Ela arts show looking for new home

A popular Ela Township art exhibit is searching for a new home after conflict arose with Deer Park Town Center officials.

This year's eighth annual Ela Fine Arts Show, scheduled for June 7, has been canceled because organizers and mall authorities could not agree on terms.

Event organizer Barbara Evans said Deer Park Town Center officials informed her they could not host the show without a sponsor. They also wanted proceeds from the show to go to the mall.

"As a nonprofit I felt it was illegal for us to be raising money for a profit-making entity," said Evans, president of Cultural Arts Connection of Ela. "We're looking for a location for the show for next year."

Cultural Arts Connection has organized art shows in the area since 1996. The Ela Fine Arts Show has been held at the Deer Park Town Center for seven years.

Mall marketing director Konda Dees said it's unfortunate organizers decided to cancel the show. Dees did not comment on the request for sponsorship, confirmed by e-mail communications between the two parties.

"There's other venues that are available," she said. "It's a great show and we always have supported it. We just could not come to terms on the appropriate way to handle the show. I was sure the event was still happening."

The daylong outdoor show typically features 65 area artists, a student art show and entertainment.

Evans said the challenge now is finding a large enough location that is central to the Ela communities to host the event.

"We're open to ideas," she said. "What was nice about the center was that they had an upscale clientele and we're an upscale art show. The location is critical in that we want it to help the community in a way that it naturally draws an audience. Finding a new partner is the tricky part."

Evans said the show is self-sustaining and raises between $2,500 and $5,000 yearly to keep the organization afloat and further its goal of supporting arts programming in Ela Township.

That funding helped create the Arts in Action Gallery in downtown Lake Zurich and has been funneled back to area communities through cultural programs, she said.

Evans said the student art show portion of the event will still be held this June at the Arts in Action Gallery, 2 W. Main St., Lake Zurich.

The gallery will feature art by third- through eighth-graders during the first two weeks in June and high-schoolers in the last two weeks of the month. Students will also help manage an exhibit with professional artists.

"We're looking at this as a great learning opportunity for the kids to be able to come in and exhibit their work, encourage them in their craft, as well as get to see what professional artists do," Evans said. "That piece of it won't get lost."

For information about the student art show, call (847) 540-1919 or visit www.culturalartsconnection.org. Entries must be submitted by the end of May.