Explore the arts & culture venues Downtown DeKalb and NIU have to offer.  

Visit for free all in the same night art galleries, businesses, community organizations and more!

Participating Sites in DeKalb and on the NIU Campus

All sites are free to the public during the ArtWalk 5-8 PM

DOWNLOAD BROCHURE

Alexis Kay Designs
128 E Lincoln Hwy
Featuring NIU student Marnie Knouse

Antiques Vintage Collectables and Gifts
132-134 E Lincoln Hwy
Featuring NIU student artist Alec Bourke

Art Box
308 E Lincoln Hwy
Group artist exhibition “Arabesque”, works of several artists in short suites.  Also on display will be Japanese prints, turquoise jewelry, and oil paintings by Nancy Willis and Carol Bingham.

Barb City Manor
680 Haish Blvd
Featuring NIU Student artists Natalie Pivoney, Gabriella Ibanna, and Samantha Butkus.
The FBCM Resale Shop will also be open for shopping.

Cracker Jax
118 N. 3rd Street
Featuring NIU student artist Natalie Pivoney

Dance Dimensions
645 E Lincoln Hwy
Visitors are welcome to observe the art of classical ballet instruction.
Dance Dimensions focuses on teaching proper dance technique, while building humble, kind and confident individuals.  Owner and Director, Miranda Cordes, preserves the notion that dance is an art form and focuses on building a strong ballet foundation so that dancers will excel in any and all genres of dance, while gaining the discipline and work ethic that will carry over into everyday life.

DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association (DAAHA)
111 S 2nd Street, #204
Featuring a photographic exhibit of Charles L. Gunn, a corn breeder for DEKALB. This tribute celebrates Charlie Gunn’s contributions to agriculture!

DeKalb Area Womens’ Center
1021 State Street
Featuring “I Wear Many Hats”, a display of the hat collection of David Bythewood.
Live music by The Pleasant Street Players.

DeKalb Public Library
309 Oak Street
Featuring paintings from the Kishwaukee Valley Art League.
Hosting NIU students, Julia Steenstra and Danny Saretsky as they perform your favorite classical monologues and scenes from the world’s best playwright: William Shakespeare.

Egyptian Theatre Art Gallery
135 N. 2nd Street
Featuring artwork from the Opportunity House

Egyptian Theatre
135 N. 2nd Street
Concert at 8 PM (Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for Students, Seniors, and Kids)
The NIU Jazz Orchestra has performed with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis and a host of other jazz luminaries. The orchestra has been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference and numerous college jazz festivals over the years. The group has several recordings to its credit including “We Came to Swing”, “The Life of Swing”, “Swinging Every Which Way But Loose”, “Swing Into The New Millennium” and “Swinging It – Live”. The Jazz Orchestra continues to focus on great swing repertoire and larger extended works but also features original work by faculty and students that explore a wide range of colors and textures.

The NIU Steelband is dedicated to demonstrating the versatility and profundity of the steelpan (aka “steeldrum”), the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.  It was the first active steelband formed in an American university, performing the United States and across the globe.  NIU Steelband regularly appears in concert at public schools, universities, conventions and arts series, and has three recordings to its credit, including Dangerous, the band’s most recent, which features an eclectic blend of musical styles.  Liam Teague is the Co-Director of this unique and talented musical group.

Founders Memorial Library
NIU Campus, Founders Memorial Library, 4th Floor
Kaleidoscope of Burmese Art – Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Center for Burma Studies.
One exhibit:
Exploring Calligraphy, Serigraphy, and Cartography in the Burmese Collection.

Glidden Florist and Goods
917 W Lincoln Hwy
Featuring local artists Dale Osterle (2D), Allison Johnson (jewelry), Ken Culver (pottery), and Marilyn Hrymak (upcycled works).

Gurler House
205 Pine Street
Featuring expressive portrait paintings by local artist Pat Kirk.

Jack Olson Memorial Gallery
NIU Campus, Visual Arts Building 200
Kaleidoscope of Burmese Art – Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Center for Burma Studies.
Two exhibits:
Painting Myanmar Today: A Selection from the Thukhuma Collection
Unexpected Myanmar: Pw Oo Thet’s Watercolors

Kid Stuff
149 E Lincoln Hwy
Featuring artist Jasmine Michelle Kahn (Puppet Strings Art).

MCR Framing
137 E Lincoln Hwy
Vintage art from previous NIU professors and students for sale.

My Favorite Things
249 E Lincoln Hwy
Featuring NIU Student artist Sheena Daugherty.

NIU Art Museum
NIU Campus, Altgeld Hall, First Floor West End
Kaleidoscope of Burmese Art – Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Center for Burma Studies.
Four Exhibits:
Journey through Burmese Art
Masterpieces from the Burma Art Collection at NIU
From Tradition to Modernity: Art from Myanmar as Viewed by Contemporary Burmese Artists
Donors and Collectors: A Legacy

NIU President’s Office
NIU Campus, Altgeld Hall, Room 300
The NIU President’s Office Student Gallery features a selection of artwork created by undergraduates in the School of Art & Design.  According to the graduate student curator, Kelsea Nichols, a variety of media were selected “to demonstrate the interconnectedness between different disciplines.”  You will view oil painting, sculpture, print making, illustration and photography selections.  New art is selected and installed each semester as an ongoing practice to showcase NIU’s student talent and expression.

Pick Museum of Anthropology
NIU Campus, Cole Hall
Explore what it means to be Hmong American at the Pick Museum. See handmade traditional Hmong story clothes and clothing. Listen to Hmong stories of family, memory and migration. Unleash your artistic side with Hmong coloring pages. Play Hmong music on a Qeej-hero interactive game.  Guided tours at 5, 6 and 7 PM.

Poppy Seed Primitives
223 E Lincoln Hwy
Musical performance by Michael Jaros

Sharp Architects
421 Grove Street
Hosting the Kishwaukee College famous Art-o-mat at their location.  This machine is a retired cigarette vending machine that has been converted to vend original art.  Visitors will be able to purchase small original artworks for $5.00 from the machine.

Pottery Wheel: Two pottery throwing wheels will be set up for both demonstration purposes and so that participants may try their own hand at throwing pottery.

Art on the spot: Live demonstrations and a chance to create your own Expressive Art picture.  A variety of coloring media will be available for you to experiment with.  No special skill or previous experience is necessary.

Exhibition of the work of Timothy King: Landscapes in oil and pastel.

Graphic design demonstration: View graphic design work by Kishwaukee college students and their instructor Timothy King and get to see them in action on the computer.

Sharp Architects, Inc. is a full service architectural design firm offering planning and documentation services throughout Northern Illinois.

Kishwaukee College is a comprehensive two-year community college offering both transfer and career occupational degrees.  Kishwaukee College offers accessible opportunity for every student.  Many academic options exist at Kishwaukee College for the Arts.

SOAD 4th Street Gallery
215 4th Street
Exhibition of NIU Student work from Intermediate Studio classes.

Stage Coach Players
126 S 5th Street
Featuring costumes on display from past theatre productions.

Tapa La Luna
226 E Lincoln Hwy
Musical performance by Zachary Harris
Featuring NIU student artist Anna-Marie Zurliden

Urban Grace
255 E Lincoln Hwy
Featuring NIU student artists Meg Gordon and Anna-Marie Zurliden