Stop by Water Street during the BatFest downtown business trick-or-treating. We’ll have a simple craft and candy for little ghosts, ghouls, and goblins.

Find the full event details here.

In October we welcome the works of Praxis to the Dempsey Family Gallery and Georgia Schwender to the Kane County Magazine Gallery. This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs October 11th-November 3rd.

*Rescheduled from Aug 11th

Water Street Writers is a curated reading series featuring local authors from the suburbs of Chicago. Events are held quarterly in the Dempsey Family gallery. Doors open at 5pm, event begins at 5:30pm. Suggested donations of $5. All proceeds go to the featured authors, your support is much appreciated!

Want to be a reader? Learn how here. Submissions are open to any genre and all kinds of performance.

Sponsored by the Republic of Letters,

In September we celebrate our 15th Anniversary with our Membership Exhibition in both the Dempsey Family Gallery and the Kane County Magazine Gallery. This event is open to all and free to attend!

In honor of our 15th anniversary, please help us raise funds to:

• Provide opportunities for emerging Artists to show in the Community Gallery

• Support our quality art education outreach programs to neighbors in need

• Fund the production of public art installations throughout Batavia

• Provide award-winning galleries open free to the public every weekend

DONATE HERE

Exhibition runs September 13th-October 6th.

In August we welcome Michael Coakes and William North to the Dempsey Family Gallery and Les Allen to the Kane County Magazine Gallery. This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs August 9th-September 8th.

In July we welcome Didier Nolet to the Dempsey Family Gallery and Anke Richert-Korioth to the Kane County Magazine Gallery. This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs July 12th-August 4th.

SECOND FRIDAYS IN THE ARTS DISTRICT

At Water Street Studios: Open 6-9pm

• Dempsey Family Gallery: Didler Nolet, “Searching for Light” 

• KC Magazine: Anke Korioth, “In the Echo of my Life”

• The Community Gallery (Upstairs): Summer Memories 

• Clay Maker’s Exhibit (South Classroom)

• Cash Bar (Select Beer, Wine and Cocktails)

At Kiss the Sky: Open until 8:30pm

• Music by Sydney Williams

• Free cupcakes courtesy of AddieCakes and Kiss the Sky

At Hearth & Hammer

• Dope Sandwich food truck

• Sunbeam Plants DIY air plant bar ($15 per guest)

Join us on Saturday, June 29th from 1:00-4:00pm at Water Street Studios for the “Artist Celebration” and opening of the “Summer Memories” exhibit in our Community Gallery! This gallery is located on the second floor nestled amongst the Resident Artist studios. ☀️

This exhibit is inspired by the playful and nostalgic energy of Summer. Take your own summer break and join in on the fun for this day! All ages are welcome. Our Community Gallery shows us that bringing together creativity and connection will inspire community!

This exhibit features 30+ artists, 50+ artworks, and several community collaborations! We will have rock painting with @bataviaparksfoundation, ice cream cone art from our outreach efforts with Mercy Housing, sun-themed tile art from the New Horizons Preschool, historic photos shared from @bataviadepot, a chance to learn more about the @bataviapublicart, a throwback special summer music playlist, an old-fashioned donation-based lemonade stand to support Water Street Studios, and SO much more!

New to Water Street Studios? Ask for a tour! We’d be happy to show you what we are all about. Make sure to take in the artwork in our downstairs galleries featuring Joel Sheesley And Beth Shadur, and check out the @waterstreetstudiosceramics!

Support our artists and support Water Street Studios - it’s a win-win! See you there! ☀️

In June we welcome Joel Sheesley and Beth Shadur. This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs June 14th-July 7th.

The Fox River Arts Ramble was established in 2018 by Fine Line Creative Center as a way to highlight the diverse creative talents up and down the Fox River. Participating arts locations typically span Aurora to Elgin. Visit Water Street as you ramble between locations for:

• Artist Talk with Jeanine Hill-Soldner at 1pm.

• Ceramics sale and hands on experience with our Clay Makers.

• Shop and talk with our Resident Artist community.

• Tours of our historic building.

This event is now SOLD OUT! Thank you for the overwhelming support! You can still help us reach our fundraising goal in the following ways.

• Participate in our silent auction for the chance to take home an original collaborative piece by ceramics instructor Jeremy Foy and our talented Clay Makers. Silent auction closes 6/7/24 at 8:30pm.

• Make a donation or share our fundraising page here.

Join us at the launch party of the Wilson River Band! We'll have a signature (whiskey) cocktail, open bar, and hors d'oeuvres - all included in the ticket price! In addition, we'll have a ceramics sale, raffle and the opportunity to donate to expanding the Clay Lab at Water Street Studios. Check in at the Gallery desk, then head to the dock for great music, drinks, dancing and an overall fun night! Meet the band here: Wilson River Band

THANK YOU to Wieland Wallace Inc. for sponsoring this amazing fundraiser.

This is an 21+ event.

Cost: $30 SOLD OUT

Water Street Writers is a curated reading series featuring local authors from the suburbs of Chicago. Events are held quarterly in the Dempsey Family gallery. Doors open at 5pm, event begins at 5:30pm. Suggested donations of $5. All proceeds go to the featured authors, your support is much appreciated!

Want to be a reader? Learn how here. Submissions are open to any genre and all kinds of performance.

Sponsored by the Republic of Letters,

In May we welcome Jeanine Hill Soldner to the Dempsey Family Gallery and Kane County Magazine Gallery.

This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs May10th-June 8th.

Come join us for an evening of smooth tunes and good vibes at Water Street Studios! The talented Shawn Maxwell Quartet will be gracing us with their incredible jazz music, all for a great cause. Get ready to groove, sip on some drinks, and support the arts. Don't miss out on this special event - mark your calendars now! This event is brought to you by WDCB!

