Event Information
Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) and the Lindsey O’Brien Kesling (LOK) Wishing Tree Foundation will host the 11th annual LOK Young Artist Expo (YAE) showcase on Friday, June 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central at LCA as part of their free First Friday programming.
This year’s exhibition is a showcase of 35 talented youths, ages 7 through 17 in a wide range of media, including sculpture, textile arts, painting and drawing. This year's artists hail from three states: Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. The artwork was chosen through individual portfolio review the students completed with LCA’s education director. The LOK YAE will be on view in LCA’s NIPSCO Art Education Studios from June 7 through July 12, with much of the young artists’ artwork for sale.
In addition to the exhibition, the evening’s presentation will begin at 6 p.m. with, Second City of Chicago graduate and actor, Timmy Barron returning for another year as emcee entertaining the crowd with his comedy. The program also includes performances by South Shore Dance Alliance out of Merrillville, Ind., a longtime partner of the LOK Wishing Tree Foundation. "Now in its eleventh year, the expo has consistently delivered an impressive array of visual art from young artists and mesmerizing, high-energy dance performances from the South Shore Dance Alliance." said Dot Kesling, co-founder of LOK Wishing Tree Foundation.
Renaldo Maurice, co-artistic director of South Shore Dance Alliance, will offer a special performance and words of inspiration in appreciation of the place and program that gave him his start. In his youth, he was a scholarship student at the Ailey School, Ballet Chicago, as well as Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. He has been honored with the key to the city of his hometown of Gary, Ind., choreographed and performed with Grammy nominated artist Jazzmen Horn, received the 2022 Willie Ninja Supreme Award and is the star of HBO Max's Lengendary. A Gary native with big dreams, Renaldo Maurice has since had an impressive career.