Driving around town, you may have noticed some new billboards featuring striking artwork. The new collection of nine billboards are part of Sky Gallery, a project by 40 North 88 West. The selected artists each …
Posts by Serenity Stanton Orengo:
There’s a printmaking exhibit at the Art Coop right now
If you stop by Lincoln Square Mall in the coming weeks, make sure you check out a new exhibit up at the Art Coop. Interpreted Landscapes is a series of reductive relief prints made by …
Sculptor Andy White on the art of coaxing beauty out of scraps
Sculptor Andy White is relatively new to Champaign-Urbana: he moved to the area in the summer of 2020 from South Carolina, and this year was his first time participating at Boneyard Arts Festival. If you …
Fresh Press Paper is hosting a Pride papermaking workshop series this month
Together with visiting artist E. Ainsley, Fresh Press Paper is hosting a Queer workshop series on papermaking this month. The workshops will take place on June 14th and 18th, registration is required, and tiered pricing …
Encounter the familiar and very unfamiliar at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts’ 2023-2024 season
When I sat down on Zoom to discuss the upcoming Krannert Center for the Performing Arts‘ 2023-2024 season (the complete season schedule can be found below) with KCPA Director Mike Ross, the first thing I …
Five things in arts: June 2023
It’s officially almost summer: the pools are open, it’s way too hot and humid outside, and it’s generally believed that the arts community is quiet for the summer. While it’s true campus events are largely …
You can now dance tango at Kohinoor on Wednesdays
If you have noticed an increase in tango coverage here at Smile Politely, it’s because I’m a big fan and there are a lot of tango events in Champaign-Urbana. One new option is now available …
What’s your favorite mural in C-U?
Murals are probably my favorite form of public visual art. They take up space, demand attention, and are used for many purposes: political statements, personal artistic expression, or just to look really cool or aesthetically …
Several authors are coming to the Literary in June
It’s the end of the month which means the Literary has finally announced their June event line up. In addition to the usual suspects including their many varied book clubs, this month they are also …
Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch has some seriously cute baby reindeer right now
After reading in the most recent Weekender that Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch was temporarily opening to show off their cute new baby reindeer, I decided it was probably finally time to head to Rantoul to check …