Evanston Made First Saturday Evanston Art Events

Evanston Made presents First Saturday Evanston Art Events, a free self-guided tour of Evanston’s Creative Community. See art on display, shop for art and handmade goods, meet small business owners, enjoy a delicious meal, learn to sketch and make ART Friends! INFO 

Evanston Art Map. Updated the First Saturday of every month, scroll this Google map for locations to see and shop for art in Evanston. Double check open hours before going to venues. 

FREE Parking! First Saturday Free Three-Hour Parking Pilot Program. The first Saturday of every month through the end of the year, metered parking will be free, 6-9p

FIRST SATURDAY ART EVENTS LISTINGS BY NEIGHBORHOOD

MAIN DEMPSTER MILE

Art Openings

• Open Studio Project: Matthew Schaeffer Opening Reception. Open Studio Project’s Gallery 901 presents a solo exhibition of large-scale paintings by Evanston artist Matthew Schaeffer. 901 Sherman Ave., 5-7p
• Space 900 Gallery: Seeing Red. Featuring work by Space 900 Members Todd Anderson, Colleen Conley, Clark Ellithorpe, Karen Gubitz, Bob Magrisso, Joanna Pinsky, Beth Shadur, Judy Solomon, and Annie Trincot. 816 Dempster St., 1-6p

Art Exhibition

• Evanston Pour: Joyce Elias. Enjoy delicious small plates, coffee drinks and cocktails. 528 Dempster St., 8a-9p
• Perspective Photo Gallery: New Orleans: A Personal Perspective, Tobin Fraley. 1310-1/2B Chicago Ave., 12-6p

Make Art! 

• Sketching at Sketchbook Brewing Company. Sketchbook teams up with Evanston Made to offer sketching tips and free materials. After all, Beer is art. Beer is community. FREE to attend. RSVP here. Sketchbook Brewery, 821 Chicago Ave., 1-2:30p

Shop our Partners

• The Brothers K Coffeehouse, Prints by The Bird Machine, 500 Main St., 7a-5p
• Stumble & Relish, 1312 Chicago Ave., 11a-5p
• Nice Lena & Friends, 1235 Chicago Ave., 11a-5p
• Evanston Pour, 528 Dempster St., 8a-9p
• Modern Vibe, 611 Dempster St., 11a-4p
• Secret Treasures, 605 Dempster St., 11a-3p
• Luna Delgado, 800 Dempster St., 11a-5p
• Crafted, 822 Dempster St., 10a-5p
• Wine Goddess, 702 Main St., 12-9p   
• Masterpiece Framing + Imaging, 714 Main St., 10a-5p

DOWNTOWN EVANSTON

Art Exhibition:

• Block Museum of Art | Alsdorf Gallery: A NEW STATE OF MATTER, 2025 Art, Theory, and Practice MFA Thesis Exhibition. Northwestern University, 40 Arts Circle, 12-5p.
• Block Museum of Art:  Woven Being | Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland.  Northwestern University, 40 Arts Circle, 12-5p.
• Wolf Art Gallery: Anthony Wolf Art Show and Poetry Reading, 1718 Sherman Ave., Suite 3, 6:00p.

Art Opening

• Grove Gallery: Portraits With Impact | Opening Reception. See a diverse array of portraits of people from around the world. 619 Grove St., 5-8p

Shop for Original Art

• Artem Pop Up Gallery: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to mark the expansion of Artem! Organized by the Evanston Chamber of Commerce with special guest Mayor Daniel Biss. Stay for lite snacks and refreshments and discover the latest work from talented local artists, 1625-1627 Sherman Avenue, 9:30a.
• Alley Gallery, 1712 Rear 2, Sherman Ave., 10a-5p 

NOYES ST.

