By Jim Sterne
News Editor
Northcenter Chamber of Commerce is supporting private efforts to make art more accessible, provide the technical know-how to install a show, and help artists sell their work.
Dan Kaplan and Nate Marks of MarketingMarks will speak about how businesses and condo associations can display art exhibits, at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the Northcenter Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at Community Home Supply Co., 3924 N. Lincoln Ave.
“Our Northcenter area is booming with new business… new restaurants and condos are being built and they’re perfect venues for art,” said Tom Lambros Bornstein, executive director of Northcenter Chamber of Commerce. “Nate and Dan make it easy for a customer to see and buy art, plus vary the look of a business by rotating exhibits.”
MarketingMarks is looking for venues in North Center, such as restaurants, theaters, banks and other public locations that would like to host ongoing or rotating shows featuring local artists.
“Exhibiting art makes good business sense,” said Nate Marks, president. “The atmosphere in a location changes while art is exhibited and customers want to return when new shows are hung.”
Kaplan is a new partner of MarketingMarks Corporation. “Across the North Side of the city, from Lincoln Park to Roscoe Village, the arts have rejuvenated warehouse and commercial areas. The recent expansion of the Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N. Ravenswood Ave., is a good example,” said Kaplan.
“When an area takes on a positive image, everyone from the media to business owners ask if this is going to be the next hot spot. Repeatedly in Chicago, the arts and entertainment have led the way in neighborhood economic growth. It’s no coincidence that in the West Loop, Bucktown and Wicker Park, the arts, commerce and residence have all grown dramatically together,” said Marks.
MarketingMarks Corporation has a long history of promoting Chicago's arts. One example is their work with the Chicago Artists' Coalition (CAC). Dan Kaplan has been publishing the portfolios of CAC members on the organizational Web site since 1996. MarketingMarks also handles the Chicago Art Open, which this year will be held at 847 W. Jackson Blvd. Oct. 11-19.
For more information, call the Northcenter Chamber of Commerce at (773) 525-3609; or Dan Kaplan at MarketingMarks Corporation, (773) 327-1062.
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