SIDE STREET
STUDIO ARTS
Where Elgin Creates
2026 Exhibition Calendar
MARCH
YEAR 13
Side Street Studio Arts seeks artworks to celebrate our Twelfth Anniversary! This is our annual juried call to all artists working in any medium to participate.
Exhibition runs March 6th - March 29th
Opening Reception on April 3rd, 6-9pm.
APRIL
U-46 School District Faculty Exhibition
Side Street Studio Arts proudly hosts the U-46 Faculty Show. Featuring artwork from district U-46 art teachers.
Exhibition runs April 3rd - April 25th in the Theater
Opening Reception on April 3rd, 6-9pm
Oddball Art Labs' Exquisite Corpse
A Curated Group Exhibition.
Exhibition runs from April 3rd- April 25th in the Theater
Opening Reception on April 3rd, 6-9pm
MAY
W/E
Side Street Studio Arts seeks artwork to represent the Asian American community during Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. W/E is a reference to the western/eastern cultural split for which many Asian Americans in the United States hold space. This is an open call for visual art in any medium to discuss, share, and make space for this experience.
Exhibition runs May 1 - May 31
Opening Reception on May 1st, 6-9pm.
JUNE
Larkin Academy Senior Exhibition
Opening Reception on May 6th, 6-9pm
EMSA (Elgin Math & Science Academy) Student Exhibition
Reception tbd
It's Here, I am
Side Street Studio Arts presents It’s Here, Am I — an exhibition amplifying the voices and creative resilience of immigrant communities targeted by systems of power. Featuring work that reflects lived experiences of displacement, resistance, racialized violence, and world-building beyond oppression, this multidisciplinary show invites artists to respond to the realities of communities under siege, including the emotional impact of Operation Midway Blitz. (This exhibition will be held in concert with our June PRIDE exhibition and will run alongside the July solo exhibition by Arnaldo Utrera.)
Exhibition runs from June 5-28 in the Theater
Opening Reception on June 5th, 6-9pm.
Pride Month - RISE
Side Street Studio Arts presents PRIDE 2026 — Rise, a vibrant celebration of LGBTQIA+ art, identity, and expression. Honoring the visibility, resilience, and transformative power of queer creativity, this exhibition invites work exploring love, truth, community, and the evolving meaning of Pride today.
On view June 5–28, 2026. Be bold. Be seen. Rise.
JULY
Arnaldo Utrera Solo Exhibition
“The American Dream” is a photographic series that contrasts the ideal of U.S. prosperity with the harsh realities of economic struggle and exclusion. As a Venezuelan immigrant, artist Arnaldo Utrera uses street photography to question who truly belongs in this country and at what cost. Through quiet, unembellished images, the work challenges viewers to confront the myth of opportunity and those left unseen within it.
On view July 3-26, 2026
Opening Reception on Friday, July 3rd, 6-9pm
AUGUST
Summer Arts Ed Final Exhibition
Join us for our Summer Campers visual and performing arts exhibition!
Friday, August 1st, 2026 in the Gallery
SEPTEMBER
Elgin Fringe Festival Visual Art Exhibition
The Twelfth Annual Elgin Fringe Festival celebrates bold artistic experimentation, showcasing artists' work across a spectrum of forms and genres! Artists are selected via lottery, and the exhibition is not curated. Artwork is on display at Side Street's Gallery during the festival week, September 4th-30th, 2026!
Opening Reception on Friday, September 4th, 6-9pm
CLICK HERE FOR INFO & TO SUBMIT
OCTOBER
Something Wicked...
Side Street Studio Arts' 14th Annual Something Wicked... a variety of arts media whose subject matter is meant to instill a combined sense of wonder, awe and perhaps a little dread in the City of Elgin's art scene.
Exhibition runs Friday, October 2nd through November 1 in the Gallery.
Opening Reception on Friday, October 2nd, 6-9pm
NOVEMBER
Andrés Dominguez Fernandez
“Where the sun is lifted” solo exhibition
Opening Reception TBD
DECEMBER
tba
EXHIBITION PROPOSALS
If you have an idea, we're all ears. Please download this document and follow it step-by-step to provide the necessary documents in order to submit an exhibition proposal.
Once that is done we will review your submission and contact you regarding our decision/next steps.
Click here to download a layout of the gallery space or the theater space. This will help if you plan to submit a floor plan with your proposal.