Extra March Five Spot Music Event!

Live at the Five Spot:

Joe Metzka Band (Blues, Vintage Soul)

Friday, March 31, 2023 ~ 6:30-8:30pm -

BUY TICKETS in Advance Online at 309tix: $12-nonmembers, 

$8-members, + fees

(till 5:00pm the day of event) Tickets at the door*: $16-nonmembers, $12-Members

Tickets at door are sold only if max capacity is not reached.

Joe Metzka has explored just about every genre of music and has settled in on the blues. His set list may still wander about into Jazz or R&B, but it’s all colored in the deep blue of blues. Joe leads the way down the road to nostalgia like no one else can, laid back and easy, his raspy voice a counter to the crisp licks from his guitar. Joining Joe is Rusty Hall on keys, Tim Brickner on bass and Courtez Banks on drums. Hear his music and learn more about this St. Louis based artist at www.joemetzka.com

Artists of Mannekin Press

February 24 - April 14

Preston Jackson Gallery

Jonathan Higgins and Sarah Smelser’s Manneken Press in Bloomington invites significant contemporary artists to collaborate with master printmaker Higgins to create original works in intaglio, relief, lithography and monotype. The prints are sold in galleries, museums and high-end art fairs in major cities. This exhibit includes 15 of the 30 artists they represent.

April 7th, 1st Friday Gallery Talk at 6:30pm: 

Jonathan Higgins - Preston Jackson Gallery 

Hattie Lee: Joy Intwined

February 24 - April 7 - Gallery 3R

While a member of the Cherokee Nation diaspora, Hattie Lee also recognizes she is a collage of cultures. Just as families and societies are shaped by each generation, she collages into her work metaphorical and physical materials from ancestors and personal experience. Injecting joy while bridging cultural and generational differences creates hope for tribes, countries and personal communities.

April 7th, 1st Friday Gallery Talk at 7:30pm: Hattie Lee - Gallery 3R

Hot CIAO X

CAC Artist's Member Group Exhibition

at Studios on Sheridan

March 3 - April 15

Closing Reception on Saturday, April 15, 6:00-8:00pm. 

Public is invited to attend the 1st Friday event or the closing reception, there is no charge.

Award Winners:

Best of Show/$250, Natalie Jackson, Feeling Butterflies, photography

1st Place/$150, Tanya Bayer, Joni, mixed media on paper

2nd Place/$100, Kent Broadbent, Sorrow, cold wax and oil on panel

3rd Place/$50, Janet Newton, Elie in the Woods, acrylic on canvas

Honorable Mention, Quingjun Huang, The Stuff of Live Streamers, photography

The judge for awards was Nana Ekow Maison, instructor of Art at Bradley University and curator of art at 1st United Methodist Church. Nana Ekow Maison was born in Ghana and studied there through his undergraduate education. He then came to the USA to complete a master’s degree at Bradley University. In 2004, he completed his MA in Fine Art.

Photographer Seeks Subjects

Photographer Qingjun Huang seeks subjects to immortalize in a photograph. He wants to photograph some people in Central Illinois in the next few months as Fuji is sponsoring him to participate in a traveling international group photography exhibition. So far, he has created one of Peorian Whitney Jensen, that was displayed in his exhibit at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria in 2022.

Read More

Figure Drawing/Open Studio

Tuesdays, April 4 - May 23, 6:30-8:30 pm 

Beginning Salsa Dance

Tuesdays, April 11 - May 9, 6:30-7:25 pm

Intermediate Salsa Dance

Tuesdays, April 11 - May 9, 7:30-8:25 pm

Monotype Printmaking Workshop

Saturday, April 22 - Sunday, April 23, 9:00-4:30pm