Evanston Made is entering our quiet time of the year, January (31 days), where we sit still and reflect on all we have created together in service and support of the artists in our community. This being our 10th year, it is NO surprise it was our biggest!

You Showed Up!

Hundreds of you attended Evanston Made’s programs and events – all designed to carry out our mission to bring visibility and opportunity to the artists in our community. You attended the Members Group Show, First Saturday Art Events, Artist Studio Tours, Maker’s Markets, the Shop Evanston Made Holiday Market, the Plein Air Festival and more. Showing up is half the work! 

Please Donate

The other half is financially supporting our work! We know you have many causes to support this time of year and we ask that you include Evanston Made in your End of Year Giving – any amount helps! Evanston Made is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit art organization. Contributions to Evanston Made are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law, tax identification number: 84-3971750. If you can, give today and help us start 2025 strong. Click here to donate.

Evanston Made’s Best of 2024

Thank you for making the 10th Anniversary Year such a success and what feels like our biggest! We are thrilled to be growing this organization in Evanston, IL, with all of you! You can see how our annual calendar developed to meet our member’s needs since 2014, here. Standby for the 2025 Calendar soon! Enjoy the Best Moments of 2024 below and send your BEST Evanston Made moment to us at info[at]evanstonmade.org

 

Best Testimonial

Testimonial: “Evanston Made is a dynamic, creative engine, supporting visibility of new emerging and established artists while also contributing to the community and economy of Evanston and its artists…Evanston Made is an unsung hero and jewel of the community.” –Angela Williams, Evanston Made Member, Evanston Arts Council Member & Director Design & Creative Services, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry 

 

Best Festival Finale: Plein Air Festival Finale

Photo: Plein Air Festival Winners & Judges 2024, Nina Weiss (Judge), David Becker (Best in Show), Mark Cleveland (Founding Director), Lucy Clary (First Place Amateur), Amanda Stenlund (Second Place), on ground – Jianqiao Luan (Honorable Mention), Robert Holmes (Third Place), behind – Tom Trausch (Judge), Shabad Kaur Khalsa (Honorable Mention), Kurt Ritterpusch (Mark Cleveland Founders Award) and Maria Delton (Alley Gallery Award for Evanston Artist).

The 3rd Annual Plein Festival had more than 600 fans vote Festival Favorite and more than 1,000 patrons show up to shop at the open air art market. Thank you to all our competitors, patrons, partners and sponsors! Save the date: Evanston Made’s 4th Annual Plein Air Festival, July 16-20, 2025.  INFO

 

Best Monthly Meetup: Sketching at Sketchbook

This event has grown to host dozens of artists, helping create new art friends and new sketchers! Sketching at Sketchbook Brewing Company invites anyone curious about sketching to attend this free monthly workshop and throw down! Artists are on hand with sketching tips, FREE w RSVP and Materials provided! Hosted on the First Saturday of every month at Sketchbook Brewery, 821 Chicago Ave., 1-2:30p

 

Best Studio Tour

This year we celebrated the 10th Annual Studio Tour, Oct. 5 & 6. We collaborated with the original studio tour map designer, Steven Bialer, to create a new map and a 10 studios challenge! The person who visited 10 studios over the weekend was entered into a raffle to win a basket of donated art! We had the highest attendance and engagement at the studio tour! Special thank you to all of the artists (45+) who helped promote and host community members! And thank you to all the patrons who started or added to their Evanston Art Collection!

 

Best Community Art Project: Evanston Paints

Inspired by Herve Tullet’s “Art of Play,”  Evanston Made hosted free, community art workshops, inviting artists of all ages to paint and create in a fun, playful environment. All art created in workshops was collected, organized and exhibited at the Evanston Art Center, June 2024, at the All Members Group Show and  in celebration of Evanston Made’s 10-year anniversary. Thank you, Kathe Stoepel for bringing us this awesome project! Thank you, Sholo Beverly for leading our biggest workshop! And thank you to Lindsay Theile for your volunteerism and support! More INFO here.

