Located among pristine woodlands in the Ryerson historic home in Riverwoods, Il., Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods promotes the importance of nature for nurturing personal and community wellbeing, cultivating creativity, and inspiring learning.
May 18 @ 1:00 pm – July 6 @ 3:00 pm
Initiatives
Public Arts ProgramsChicago Voyagers: The Future Voyagers Exhibit
America has always had a fascination with exploration and the outdoors. We’ve memorialized it in paintings, history books & statues where proud explorers pose heroically—their foot propped on the prow of a canoe or rocky precipice, surveying the American west. But there’s one thing all of these artworks have in common:
They’re of Caucasian men.
In partnership with Chicago Voyagers, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower local, underrepresented youth through outdoor adventure therapy programs, seven Chicago-based artists will present a two-part exhibition that visualizes the future of American exploration: one where adventure knows no gender or color.
The show includes new work that features the portrait of a youth who currently participates in the Chicago Voyagers program. A youth is using outdoor exploration as a means to become a leader and impact the world in a positive way. In addition to the new works, the show also includes existing works from the chosen artists that explore the theme of “Future Voyagers.”
The exhibition at Brushwood opening May 18, 2025 is the first part of this two-part endeavor. There we will get a first look at some of the completed works alongside studies for the larger portraits that will be unveiled at the final exhibition in Chicago at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, opening on August 8, 2025. A portion of the proceeds from artwork sales will be donated to Chicago Voyagers.
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