Since 1961, the Naperville Art League has been an integral part of the Naperville community, providing art education and a creative outlet for individuals of all ages.
And for the past ten years, the league's executive director has strived to continue to enrich the minds of the community through art.
Name and Occupation: Debbie Venezia, executive director of Naperville Art League since 2002.
What are some of the responsibilities you have at the Naperville Art League? I run the essential coordination of all of the functions of everything we do. We hold classes here, exhibits, we run the Riverwalk Fine Arts Fair and I'm also the executive director of the art fair, which is one of the top outdoor art fairs in the country. We have different events going on here like gallery openings and we are planning our 50th anniversary celebration in October.
What do you like most about working with the Naperville Art League and working in the community? It's a very rewarding experience. I worked in the corporate environment for a long time, for about 20 years, and then I was downsized and all of the sudden I needed to find a job and I was reading the paper and there was an opening for the gallery director here. I applied for the job and it was one of those things that I just kind of felt that fate was going to handle it. When I found out I was losing my job I thought, 'OK, don't freak out, this is your chance to get to do what you really want to do.' But it's just wonderful to work in an environment where you're surrounded by artwork and artists. It is kind of freeing and it's interesting to work with the artists and be surrounded by art and bring art to the community. When we do the Riverwalk we bring 150 artists from around the country to Naperville. It's just, it doesn't seem like work, everything is a new adventure and a new encounter with something.
Why do you think it's important to to highlight art in the community? It's an outlet for expression. It's a creative point where people can look inside themselves and it's a discovery process. I think when everybody looks at art they're going to see something different and they're going to bring in their own personal experience. But it soothes your soul, all of the sudden you can identify or have an emotional response, you can look at a picture and have an emotional response. It's something that can be freeing and liberating, or it could be endearing. For an individual to really become in touch with themselves and I think that's really important because in this hectic, busy world people are spending so much time constantly running, constantly doing, constantly in contact with people through emails and text messaging and people don't really take time to even know themselves and explore who they really are. And I think that art is one way that people can look into themselves and have that discovery.
For more information on the Naperville Fine Art Center and Art League, visit www.napervilleartleague.com