The Oak Park Area Arts Council and Oak Park’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office hosted an opening reception Wednesday evening to highlight art displayed at The Gallery in Village Hall.
Alma Dominguez, a Chicago-based artist of about 20 years, is the new artist featured on the walls of Village Hall at 123 Madison St.
Dominguez immigrated from Mexico to pursue a doctorate in political science, and her paintings speak to her lived experience, identity as a mother and educational background with her subjects mainly featuring immigrants, women and even her children.
“I really like to paint powerful ladies. I have a few series about ladies in different worlds, like activists and indigenous, who are working and fighting for rights,” said Dominguez. “I think we need to tell our story here.”
She said painting is like therapy to her and allows her the space to express herself without having to speak.
“Art is a very good tool to put some difficult subjects in the conversation, and without words, you can say a lot,” said Dominguez.
Jaime Garza, the arts council’s program coordinator, has known Dominguez for a few years, and invited her to collaborate with The Gallery. He said he wanted to highlight all the different dimensions of her art and her as an artist, not just her heritage.
Garza also spoke to the importance of art as not just something to fill space, but something that is an intrinsic part of civilization.
“It’s a form of humans trying to understand other humans. It’s just a whole other dimension where any civil world that you encounter, art plays a very big part of it,” said Garza. “I think village hall, Oak Park, wants to also be that kind of civilization that is open to other cultures, other forms of seeing the world, and that’s kind of what art does.”
Camille Wilson White, the council’s long-time executive director, expressed her appreciation for the village’s ongoing support for The Gallery and believes Dominguez’s art “reflects the values of Oak Park and how inviting this village is of all people.”
“I think it has just generated so much excitement because it’s attractive, and you wouldn’t expect that coming into village hall where so many different kinds of work goes on for the Village of Oak Park, so we have enjoyed it,” said Wilson White.
The exhibition switches artists every three months, so Dominguez’s work will be displayed until December. Village hall is open for anyone to walk through and visit, and the art is displayed right along the path of early voting lines.