For a city of about 78,000 people, Evanston carries an unusually deep arts calendar. Much of it traces to Northwestern University, whose campus holds a museum, theaters and performance halls, but a good share runs independently in storefronts, church halls and a former city-owned school building.
Museums and galleries
The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, at 40 Arts Circle Drive on Northwestern’s campus, is the university’s art museum. A listing from Enjoy Illinois describes it as free and open to the public. The Evanston Art Center offers classes, exhibitions and hands-on workshops for adults and children, which makes it a place to make art as well as look at it.
The Evanston Arts Depot on Main Street is another arts address worth knowing, and Noyes, described below, has galleries of its own.
Noyes and the working-artist model
The Noyes Cultural Arts Center, at 927 Noyes St., is owned by the City of Evanston and houses more than 20 artists and arts organizations, according to the Enjoy Illinois listing. It has two galleries and a stage that seats 190. Piven Theatre, long known for its workshop training of actors, has been based there. A plan to expand Piven at Noyes drew debate at City Hall in 2013, and the company later said it would look elsewhere. Anyone planning a visit should check the company’s current schedule and location.
Theater, music and film
Northwestern’s theater programs stage productions through the academic year, and small professional companies have long worked in town. Piccolo Theatre has performed at 600 Main St. The Music Institute of Chicago, a music school, moved its administrative offices and several programs to a downtown Evanston building at 1702 Sherman Ave. beginning in 2013. Listings for current shows, screenings and concerts are best checked venue by venue, since schedules change each season.
Sports
Northwestern competes in the Big Ten Conference, so Evanston is the Chicago area’s home for Big Ten athletics.
Getting to the venues
The Davis Street station, served by the CTA Purple Line and Metra’s Union Pacific North Line, puts the downtown venues within a short walk of a train. The Purple Line also stops at Main, Dempster, Foster, Noyes and Central.
Venue details are drawn from the City of Evanston, Enjoy Illinois and Northwestern University listings.