The Beate of Her Own Drum

By Joanna Miller in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 4, 2006 6:32PM

For nearly 15 years, Woman Made Gallery (685 N. Milwaukee) has educated and featured female artists from Chicago and around the world. This month, the Chicago Woman’s Caucus for Art (CWCA) will honor the gallery’s executive director and co-founder, Beate Minkovski, with its Award for Achievement in the Arts.

As a student in Bremen, Germany, Minkovski was told “You will never be an artist, you look like a pretty little doll” by one of her art professors. Minkovski obviously ignored this ignorant, and rather creepy, discouragement. She moved to the U.S., raised five kids, continued her art education and became an accomplished artist.

Minkovski and a fellow Northeastern Illinois University senior established Woman Made Gallery in 1992 as a space to show their senior projects. Minkovski maintained the space and brought on Janet Bloch as gallery director (now a gallery advisor). Today, the gallery has more than 700 members worldwide and puts on more than 25 group and solo exhibits each year, in addition to a permanent collection.

“Beate has really given up her art-making in the traditional sense in order to build the gallery,” Bloch said. “Woman Made is her artistic creation, and it has benefited so many women and men.”

The CWCA High Tea and Honoring Ceremony will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 19, at the Arts Club of Chicago (201 E. Ontario). Event tickets are $25 each, and seating is limited; reservations must be made by October 16.

Monoprint by Beate Minkovski, Goddess, © 2003 via www.chicagowca.com.