Meet James M. Lynch of The Art Center Highland Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to James M. Lynch.

Thanks for sharing your story with us James. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I moved to Highland Park about 20 years ago and was pleased to find a small arts center, offering classes in mostly visual arts. With my background as an actor/director/teacher, I offered them a class called ‘Acting for Non-Actors’, for people who had tried acting in high school or college, but who hadn’t pursued it after that. They were willing to give it a try and in my first session, we had eight students.

The scope of the program changed with the first class. A lot of these people were stepping out of their comfort zones to get up on their feet in front of others, or they’d been taking care of their families and this was their first time to do something just for fun. The students were engaged and wanted me to give them ‘everything at once’. I thought I’d be sharing some basic presentation skills, but it turned out to be a very talented group. I was new to the community, but I began to realize that this was a strong arts community, with a well educated and sophisticated base.

I taught a few other sections for the Suburban Fine Arts Center as it was called then, but my ‘day job’ became so demanding that I had to take a break. But the ‘hook was set’; I knew I wanted to stay involved with the center, and with the arts in Highland Park in general.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
After my first start with The Suburban Fine Arts Center, I found myself working as a volunteer for a few other groups. In one instance I created a project that asked store owners to feature local artists in their windows for a weekend. The SFAC was more than willing to be our host for the kickoff, and the weekend featured over 50 artists in 40 or more stores. The community was so welcoming that I was energized by it and we planned a second project for the following year. It became an annual event, but I had to give it over to someone else as I just didn’t have the time for it.

I was invited onto the Cultural Arts Commission by former mayor Michael Belsky and, even though I still didn’t have time for it, I couldn’t say no. He was so passionate about the role of the arts in Highland Park that I accepted the role. Soon after, the economy was hit hard, and funding for the arts was threatened.

If we weren’t giving money, I thought we could give support. I created an organization called The Highland Park Cultural Arts Network (HP CAN). and we did our best to provide experts in all important areas: not for profit management, capital campaigns, marketing and social media. If all the arts groups in our community were suffering, at least we’d suffer together, offer encouragement, brainstorm ideas and offer mutual support.

Please tell us about The Art Center Highland Park.
The SFAC had taken on a new, bigger building now, and had become The Art Center Highland Park. As the organization has grown it has attracted additional professional artists to help lead programs in figure drawing, printmaking, ceramics, painting, pottery, jewelry making, and more.

The new space even offers a photo lab, printmaking and a summer program where teenage students write and direct their own short films. Classes start in the early morning and go through the evenings and weekends. All ages and skill levels come through our doors on a regular basis.

The gallery is constantly at work, too. The main gallery is fully functional with shows covering a wide range of issues: women’s health, ecology, food, music, homelessness. Submissions come from all over, not just locally, and our reputation as a regional/national gallery is growing.

A beautiful building, TAC HP also rents space out for weddings, parties, corporate events and guest shows. Located right off of downtown Highland Park it is truly functioning as the heart of the community.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My father was the payroll master for the Brooklyn docks in New York. He was a longshoreman, and I loved to see the huge ships that towered above the loading docks, with all kinds of crates and boxes that arrived from all over the world. His peers were tough guy teamsters right out of the movie ‘On the Waterfront’. They seemed kind of scary when you saw them from a distance.

Then one time I went in to work with my dad for the day.I was about 10 years old and it just happened to be payday. Each of the men came in to pick up their paychecks and a few of them stopped to kid around with me and make me feel welcome. One gave me a piece of gum, one had his actors headshot and autographed it for me – he had actually been an extra in ‘On the Waterfront’ with Brando, so he was a bit of a celebrity.

As we were leaving that day one of the men stopped my dad and me. He had brought me a painting he did of one of the freighters. It was painted on the lid of a packing crate, with nail holes and everything. The boat was in a stormy sea, tossed by the waves, and it was such a powerful image that I held it as if it the ship would sail off the page at me. The picture was titled ‘Fighting its Way’, and the painter’s name was Martine. That’s 50 years ago and that picture still holds a place of honor in my house. It was the first painting I ‘collected’.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1957 Sheridan Road Highland Park, IL 60035
• Website: https://theartcenterhp.org/
• Phone: 847-432-1888
• Email: jlynch@theartcenterhp.org
• Instagram: theartcenterhp
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theartcenterhp/
• Twitter: @theartcenterhp

Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.