Art Attack: ArtRageous! Oak Park Gears Up For Second Year

ArtRageous! Oak Park, the village-wide celebration of artists working and living in Oak Park, has returned for a second year.

This year's event, which runs from Oct. 7-11, has been billed as "5 days and 4.5 miles of inspiration" that aim to unite creator with consumer and further strengthen the bond between the village and its notable arts community.

"I've always envisioned this as something that could grow into something that would attract visitors or draw people to Oak Park if they could see what we really have to offer," said Pamela Penney, who runs Pamela Penney Textile Arts, 130 Harrison St.,

Almost every type of art will be represented – from visual to performing arts, and everything in between. There will be live theater performances, painting galleries, films and discussions, fashion shows, empowerment seminars, ice cream socials and even a somewhat-impromptu flash mob.

A full jam-packed calendar of events, along with prices and other information, can be found on the event's official website.

An ArtRageous! Black & White Party kicks things off 7 p.m. Thursday at Trattoria 225, 225 Harrison St. 

Penney said the still-maturing ArtRageous! started last year as a weeklong event, but was pared down to five days. Even with two less days, this year's event will offer much more than the original, she said.

Lisa Nordstrom, a member of the Oak Park Area Arts Council member and owner of Art Gecko, Ltd., 19 Harrison St., said while the boost in business is nice, the focus of ArtRageous! is not on the individual artist. 

Instead, she said, the event is more about the collective participation of studio owners and artists.

"While there are many individual artists and art organizations in Oak Park, ArtRageous! Oak Park is one event that encourages all of them to participate, which I think helps unite Oak Park's art community while presenting Oak Park's varied artistic talents to the village and visitors," she said.

Penney, the textile artist, said the event is a chance to highlight the bustling art community, which extends well beyond the Oak Park Arts District on Harrison Street.

The Oak Park Art League, 720 Chicago Ave., the Oak Park Area Arts Council, as well as the community libraries and other organizations will all work together, making for one cohesive, sprawling five-day festival.

"The best part is that it brought together a lot of community organizations in the last two years to work together to build something," Penney said. "We all kind of go in our own direction doing our own events all year long, so we really wanted to build something that was [a collaboration]."