LCA's events connect our community while offering rich artistic and cultural experiences.

🎨 Call for Young Artists!

Through May 22, Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) invites creative youth ages 7-17 to showcase their talent in the annual Lindsey O'Brien Kesling Wishing Tree Foundation Young Artists Expo (LOK YAE). Young artists working in all media are encouraged to participate in this exciting exhibition opportunity designed to celebrate imagination, originality and artistic growth.

Participation is free, simply schedule a portfolio review in person or online with LCA's education director, Nelsy Marcano. Contact NMarcano@LubeznikCenter.org, or call 219.874.4900.

The LOK YAE represents artists from LCA’s partnerships with numerous community and regional school partners. The artwork, chosen through individual portfolio review, is an impressive display of the extraordinarily talented youth from across the region. The LOK YAE will be on view in LCA’s NIPSCO Art Education Studios from June 5 through July 10.

LOK Wishing Tree Foundation supports youth arts programming to help the next generation of young artists achieve their dreams. Whether or not they continue in a career in the arts, the growth experience through their participation is vital to their self-esteem, self-confidence, individualism, team building, self-expression and much more.

This Month's Free Workshop: Lacemaking with Illinois Lace Guild

Join us at Lubeznik Center for the Arts for a hands-on lacemaking demo with L.A.C.E., a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing the art of lace.

Discover bobbin lace, a centuries-old art form dating back to the 1500s, once so prized that laws restricted who could make and wear it. Today, groups like the Illinois Lace Guild are keeping the tradition alive and accessible. In this workshop, you'll learn the basics of bobbin lace and create your own cell phone or keychain charm.

TAC is always free and open to join for local creative teens 13-18. Contact LA's Education Director, Nelsy Marcano, at nmarcano@lubeznikcenter.org to register, or call 219.874.4900.

Join us for a FREE day of art-making at LCA! This free, drop-in event welcomes all ages to create their own art project using materials provided by LCA. Plus, kids can enjoy a fun, family-friendly scavenger hunt through LCA’s three galleries, all in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Participants are invited to create a textile artwork using a fabric square and embroidery hoop using a wash of color in the background and materials to embellish.

Family Days are particularly engaging for school-age children and their parents or caregivers. Free snacks will be provided, and no advance registration is required. Free Family Day offers children and adults opportunities to connect while exploring LCA’s upcoming exhibition, "Cosmic Connections."

This program is supported by the generous funding of the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation (MCCEC).

Join us Friday, June 5 from 5-8 PM (Central) for the opening celebration of the Lindsey O'Brien Kesling Wishing Tree Foundation Young Artists Expo (LOK YAE) showcase at Lubeznik Center for the Arts!

This exhibition is a showcase of talented youth ages 7 through 17 in all media. The LOK YAE represents artists from LCA’s partnerships with numerous community and regional school partners. The artwork, chosen through individual portfolio review, is an impressive display of the extraordinarily talented youth from across the region. The LOK YAE will be on view in LCA’s NIPSCO Art Education Studios from June 5 through July 10.

The evening’s free, family-friendly program will begin at 6 PM with emcee Timmy Barron, Second City of Chicago graduate and actor. This year’s agenda includes performances by South Shore Dance Alliance, a longtime partner of the LOK Wishing Tree Foundation. Attendees can browse the exhibition of student artwork, and light refreshments and a cash bar will be available throughout the event.

LOK Wishing Tree Foundation supports youth arts programming to help the next generation of young artists achieve their dreams. Whether or not they continue in a career in the arts, the growth experience through their participation is vital to their self-esteem, self-confidence, individualism, team building, self-expression and much more.

LCA's First Friday events are generously sponsored by Horizon Bank.

Join LCA as we tumble down the rabbit hole for a wonderful evening at our annual ArtBash Gala, held in The Great Hall at Purdue University Northwest - Westville! Enjoy an open bar, a marvelous dinner and silent and live auctions - all benefiting LCA’s mission to connect our diverse community through contemporary art. Early Bird Tickets: $150 (Price goes up to $165 after June 1).

Don your finest Wonderland-inspired attire. Think Mad Hatter hats, Queen of Hearts royalty, White Rabbit waistcoats or Caterpillar chic. We're all mad here!

Join us on Friday, July 3 from 5-8 PM (Central), for the opening reception of LCA's new exhibition, Kindred Spirits: Margaret Wharton and Betsy Odom! Enjoy an evening out featuring spectacular art, hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar and chance to meet the artists and curator of the exhibit.

This exhibition brings together Margaret Wharton and Betsy Odom, two Chicago sculptors separated by nearly forty years yet strikingly aligned in spirit. Born in Virginia and Mississippi respectively, both artists arrived in Chicago carrying sensibilities shaped by Southern histories of making, repair and resourcefulness. They share a fascination with everyday objects — chairs, sporting equipment, shoes — and with the gendered meanings attached to them. Through humor, exaggeration and meticulous craft, Wharton and Odom render the familiar delightfully unusable, transforming sculpture into a space where labor becomes play and expectations around gender, sexuality and function are pointedly, comically and wittingly undone. Joy, care and material intelligence anchor both practices.

As always, admission is free!

Art Contest

Calling all artists ages 6-18! Your artwork could become a community mural featured at our 44th annual Lubeznik Arts Festival on

August 15 & 16.

Entry Guidelines:

• Drawings must be centered around the theme of "community."
• Submissions must be appropriate for all audiences — no political imagery, nudity or profanity.
• Drawings should be clear, neat and complete — some small details or colors may be adjusted in the final mural.
• Use landscape orientation, and paper size should be at least 8.5" x 11".
• Submit entries in person at LCA's front desk or email them to nmarcano@lubeznikcenter.org.

Grand Prize: $50 and a 1-year LCA Membership

Deadline to Enter: July 17, 2026

Join us this summer for our 44th Lubeznik Arts Festival (LAF)! LAF is one of the highlights of summer in Northwest Indiana! Taking place on LCA’s grounds, just steps away from Lake Michigan, LAF connects festival-goers to our dynamic programming and exhibitions. During this year’s festival, we’ll have 80+ artists, food vendors, indoor exhibitions, family activities and live demos. LCA's summer blockbuster exhibition, Kindred Spirits: Margaret Wharton and Betsy Odom, will also be on display inside LCA.

Saturday Admission: $5

Free for LCA members, kids 16 and under, military and veterans

Sunday Admission: FREE Family day thanks to McDonald's of La Porte County

*No pets allowed*