Tickets $30.00

Get your tickets here

UPDATE: Wow! Due to overwhelming response, this event is now sold out! You can still celebrate Record Store Day with our Arts District neighbors. Hearth and Hammer is releasing a Tortured Poet custom candle and serving up Swiftie inspired drinks by Viator Coffee (8 am - 11 am). Or join Kiss the Sky for live music by Noah Gabriel at 8:30 am and the School of Rock at 6 pm. 

Water Street Studios invites all Swifties to celebrate National Record Store Day with a listening party for the debut of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, releasing just the day before! Please join us for bracelet making, cookie decorating, arts & crafts, photo station and of course listening to Taylor’s new album. This is an all-ages event.

Date: Saturday, April 20, 2024, 2-4pm.

Cost: $20 in advance, $25 at the door. SOLD OUT

In April we welcome Richard Deveau and Javier Chavira to the Dempsey Family Gallery and Joe Milosevich to the Kane County Magazine Gallery. This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs April 12th-May 5th.

Now hanging on the second floor! We are pleased to announce 90+ artists  from Batavia and the surrounding communities are represented in this exhibition. Participating artists submitted work themed around a woman or women they find inspiring, whether it be a family member or friend, person from history or even Mother Nature. Included is a collaborative mirror wall and a new Emerging Artist feature. Come meet many of the artists at the Opening Celebration on April 6th!

Exhibition runs March 16th-June 16th

This event is FREE to attend. Cash bar will be in the first floor gallery. While you’re here, make sure you stop by the Dempsey Gallery on the first floor for meet and great with exhibiting artists Jaime and Michael Foster.

Grab a mimosa from our cash bar and meet the artists behind the current exhibition “Fragile Tension”, Jaime & Michael Foster. This will be a casual, meet and greet style event, perfect to peruse the art and learn more about it from the artists themselves.

This event is FREE to attend. Cash bar for drinks and snacks. While you’re here, make sure you stop by the second floor for the Opening Celebration of the Community Gallery show “Telling Her Story”.

We are closed to the public today. Enjoy the holiday with those that mean the most to you!

Join The Batavia Public Art Initiative at the reception for our latest pop-up show, Rebirth, Saturday, March 16th from 4 – 6 pm at Bar Evolution Batavia! Appetizers provided, cash bar.

Can't make the party? The works of 14 talented artists will be on display March 5th - May 5th. 

"Rebirth" explores the concept of new beginnings and starting afresh; a theme often associated with growth, transformation, and renewal. This is your opportunity to showcase the beauty and power of rebirth and its significance in our lives.

Bar Evolution Batavia
27 North River Street
Batavia, IL 60510

Announcing Second Fridays in the Arts District

Water Street Studios has teamed up with our neighbors Kiss the Sky and Hearth & Hammer to create the Batavia Arts District! Come see us the Second Friday of each month for an immersive experience for the senses.

Water Street Studios

• Gallery Opening Reception, 6-9pm

  • Jaime & Michael Foster: Fragile Tension

  • Barry Messer: Xenomorphs

• Cash Bar

• Resident Artist and Clay Lab open to shop and talk

• FREE to attend. Donations greatly appreciated to support this and future events like it.

Kiss the Sky

• Shoop Dogs band performance 6:30-8:30pm

  • A female lead 4-piece band performing classic rock, blues, and modern rock with a powerful combo of soulful vocals and energetic guitar solos.

• Addie Cakes providing free mini cupcakes to show attendees (while supplies last!)

• Connecting doors to Water Street Studios will be open!

Hearth & Hammer

• Extended hours, open until 7pm

• Barry Sweets pop-up, a women-owned small business offering baked goods made from spent brewery grains to reduce waste.

• Annie Hex Tarot Readings

• Fernando’s Street Kitchen food truck out front from 6-9pm

In February we welcome Eric Rippert and Joseph Mayernik to the Dempsey Family Gallery and Randal Stringer to the Kane County Magazine Gallery. This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs Feb 9th-March 3rd.

Water Street Writers is a curated reading series featuring local authors from the suburbs of Chicago. Events are held quarterly in the Dempsey Family gallery. Doors open at 5pm, event begins at 5:30pm. Suggested donations of $5. All proceeds go to the featured authors, your support is much appreciated!

February’s featured authors are Heather Zenaty, Chris Gerrib, Vince Vieceli, and John Grenier! 

Want to be a reader? Learn how here. Submissions are open to any genre and all kinds of performance.

Sponsored by the Republic of Letters,

The main gallery is reserved for the Batavia City Council Retreat. School of Art classes will still run. Clay lab will remain open for subscribers and open studio hours.

Reserve the gallery for your next event here.

January Second Friday has been postponed to the fourth Friday, January 26th due to inclement weather. Mark your calendars and come out to see the Water Street Studio’s Artists’ Collective Exhibition! This event is open to all and free to attend! Donations are greatly appreciated and go to support or mission.

Exhibition runs Jan 12th-Feb4th.

Join us for live music as a part of our Sounds of the Studio Series! On Thursday, December 28th from 7-10pm we welcome The Luis Alcantar Trio to Water Street Studios. Tickets are $30 each and include one drink from the bar. Fancy Nancy's delicious charcuterie cups will be available for purchase and the Water Street bar will be selling drinks. All proceeds go to support our mission of making the arts accessible to the Fox Valley area and beyond.

Click HERE to get your tickets.

This month we celebrate our Resident Artist and Instructor community in addition to welcoming the Chicagoland 4x5 show.