In the Brushwood Gallery
The Brushwood Gallery hosts exhibitions that reflect diverse voices exploring themes on equity, justice, and the impact of nature on wellbeing.
In the Gallery Now
May Artist of the Month: Diana Noh
Diana Noh is an interdisciplinary artist working with photography, fiber, and installation. Her practice celebrates reconstructions of distressed photographs of architectural spaces and landscapes, exploring themes of trauma embedded in her family relationships and cultural in-betweenness.
Diana has exhibited pieces in Asia, North America, and Europe, at venues including Space HNH in Seoul, South Korea; Griffin Museum in Winchester, MA; Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL; The Arts Council in Fayetteville, NC; Eastern Market in Detroit, MI; Editart in Geneva, Switzerland; The Art Center Highland Park in Highland Park, IL; Hudson Valley MOCA in Peekskill, NY; Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Her work is collected in the collections of Jennifer and Dan Gilbert, Kyungil University, and numerous Private Collections.
Diana currently resides in Chicago, IL. She holds a B.F.A. from Kyungil University (South Korea) and earned an M.F.A. at Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI).
Coming Up Next
The Future Voyagers Exhibit
May 18 – July 6, 2025
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 an exhibition that visualizes the future of American exploration: one where adventure knows no gender or color.
Each piece 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. A portion of the proceeds from artwork sales will be donated to Chicago Voyagers.
Featured Artists:
Current Calls for Art
Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes
Application Deadline: June 8, 2025
Rooted in the Shadow of Coal – Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes
Located in the northeastern corner of Illinois, the Waukegan Dunes is an area of great environmental and historical significance that is home to hundreds of species of native plants worth celebrating. The fact that this scrap of nature has survived and thrived thanks to community engagement is significant not just for its biodiversity, but also because of its location next to a recently closed coal plant, where remaining coal ash ponds continue to leach toxic pollutants. What has proximity to pollution done to the site? What are the plants that survive, and why are they important? In this exhibition, Brushwood Center will celebrate the plants of the dunes that remain, and also address the Dune’s environmental importance and the dangers that it and the community that live around it face.
The subject of submitted artwork must include at least one species of native plant that can be found in the Waukegan Dunes. Traditional Botanical Art is welcome, but so are other styles and interpretations. All mediums are welcome, including but not limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, mixed media, digital art, video, and poetry. Performing arts may also be considered for inclusion during special events like the opening reception.
Rooted in the Shadow of Coal will be presented at Brushwood Center in partnership with The Richard H. Driehaus Museum and their summer 2025 exhibition, A New Perspective on Nature, by Rory McEwen. Rooted in the Shadow of Coal is also part of the annual Smith Nature Symposium programming.
