Naperville Art League contest
The Naperville Art League wants high school and college students and adults to enter its public art contest.
This year’s theme is “#SillySeriousness.”
Artists may submit pieces interpreting the theme in any media, but the art must be original in design, concept and execution. Entries can be turned into the Naperville Art League’s Fine Art Center & Gallery, 508 N. Center St., from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays or from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays through Feb. 25.
The art will be exhibited at the gallery March 15-25 with a special reception and awards ceremony on March 19.
Cash awards will be given for “Best of Show” and “Awards of Excellence.”
Applications and other requirements are available from the Naperville Art League by calling 630-355-2530 or going to www.napervilleartleague.com.
Bank donates to Loaves & Fishes
Huntington Bank donated $1,250 to the Loaves & Fishes food pantry as part of its “Thankful Campaign” to support local food banks and encourage others to help hunger relief efforts.
Loaves & Fishes gives out about 60,000 pounds of groceries weekly and provided nearly 4,800 families in DuPage County with nutritious food in 2016.
For each dollar contributed, Loaves & Fishes can buy $10 worth of food from the Illinois Greater Food Depository so the bank’s donation will provide about $12,500 worth of food, officials said.
Feminist author to speak at NCC
Author, professor and cultural critic Dr. Roxane Gay will be the featured speaker for North Central College’s Martin Luther King week celebration.
The event will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at NCC’s Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Her talk, “Roxane Gay: Bad Feminist and Difficult Woman,” will address controversies about feminism and the current political climate.
Gay’s collection of essays, “Bad Feminist,” is on the New York Times bestsellers list. Gay is also a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, was co-editor of the online literary magazine PANK and founded Tiny Hardcore Press. She is an associate professor of English at Purdue University.
Tickets are $5 per person to the public. For more information, go to www.northcentralcollege.edu/showtix.
Freedom exhibit coming in February
Naper Settlement will host a traveling exhibit, “Freedom: A History of US,” from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History from Feb. 15 to March 12.
Among the highlights is a rare 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence, a printed draft and an official copy of the U.S. Constitution. The exhibit will also include Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten notes for speeches and letters penned by Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr.
The exhibit is included with daily admission to the settlement, 523 S. Webster St.
Naperville man’s photo a finalist in contest
A Naperville man’s photograph is one of seven in the running to be chosen as the best in the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s inaugural Preserve the Moment photo contest.
Alan Keahey’s photo of a heron is competing against Lauren Dundek of New Lenox, frog; Ryan Buzzelli of Lockport, snake; Lani Nishimura of Plainfield, hawk; Kevin Keyes of Westmont, toad; John Sullivan of Crest Hill, raccoons; and Chuck Medrano of Mokena, snow-covered bridge.
They were selected from among more than 700 photos submitted by more than 160 photographers between June 1 and Dec. 31.
Members of the public will choose the first-, second- and third-place winners. Online voting begins on Tuesday, Jan. 10, on the district’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WillCoForests. Every “like,” “share,” and “comment” on each photo will be counted. Voting ends Friday, Jan. 20.
The first-place winner will receive a wireless HP color printer. The second-place prize is a messenger-style bag with a padded laptop sleeve, and third place receives a fleece blanket.
To see all of the photos submitted, go to www.flickr.com/photos/willcoforests.
