​Thanks to the passion and dedication of our volunteers, artists, and donors, 2023 was a record-breaking year of impact for Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods. Brushwood Center’s initiatives connected more than 10,000 people to art and nature in Lake County and across the Chicago region. Dive into our 2023 below, and see some of our favorite moments of the year! 

THE HEALTH, EQUITY, AND NATURE ACCELERATOR

​​The Health, Equity, and Nature Report 
​This year, Brushwood Center released our new report, Health, Equity, and Nature: A Changing Climate in Lake County. The report’s findings and recommendations were shared with more than 3,000 civic leaders and community members to date, sparking change in sectors across our community from city governments to small businesses.

​​The Third Annual Community Leadership Roundtable
100+ community, civic, environmental leaders, and elected officials attended the Third Annual Community Leadership Roundtable to pledge their joint commitment to improve the environment, health, and wellbeing of our communities.

Visible: Companion Art Exhibition to the Health, Equity, and Nature Report 
Visible presented artworks from twenty-six artists in Lake County, Chicago, and beyond. The exhibition consisted of interviews, maps, and artworks highlighting how systemic inequities impact our communities’ access to a healthy environment. Inspired by the Health, Equity, and Nature Report, this exhibition was a powerful example of art as a tool for systemic change.

​Watch a recap of the Visible exhibition Opening Reception above, and view photos of the event below

AT EASE: ART AND NATURE FOR VETERANS AND THE MILITARY COMMUNITY 

Water(color) for the Soul Graphic Score Composition Residency for Veterans 
Black Moon Trio’s performance program, Sow the Seeds, became the guide for a residency program in partnership with the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center and Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies. Using resources from Brushwood Center’s At Ease initiative and BASE: Brushwood Art Supply Exchange, Veterans participated in a six-week graphic score workshop series culminating in the creation of original pieces of music. Michael Tyler’s poetry provided the thematic framework, while members from Heeyoung Kim’s Botanical Art Academy guided the group in painting with watercolors. The series ended with a pop-up exhibition in the Brushwood Gallery

Soundscapes: Visualizing the Healing Sounds of Nature 
Soundscapes: Visualizing the Healing Sounds of Nature celebrated the year of At Ease partnerships, programs, and healing spaces co-created with the military community. The 2023 At Ease programs paid special attention to how sounds – both natural and human made – can be healing forces. In this companion exhibition to this 2023 At Ease theme, we explored this idea with artwork that visually interprets and conveys artists’ personal experiences and emotional responses to healing sounds.

Watch the recap of the Soundscapes Exhibition above, and view photos of At Ease programming throughout 2023 below

IT’S A W.I.N (ART AND WELLNESS IN NATURE)

Nature Explorer Backpacks / Mochilas de Explorador 
​Brushwood Center and partners teamed up to provide 

1,200 bilingual Nature Explorer Backpacks / Mochilas de Explorador to youth and family members in 2023. Nature Explorer Backpacks provide families with tools to support physical and mental health amidst Lake County’s natural areas. The 2023 backpacks included a community health focused activity book titled, Find Yourself Outside, art supplies, nature field guides, local mental health resources, water bottles, lip balm, and sunscreen. 

Watch the recap of 2023’s Nature Explorer Backpack Project above, and view photos of It’s a W.I.N. programming throughout 2023 below

MUSIC & THE ARTS

In the Gallery 
Enriching Life | 8th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition | January 2023
Where are the Birds? Retracing Audubon | Krista Elrick Exhibition | March 2023
Visible| Companion Exhibition to the Health, Equity, and Nature Report | June 2023
Water(color) for the Soul | Graphic Composition Residency for Veterans | June 2023
Connecting to Our Common Ground | 40th Smith Symposium Exhibition with Hyde Park Art Center | September 2023
Soundscapes: Visualizing the Healing Sounds of Nature | Annual At Ease Art Exhibition | November 2023

View Exhibition Artist Panels
​Krista Elrick’s Where are the Birds? above, and Hyde Park Art Center’s Connecting to Our Common Ground below

Sow the Seeds Concert 
Black Moon Trio collaborated with New York Times Best-Selling author and Chicago-native, Michael Tyler to develop Sow the Seeds, an interactive performance for audiences to address wellness through music, poetry, and nature. Guided by Tyler’s Sow the Seeds: A Composition in Verse, the concert experience featured musical works inspired by local green spaces. The concert encouraged audience members to converse and reflect on the ways they treat themselves, their community, and the natural world.

​Watch the full concert above, and view photos of the concert below

The 40th Anniversary Celebration of The Smith Nature Symposium ​
2023’s Smith Nature Symposium: Connecting to Our Common Ground was a full month of events, exhibitions, and panels culminating in the 2023 Smith Awards Dinner. At a sold out Smith Awards Dinner, raising over $185,000 we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the Smith Nature Symposium and honored the exceptional leadership and commitment of our 2023 honoree, PBS’ America Outdoors host Baratunde Thurston. Thank you to our Smith Symposium 40th Anniversary Honorary Co-Chairs, Barbara C. Donnelley and Adele Simmons, as well as our Event Co-Chairs Rob Heinrich and Jacalyn Ramdin-Johnson, and all of our 2023 Smith Sponsors for supporting this year! 

Watch the panel talkback above from our Smith series event, America Outdoors episode screening at Wayfarer Theaters

​Watch our 2023 Honoree, Baratunde Thurston’s remarks at the 40th Anniversary Smith Awards Dinner above

BASE (Brushwood Art Supply Exchange)

BASE (Brushwood Art Supply Exchange) is our pay-what-you-can creative reuse center where unwanted art and craft supplies can new life. BASE provides opportunities for up-cycled creativity through monthly community classes. In 2023, BASE hosted Make With Me classes where families and kids joined in the fun of sustainable crafting. All items in BASE are free to educators and Brushwood Center community partners