North Shore’s Year in Review: 2015 Highlights

We have undergone many changes and accomplished many projects at the North Shore studio. Here is a list highlighting some of our favorite times of the year.

1. Hiring two new staff members: [Image: Courtney Mackedanz and Rick Sindt, new staff members] We hired Courtney Mackedanz and Rick Sindt as Volunteer Coordinators and Studio Coordinators at the beginning of March. Courtney now works as the Volunteer Coordinator at the Chicago Studio and Rick is serving as the Studio Coordinator at the North Shore studio.
2. VanGoGo released their debut album: [Image: VanGoGo debut album release event] VanGoGo took this entire year by storm. They started off with a fundraising campaign to support the creation of their first album in the spring. Then, they hammered out their recording at Experimental Sound Studios over the summer. Finally, they finished the year off with a Coffee Shop Invasion Tour throughout the North Shore and a CD Release party at Comfort Station—a multi-disciplinary art space in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. The band consistently drew enormous crowds, filling every venue they played at to the brim.
3. More solo exhibitions than ever before: [Image: Portrait of Amanda] This year we were elated to have more solo exhibitions in the community than we have ever had in the past. Artists such as Rebecca Kubica, Sean Kremer, Amanda Ganter, Russell Copenharve, and Quinn Zenner were able to exhibit their work at venues like The Raven Theatre, Linz and Vail, and The Rock House (Glenview).
4. Rust-Oleum helped us paint our studio: [Image: Rust-Oleum studio painting project] Towards the end of the summer, we were able to paint our studio thanks to the efforts of our friend Noor at Rust-Oleum. Because of Noor, Rust-Oleum donated all the paint that we needed to use and two days worth of volunteer service to help us accomplish the project. This would not have been an option without them, and the studio community is indescribably happy that our walls are no longer a boring beige color.
5. We welcomed new artists into our community this year: [Image: Marcelo Añón and Andrew Sautel, new artists] Marcelo Añón and Andrew Sautel joined our studio about mid-summer. They are both voracious artmakers who make our studio better with their bulldozing work ethic. Every day is a new adventure, and we love having them in our community.
6. We had the most amazing interns and volunteers this summer: [Image: Summer interns and volunteers group photo 1] [Image: Summer interns and volunteers group photo 2] [Image: Summer interns and volunteers group photo 3] There isn’t much that we can say beyond how grateful we are for our incredible interns and volunteers who dedicated their time and energy to supporting our mission this summer. Their contributions made a significant impact on our studio and community.