Where Art Meets Green

By Elisa Revello in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 31, 2011 3:00PM

The Art Lab, located in Ravenswood, goes a step beyond the traditional artist’s studio and has expanded into a Chicago community arts hub.

The studio, led by a “steering group” of arty and green kinsfolk, hosts a monthly art salon and participates in the Ravenswood Arts First Fridays. The Art Lab is a space where creativity lives and there are some interesting things happening here.

The resident artists host workshops: one, for example, explains how to make eco-friendly milk-based paints. The Art Lab serves not only as a work space for artists, but also an event venue. (Incidentally, colorful paintings don the walls, there are intricate wood sculptures scattered throughout, mobiles hanging from the ceiling, and still somehow this space can squeeze in 35-75 people).

Additionally, art patrons have the opportunity to purchase or lease work. The Art Lab seems to be a space where really anything goes, and invites creative people with ideas, energy, and purpose. There are a few ways to check it out: attend a workshop or a Sunday Painter’s event by signing up on the lab’s website. The Art Lab is hosting an interactive computer and animation art-stravaganza during the Ravenswood "First Friday" event on Oct. 7.