Open Studio

• Socorro Mucino: Noyes Cultural Arts Center Studio #221. Alternative Process Photo-Based Prints. 927 Noyes St., 12-5p

Art Exhibit

• What We Carry, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Upstairs Gallery. Group Exhibition featuring the work of 14 artists. 927 Noyes St., 10-6p
• Adriana Poterash Exhibit: Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., 12-5p

Art Mixer

• Coffee Lab: Celebrate PRIDE month and LGBTQIA+ artists at the Emerging Artist Mixer! Free to attend, RSVP here. 910 Noyes St., 6:30-9p

CENTRAL STREET 

Open Studio

• Linda Laatsch | LKL Sculpture: Open studio and Sale at 125 year Evanston home. Clay objects figures, animals, abstract. All one of a kind pieces appeal to children and adults. 2457 Pioneer Rd., 10a-3p

Art on Exhibit

• Evanston Art Center: First Floor: Meet the Artists at the Evanston Made Group Show; Allen Teller, Amy Rosenwasser, Betty Schulte, David Roberts, Hasha Perman, Iman Dzombic, JC Wayne, Janis Page, Joyce Elias, Junko Yokota, Kate Citrin, Khalid H Muhammad, Marjory Oliva, Mary Seyfarth, Melanie Deal, Mindi Dewey-Rosburg, Nancy Gordon, Olga Masevich, Pamela Allen, Patrick Perry, Robyn McMurray Hurtig, Roslyn Broder, Scott Greenberg. Artists will be on hand to talk about their work and process. More than 170 works of original art are on exhibit and for sale, by Evanston Made members. 1717 Central St., Open 9a-4p, Meet the Artists, 3-4p
• Evanston Art Center: Second Floor: Friends of Dorothy’s, Curated by Emma Rose Gudewicz.The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to Friends of Dorothy’s. Friends of Dorothy’s, curated by Emma Rose Gudewicz, examines what it is to be queer today, underscoring the artists’ individual experience with queerness. This exhibition seeks to uplift and highlight LGBTQIA+ voices in an uncertain world. The exhibition title Friends of Dorothy’s derives from queer slang in the mid-20th century. At a time when homosexuality was criminalized, many queer individuals used coded language to identify one another safely in public. “Are you a friend of Dorothy?” was a discreet inquiry from one queer individual to another that didn’t risk revealing a queer person’s identity to potentially dangerous people. Amid the regression of societal acceptance and understanding, we reflect on historical queer communities—their unity and resilience—and how their experiences shape the spaces we create today. Friends of Dorothy’s will be exhibited in the Second Floor Main & Atrium Gallery of the Art Center. 1717 Central St., 9a-4p
• Prairie Joe’s WEST: Aydin Dincer, 2608 Prairie Ave., 12-5p  
• Storm Print City: Pop Up Art Sale featuring Aydin Dincer, John Liberty and Russell Muits. 2601 Prairie Ave., 11a-5p

Art in Venues

• Backlot: Agnes Voltz photography, 2006 Central St., Open Hours 7a-5p. Meet the Artist 12-1p
• Gracie’s: John Liberty paintings, 1939 Central St., 11a-5:30p  
• Great Harvest: Photography by Ted Glasoe on exhibit and for sale. Free coffee/tea beverage with any purchase. 2126 Central St., 6a-5p

ASHLAND ARTS DISTRICT

Literary Arts

• Fleetwood Jourdain Center: Summer Jam & Lit Fest sponsored by Hive Book Arts and the City of Evanston. Food, Live Music and Fun Activities. 1655 Foster St., 12-3p

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FIRST SATURDAYS in 2025

January 4, February 1, March 1, April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, August 2, September 6, October 4, November 1, December 6

About Evanston Made

Started as a Artist Studio Tour in June 2014, by a group of volunteer art advocates, Evanston Made has grown into a 400+ member organization with year round events and hyper local online shopping portal – shopevanstonmade.org

Evanston Made is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization with the mission to connect Evanston creatives to the public through programming and events. Learn more at evanstonmade.org and consider making a donation of any amount to support programs that drive our mission.