ART ENCOUNTER'S BIENNIAL SPRING BENEFIT & ART AUCTION

SILENT ART AUCTION | RAFFLE | FRENCH-MOROCCAN BUFFET | OPEN BAR

Tuesday, May 6, 2025 | 6:00–9:00 pm
LeTour Brasserie, 625 Davis Street in Downtown Evanston

THANK YOU!

On behalf of all of us at Art Encounter, we'd like to extend our gratitude to everyone who participated in our spring benefit and art auction, Kaleidoscope!

We had a wonderful time gathering at the beautiful LeTour Brasserie in Evanston, where we recognized our Art Impacts Honorees, Natalie van Straaten and Ginny B. Van Alyea of Chicago Gallery News; and our Community Partner of the Year, Andy Vick of Downtown Evanston. It was an honor to share and celebrate their contributions not only to Art Encounter, but to the local art community at large.

Whether you purchased raffle tickets, made a donation, or joined us in person on May 6, thank you for helping make our event a success! Your support will allow us to continue pursuing our mission: educating, inspiring, and connecting people through art.

Read on to learn more about the event, our honorees, our art auction, and our event supporters.

From left: Art Encounter Board President Susan Gaud, Ginny B. Van Alyea and Natalie van Straaten of Chicago Gallery News, Art Encounter Co-founder and Artistic Director Joanna Pinsky, Art Encounter Executive Director Lea Pinsky, and Andy Vick of Downtown Evanston

ABOUT THE EVENT

On Tuesday, May 6, guests gathered at the beautiful LeTour Brasserie in Evanston for Art Encounter’s spring benefit and art auction, Kaleidoscope, where they enjoyed delicious French-Moroccan fare, cocktails, a raffle, and a silent art auction, all while supporting Art Encounter’s broad menu of community art programs and initiatives.

Funds raised through Kaleidoscope will provide essential funding for Art Encounter’s work throughout the greater Chicago area, which includes educational outreach programs for schools, senior homes, and social service agencies; art discussion programs for the public in artist studios and exhibition spaces; and a local mural program that makes art accessible to everyone in our community.

ART AUCTION

Click the photos below to view details for each of the pieces featured in our auction, or view more information here.

CELEBRATING EVANSTON RAFFLE

Ticket sales for our raffle have now closed.
Winners were drawn in person at the event on Tuesday, May 6.

Cocktails and Concert


at Evanston Space

Two tickets to a concert of your choice, two cocktails, and a merch item at Evanston’s beloved music venue Space.
Value: $150

Dinner Date
at LeTour Brasserie

A delicious contemporary French-Moroccan meal for two at Amy Morton’s elegant LeTour Brasserie in Downtown Evanston.
Value: $200

Curated Wine Basket
from The Wine Goddess

A selection of six bottles curated by the experts at the Wine Goddess, paired with a collection of goodies and accoutrements.
Value: $300

Meet our ART IMPACTS HonoreeS

Natalie van Straaten | Chicago Gallery News, Founder & Publisher from 1982 to 2007

Natalie van Straaten was founder and publisher of Chicago Gallery News (CGN) from 1982–2007 and served concurrently as Executive Director of the Chicago Art Dealers Association (CADA). A co-founder of van Straaten Gallery in 1969, Natalie was professionally active in the Chicago visual arts community for nearly four decades. Also devoted to Chicago’s broad cultural community, Natalie served as a docent for the Chicago Symphony, was Executive Director of the Chicago Coalition for Arts and Education (1986–1989), and judged theater as a member of The Jeff Awards for 25 years (1995–2020). She is currently writing a book on the history, growth and impact of Chicago galleries and dealers, 1967–2007.

Ginny B. Van Alyea | Chicago Gallery News, Publisher since 2007

Ginny B. Van Alyea has been the publisher and owner of CGN since 2007. She began working at Chicago Gallery News with founding publisher Natalie van Straaten in 2002 after graduating from Hamilton College. Ginny also worked for the Chicago Art Dealers Association (CADA) from 2002–2007. Ginny has written extensively about collecting art in Chicago and has interviewed dozens of artists and gallery owners over the years. She has been a featured speaker at national art fairs and panels, sharing the importance and joy of collecting contemporary art and antiques and of supporting living artists. In addition to publishing CGN and regularly attending gallery and museum events, Ginny is a mother to two busy and creative children, whom she likes to bring on trips and adventures to see art whenever possible.

THE STORY OF CHICAGO GALLERY NEWS

In the early 1980s, Natalie van Straaten was running a gallery with her husband, William van Straaten, in the up-and-coming Chicago neighborhood of River North. Fortified by a journalism degree from the University of Michigan, Natalie was a sort of “gallery mother” and natural organizer serving the changing needs of a small but rapidly-growing community of peers in Chicago. She first founded the Superior/Huron Gallery News in 1982 as a means of centrally promoting local art openings. It didn’t take long for the art guide to expand and evolve alongside the spaces it listed, ultimately becoming Chicago Gallery News, the publication of record that today has covered four decades of local and regional culture and art history.

Fast-forward to 2007, when Natalie passed the baton to Ginny B. Van Alyea, who had begun working with her five years prior after receiving her BA from Hamilton College. Under Ginny’s leadership over the past two decades, the publication has exceeded both of their expectations and become an invaluable resource for the entire Midwest. In spite of trying times in the art world as well as the publishing landscape, Ginny has managed to modernize CGN digitally while remaining committed to print. The foundation Natalie laid in the early ‘80s made CGN’s strong present-day reputation and industry relevance possible.

To read more about Natalie, Ginny, and the history of CGN, check out CGN Turns 40: Charting Four Decades of Art and Changes.

MEET OUR COMMUNITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR

Andy Vick | Downtown Evanston, Executive Director

An Evanston native with strong connections to the local community, Andy joined Downtown Evanston in 2023 after working for almost 20 years as a nonprofit Executive Director at local arts agencies in Maryland and Colorado. Earlier in his career, Andy and his wife were full-time visual artists and successful small business owners, and he worked in marketing and human resources for several companies in the Washington, DC area. Over the years, Andy has also been an engaged board member for a number of chambers of commerce, local and state tourism offices, a variety of cultural organizations, and a downtown development authority. Andy is passionate about economic development and community vitality, and intentional about working to foster a culture of equity and inclusion across the Downtown Evanston business district.

THANK YOU TO OUR 2025 KALEIDOSCOPE PATRONS

 

Marsha & Michael Goldstein
Gail & Ronald Kahn
Trudy Kehret Ward
William Lieberman
Susan Mabrey Gaud

Gary Metzner & Scott Johnson
Abby Ohl & Arthur Ellis
M. Christine Schwartz
Peter Vale

 

THANK YOU TO OUR ART AUCTION CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

 

Sandro Miller
Scott Mossman
Jordan Nickel
Raúl Ortiz
Raul Ortiz Bonilla
Sarah Packer
Joanna Pinsky
Don Pollack

Dan Addington
Rubén Aguirre
Todd Anderson
René H. Arceo
William Conger
Clark Ellithorpe
Dustin Harris
Bob Magrisso
James McNeill Mesplé

Nancy Rosen
Karen Ross
Max Sansing
Adam Siegel
Jay Strommen
Joseph Taylor
Annie Trincot
Molly Z.

 

THANK YOU TO OUR 2025 KALEIDOSCOPE SPONSORS