Art on the road: New program brings Elmhurst Art Museum pieces into the community

Mary Stopka knows her way around colored pens and a drawing pad, though she would not consider herself an artist.

“But it doesn’t stop you from enjoying art, and people shouldn’t be afraid,” she said. “Just because they can’t do it themselves, they appreciate what other people can do.”

That is the intent of the new Mobile Museum program created by the Elmhurst Art Museum. On Wednesday, the traveling exhibit made a stop at the Roosevelt at Salt Creek senior living community in Elmhurst.

Stopka and about two dozen other residents attended the event.

The result of a 2025 Illinois Arts Council grant, the Mobile Museum was designed to expand access to art education to students, community groups and Elmhurst residents by bringing artwork to them for a couple of hours.

After establishing the logistics late last year, the program’s first destination was the Conrad Fisher Elementary School in Elmhurst.

Then the Roosevelt got in touch, explained Karly Vance, the manager of education for the Elmhurst Art Museum.

“The Roosevelt reached out to us serendipitously, and we were talking about all the different types of programs we could bring,” Vance said.

The Mobile Museum won out.

“Do a little bit of art making,” Vance said. “But also do a little bit of intro to contemporary art 101 to teach folks about what it is and how to look at it. And that’s the option that they were excited about.”

Five pieces were displayed, including a reproduction of a Bernard Kleina photo of a 1960s Freedom Movement March on Chicago’s South Side. A print of that photo is in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.

Among the others were an aquatint print, “A Candle Burns,” by Eleanor King Hookham, a founder of the Elmhurst Art Museum; and a small sculpture by Chicago native Bernard Williams, intertwined pieces titled, “Zotom.”

“Experiences like this keep people engaged, curious and connected,” said Tam Wagner, executive director of the Roosevelt at Salt Creek. “Art naturally sparks conversation and memories, and that’s exactly the kind of environment we strive to create here every day.”

Indeed, after Vance addressed a piece and invited Roosevelt residents to write down their reactions and discuss “what your brain is doing when you encounter this piece of abstract art.” It sparked colorful responses.

“Confusion.”

“Snakes.”

“Junk.”

“A puzzle.”

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Another Mobile Museum collection on contemporary architecture and design, according to Elmhurst Art Museum studio coordinator Reese Foytik, might elicit different responses.

Artist or not, Stopka liked what she saw.

“This is amazing,” she said. “I see there are a lot of people here. So there’s a lot of excitement about them coming here.”