Our History
Artreach at Lillstreet believes that art contributes to the development and well being of children and society in general. That belief, coupled with a desire to bring ceramics education to a larger audience and into schools, led to the creation of Artreach (formerly the Lillstreet Learning Center) in 1989.
We are the sister organization to the Lillstreet Art Center, one of the largest art facilities in the Midwest. Artreach at Lillstreet, with many of the same curriculum offerings as the Art Center, serves more than 5,000 people per year in partnerships with schools, hospitals, social service agencies, the City of Chicago, and more. All of our programs are low-cost and, through special funding programs, many of our programs are offered free of charge to the participants.
Artreach at Lillstreet’s school programs stem from an arts based learning curriculum. Through these programs, students learn and explore history, anthropology, and science while working with clay, glaze, paint, paper, and other materials.
Artreach programs also include public art projects where students create sculpture and functional objects, such as benches. We aim to provide programs to communities that lack art-making experiences, such as senior citizens, immigrants, inner city youth, and people living with illness.
Often Artreach students exhibit their work at the Lillstreet Art Center Gallery. High School students who have participated in Artreach programs, and show a strong interest in the arts, are invited to be paid interns at both the Lillstreet Art Center and Artreach through our Entrepreneurship Program.
We also schedule and perform a number of special projects that occur only once, such as the Art of Storytelling, or on an annual basis, such as the Entrepreneurship Program. To find out more about our past, present, and future special projects and how to get involved please visit our special programming page.
For more about what we do, or if you have a question, please review our programming, give us a call at 773/907-0841, or email info@artreachatlillstreet.org.
Program Partners & Funders
Artreach at Lillstreet programs are partially funded from earned income and through support from our community partners.
Some of our past and present program partners include:
Artreach at Lillstreet believes that art contributes to the development and well being of children and society in general. That belief, coupled with a desire to bring ceramics education to a larger audience and into schools, led to the creation of Artreach (formerly the Lillstreet Learning Center) in 1989. We are the sister organization to the Lillstreet Art Center, one of the largest art facilities in the Midwest. Artreach at Lillstreet, with many of the same curriculum offerings as the Art Center, serves more than 5,000 people per year in partnerships with schools, hospitals, social service agencies, the City of Chicago, and more. All of our programs are low-cost and, through special funding programs, many of our programs are offered free of charge to the participants.
Artreach at Lillstreet’s school programs stem from an arts based learning curriculum. Through these programs, students learn and explore history, anthropology, and science while working with clay, glaze, paint, paper, and other materials.
Artreach programs also include public art projects where students create sculpture and functional objects, such as benches. We aim to provide programs to communities that lack art-making experiences, such as senior citizens, immigrants, inner city youth, and people living with illness.
Often Artreach students exhibit their work at the Lillstreet Art Center Gallery. High School students who have participated in Artreach programs, and show a strong interest in the arts, are invited to be paid interns at both the Lillstreet Art Center and Artreach through our Entrepreneurship Program.
We also schedule and perform a number of special projects that occur only once, such as the Art of Storytelling, or on an annual basis, such as the Entrepreneurship Program. To find out more about our past, present, and future special projects and how to get involved please visit our special programming page.
For more about what we do, or if you have a question, please review our programming, give us a call at 773/907-0841, or email info@artreachatlillstreet.org.
Program Partners & Funders
Artreach at Lillstreet programs are partially funded from earned income and through support from our community partners.
Some of our past and present program partners include:
- After School Matters
- The Buehler Center on Aging
- The Chicago Parks District
- Debra’s Place
- Gallery 37
- The Gary Comer Youth Center
- Lillstreet Art Center
- PACTT Learning Center
- Benjamin J. Rosenthal Foundation
- Boeing Company
- Chicago Tribune Foundation
- CityArts Program 2 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs
- Coleman Foundation
- Estate of Ruth & Joseph Rossi
- Illinois Arts Council, a state agency
- Leo S. Guthman Fund
- Lillstreet Art Center
- Meisel Visual Imaging
- Neiman Marcus
- Polk Bros. Foundation
- Rothschild Foundation
- Wrightwood Neighbors Association
- Anonymous