Director of new Geneva Center for the Arts shares goals and visions

Geneva has contemplated establishing a cultural arts center in the community for more than a decade. Fox Valley residents could enjoy art galleries, music, theater, art history discussions and art education sessions at such a center.

When the Geneva Center for the Arts opened last fall at 321 Stevens St., you could say it was a baby step with some staying power in this mission to present the arts to the community.

Still, the GCA is just a building. It takes some forward-thinking minds of art lovers and supporters to make it offer as much as possible, knowing it will never be a "theater" or a venue for larger concerts or plays.

GCA executive director Taylor Egan is one of those persons rooted deeply in the arts - and she has connections. She was the executive director of Water Street Studio in Batavia until June of 2021, and not long after that, Geneva's cultural arts board lured her into overseeing the GCA. Last August, she took the job, and the center officially opened on Oct. 15.

"In our current location, this is the start of the (cultural arts) business model that the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission and the Geneva Foundation for the Arts had developed for what a center could be in town," Egan said.

"It's a space, a versatile space," Egan added. "It's not huge, but it's a smart direction to go in because it has a gallery, and we can have visual arts and programming that focuses on cultural arts."

In that regard, it means GCA will offer music, literary arts and some performances in the form of theater. "We don't have a theater in Geneva, but maybe sometime down the road we might, so we view this as our 'starter home,'" Egan added.

A glance at the GCA's scheduled events tells you Egan, and the board have been busy. Visual art shows, ranging from galleries to high school programs and guest curators, are scheduled every five to six weeks through April 2023.

A traveling exhibition focusing on the gun culture in America called "American Roulette" is scheduled from May 20 through June 17.

"The GCA does not take a stand either way on these important issues, but rather presents the images that create conversation," Egan noted. "We'll have a panel discussion to offer a wide range of experts for opinions on that topic for the community."

Other future topics would include the environment and the LGBTQ community.

"Art has historically been a way to take a snapshot of where we are in history and can make a visual representation of events or emotions tied to those events," Egan said. "It can create conversations, and that is how a community grows, by having those discussions."

Egan's efforts are not lost upon those who have supported the arts in Geneva for decades.

"The board is blessed with having Taylor Egan running the show," said Carolyn Hill, a former cultural arts board member and organizer of the Dancing with the Geneva Stars fundraiser during its five-year run. "It's been amazing what she is doing. I have attended several GCA events and have heard many positive comments."

Egan recently resigned from her role as president of the Geneva School Board, giving her more time to focus on community arts. Through her ties with Water Street in Batavia and her ongoing communication with the St. Charles Arts Council, she can do so.

It also frees up her mind and gets her out of the crosshairs that too many school board members have faced during the COVID pandemic.

"In my (school board) resignation letter, I explained I was grateful for the time I had, but it is OK to sometimes prioritize the health of yourself and your family, even if you believe in the work that you are doing and feel very strongly about the cause you are working for," Egan said.

Egan said her work with GCA allows her to continue "trying to enrich the community of Geneva."

"I was able to sit back and say I was still doing work that would ultimately tie into who we are in Geneva and hopefully make it even better because it is a great town," she added.

Those interested in more information about the GCA can call (630) 345-6762 or visit genevaartscenter.org.

Visit from Tooth Fairy

When Jennifer Meszaros and Priscilla West of Orchard Valley Dental in Aurora ran an errand for the dental office Monday to Target, they got plenty of attention.

But who wouldn't, dressed up like the Tooth Fairy and a large tooth?

Meszaros, the practice manager of operations at the dental office, and West, a business assistant, were having a grand old time promoting the dental practice of Dr. Abhinar Kalra but also letting everyone know that it was National Tooth Fairy Day.

"We purchased some chocolate coins and passed those out to people, and we were just smiling the whole time and telling everyone about the tooth fairy day," Meszaros said.

"We are trying to get our name out there, and it's kind of like promoting the Easter Bunny, but it's the Tooth Fairy instead," Meszaros added.

When women at the store mentioned how cute the two were, Meszaros figured they talked about West, dressed up as the Tooth Fairy. "I was just dressed up like a big tooth," she said with a laugh.

The dental practice at 2418 W. Indian Trail Road has been in operation for 40 years. But this is the first official sighting of the Tooth Fairy on the premises.

"It was a blast, really," Meszaros said.

She decided to dress up for the occasion after seeing the national day mentioned in some dental association marketing materials sent to the office.

"I just jumped on it, and we got costumes from Amazon and went from there," Meszaros noted.

The word trickled to us here at the newspaper after Meszaros, a resident of Sandwich, and West, a resident of Batavia, attended a Sugar Grove Chamber of Commerce meeting and talked about their plans.

The biggest laugh of the day came at the Target store after the ladies explained to a worker why they were dressed up.

"The worker just looked at us and said, 'You do you,' and we thought that was so funny," Meszaros said.

A different art show

The owner of Black Cactus Print House in Batavia is assuring those who attend the "Thank You For Leaving the House" multimedia art event on March 26 and 27 at Black Cactus will have a "once in a lifetime experience."

Andrew Heppner is confident of that reaction at his business, having spent the last year preparing for the art show he's calling "equal parts art gallery and clothing pop-up shop."

For those not familiar with Black Cactus Print House, it focuses on custom apparel and printing/branding while featuring its own boutique for "streetwear" clothing. The store is located at 11 E. Wilson St. in Batavia.

The Nothing By Default multimedia art platform is used for the show, and those interested in tickets can get them through nothingbydefault.com.

Finally, a Gia Mia visit

The popular Gia Mia restaurant has served residents in Geneva for six years and in St. Charles for two years. The Italian pizza pub operation also has locations in Wheaton and Elmhurst.

Maybe it was COVID or any other number of reasons, but we had not yet tried Gia Mia - until last weekend. The chicken Parmesan was terrific, and the small plates of zucchini fries and white bean soup were also good choices.

We had a tour of the St. Charles location while initial work was taking place on the site in the First Street plaza. At the time, owners were waiting for the oven needed to create the wood-fired pizza.

Gia Mia is expanding to add a Naperville location in a nostalgic twist. It's going in the old Nichols Library building - the place where I got my first library card as a youngster.

dheun@sbcglobal.net