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A tire center will be converted to an art studio of sorts for an experiment called “Art at Work” in St. Charles.

The St Charles Arts Council announced this week that the inaugural ART at WORK Event, coming up from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. will be held at the Suburban Tire Auto Repair Center at 1900 Lincoln Highway (Route 38) in St. Charles, which will be converted into an “Arts Center” for the evening.

Visitors to this Open House will enjoy jazz, visual art, film, and food and drink, courtesy of Suburban Tire Auto Repair Centers.

The event is an Open House, which Suburban Tire has underwritten, and everyone is invited to attend. There is no entrance fee, although the SCAC and Suburban Tire suggest that visitors donate $10. Thanks to the generosity of Suburban Tire, a $10 or $20 donation will be matched with a $10 or $20 gift card to Suburban Tire.

The event features Jazz Duo Mike Aleckson and Dan Lopatka, the visual art of Peggy Sue Seehafer, Patti Parish, and Todd Willing, and the film art of Bart Woodstrup.

Steve Leffler says he’s wanted to do something like this for years – a little Jazz Party after work.

“When my wife (Pam Leffler, director of the St. Charles Public Library) told me that the Arts Council had an ART at HOME program and they wanted to expand that to an ART at WORK program, it sounded perfect,” he said. “We get the jazz and the party, plus this super idea of turning the store into an art gallery — I can’t wait to see it.  It will be great to do this with the Arts Council.”

Elizabeth Bellaver, president of the St Charles Arts Council says Steve Leffler of Suburban Tire “has been so amazing about this entire concept.”

“The SCAC has already organized half a dozen ART at HOME Events, but this is our first ART at WORK, and we’re delighted to have found such an enthusiastic sponsor. Steve has been supportive of every idea that we’ve had – hanging art where tires are displayed now, running an original film on the TVs that they use for advertising, turning the car lifts into tables for food and drinks – they’ve been so generous, and the event is just going to be awesome.”

Peggy Sue Seehafer, one of the professional visual artists whose work will be in the event and a long-time member of the St. Charles Public Art Committee, echoed Bellaver’s comments.

“I stopped by Suburban Tire recently – and I was very pleasantly surprised at what an interesting building it is. Steve is completely open to the visual art – what’s in the show, where we put it, how we display it. It’s going to be a treat for us to curate and hang the show, and amazing for everyone to experience the whole event.”

Proceeds from the suggested donations will be used to support the St Charles Arts Council’s Charlie’s Center for the Arts – Student Artist Event, and the work of the Friends of the St. Charles Public Library

The ART at WORK [and ART at HOME] programs are an initiative of the St Charles Arts Council intended to provide tangible support for artists, giving them opportunities to showcase and be compensated for their talent.  These events have feature the work of performing artists, visual artists, and culinary artists. The Arts Council encourages people to open up their Homes or Businesses to support the arts, and encourages artists to contact the SCAC to learn about showcase opportunities. Contact the council at 630.443.3794 or info@StCharlesArtsCouncil.org.

 

The St. Charles Arts Council is a 501(c)(3), registered not-for-profit Illinois corporation whose mission is to create an organization that serves and promotes the arts and cultural activities in St. Charles, to the mutual benefit of the arts and the community.