. Recent events include: CAN-TV’s filming and broadcast of “ARC Gallery Walkthrough;” the Dept. of Cultural Affairs’ Artists at Work Forum, panel discussion, “Not the Old Boy’s Network,” on the relevance of women’s art organizations today, at the Chicago Cultural Center; “Movin’ On Mon Amour Fundraiser and Erotic/Love Art Auction;” and ARC’s 50 years of Archives gift of deed to The Art Institute of Chicago’s Ryerson Library, compliments of Joanna Gardner-Huggett, ARC advisory board member and art historian.

  • Special Events

    For the last ten years, ARC members have been working with a local residence for women survivors of domestic violence and their children. The results of our on-going creative expression workshops culminate in an annual exhibition of the women’s work in Special Events at ARC Gallery.

    View our past special events in the Exhibitions Archives.

    If you would like to apply, please see our Prospectus for Special Events

Community Partners