 

Best Signature Event Cocktail: The Monet

Thanks to Amy Morton, of the Barn and LeTour, for creating the Monet – the signature cocktail of the Plein Air Festival! Served only during Evanston Plein Air Painting Festival/Bastille Day. Save the date: 4th Annual Plein Air Festival, July 16-20, 2025.  INFO

 

Best Fundraiser:  Main Dempster Miles’ Art & Crafts Crawl

This fundraiser in support of Evanston Made is our biggest and funnest annual fundraiser. Shout out to Katherine Gotsick for pairing more than 30 artists in local businesses along the MDM. Thank you to all the businesses for hosting this fun night of community building! And thank you to POUR Evanston, for always hosting the After Pourty! Save the Date: May 15, 2025. 

 

Best Collaboration: Colorful Legacies

We are thrilled to see Evanston Made members connect to local organizations! Artist and Illustrator Andrew Walker III and Laurice Bell, Executive Director of Shorefront Legacy collaborated to create Colorful Legacies, a coloring book featuring stories of community members (from the past and the present) to showcase the amazing diversity and accomplishments of Evanston. Photo of Andrew at CoCo Design & Building, May 2024, at the MDM Art & Crafts Crawl and Fundraiser for Evanston Made! Click here for more info!

 

Best New Festival: Evanston Folk Festival 

We are grateful for the opportunity to host Evanston Made artists and makers at the first annual Folk Festival in Dawes Park. We made dozens of new Evanston Made fans and introduced artists to many new collectors! Thank you to the awesome festival team and a special shout out to Jake and Emma. The festival returns September 6-7, 2025! INFO here.

 

Best Comeback: Custer Street Fair! 

Get ready to shop locally made art and handmade goods at this festival that is finally BACK! Custer will now be called “E-Town Summer Bash” and will be hosted on June 28 & 29, 2025. We had a great time at the pilot, selling member’s art and EM merch! Stay tuned for more info!

 

Best New Line of Merchandise: Plein Air Map by Matt LaFleur

We are super grateful for artist and illustrator Matt LaFleur for his partnership creating Plein Air Merchandise. We worked with Matt to make a map where competing plein air painters could find Evanston’s neighborhoods and best subjects to paint. Shop this new line here! 

 

Best Showing of Community Support: Building Project 2025

2025 is the year of Evanston Made’s building project and we have many people to thank, who led us through the grant application process and the City of Evanston request for funding! Special thanks to Dickelle Fonda, Jevoid Simmons, Beth Adler, Sandra Robinson, Mat Rappaport, Denise Wilmer Barreto, Darcy Addison, Gay Riseborough, Alice George, Nancy Floy, Chris Gaggero, Bill Holloway, Alfonso Piloto Nieves Ruiz, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Evanston Girard, Jim Parks, Michael Girard and many more! Learn more about our building project here and standby for news about the capital campaign we plan to launch in early 2025.

 

Best Party: Evanston Made Holiday Party

Wow! You were all very excited to celebrate the holidays this year! Hosted at the Pop-Up Holiday Market, we had more than 300 people attend our annual holiday party! What a fantastic turnout! Thank you to everyone who attended the party and shopped for holiday gifts!

 

Best Turnout: $10 Fundraiser

More than 150 people gave $10 or more to our 10th Anniversary Fundraiser! The goal of Evanston Made’s fundraising initiatives is to diversify and democratize philanthropy; we believe that everyone can be a philanthropist and patron of the arts. We are building out a strategy that celebrates ALL giving at all levels and we are inspired by the teachings of nonprofit star, Vu Le at nonprofitaf.com

We strive for community engagement with our fundraising campaigns, the same way we want community engagement with our arts initiative #CollectEvanstonArt – we believe the citizens of Evanston know the value of community investment and engagement with the arts.

Please include Evanston Made in your End of Year Giving – any amount helps! Evanston Made is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit art organization. Contributions to Evanston Made are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law, tax identification number: 84-3971750. If you can, give today and help us start 2025 strong. Donate at https://evanstonmade.org/donate/

OR

  • Zelle to evanstonmade@gmail.com
  • Venmo @evanston-made
  • Check: Evanston Made Art, 1100 Florence Ave., Evanston, IL 60202