A simple drive into downtown Plainfield can now bring locals into a world of art education and culture unlike any other.
Art Cube Studios, at 24044 West Main Street in Plainfield, held its grand opening April 18. The studio occupies the historic Greek revival Flanders House, which backs into the scenic Des Plaines River. Owner Amanda Chakravarty explained that opening the studio had always been a dream of hers since she was in high school.
Chakravarty, who grew up in Lemont, had spent the last couple of years out west teaching art in a middle school in California, after getting her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art and teaching certificate at Arizona State University.
Chakravarty explained that Art Cube Studios has three main components. The studio offers adult classes ranging from furniture reclaiming to mosaics and sculpture, as well as children’s classes in elementary, middle school and high school levels.
Chakravarty explained that each class has a ratio maximum of eight students per teacher and that, “All the teachers that our teaching our unit to students [kindergarten to high school seniors] are certified Illinois credentials arts endorsed teachers. All of our lessons in the unit are Illinois standards based so the kids are learning what they would learn in school if they were to take an art class.”
Art Cube Studios also opens their doors to local artists looking for studio space to do their independent projects in, as well as a storefront for artists to sell their artwork.
“I’m inundated with artists, which is great, we’ve been getting a good response but unfortunately, the [storefront] is small so I have to be very picky,” said Chakravarty. “We just find anything that’s unique, one of a kind and high quality. We hire people who are educated and skilled and have experience being local professional artists themselves to teach our classes.”
With its three main components of classes, studio space and a storefront, Chakravarty hopes that all three will provide a sanctuary-type place as a whole for artists and locals to become more actively creative.
“Our mission is to exist as a whole environment for the arts. It’s for the community around us to promote knowledge and cultural awareness through the arts and enjoying life through the creative process,” said Chakravarty.
Though the arts will always provide a creative outlet for adults and students, it isn’t immune to the struggling economy. In many schools across the nation, art programs are almost always the first to be cut out of the budget. But despite this, Chakravarty explained that art as a whole is actually important for a child’s learning and developmental skills.
“We have to fight to keep the arts alive and this is a really risky thing for me to be doing, opening an arts facility in the middle of a really bad economic time, but I believe that it is crucial for kids to be enrolled in some kind of creative process,” said Chakravarty. “It keeps their interest, it helps them problem solve and it helps their learning retention across the board.”
Though Art Cube Studios is just in its beginning stages, Chakravarty has big plans for it in the future. In addition to its educational background, Chakravarty explained that she would like to create allies with local arts studios and venues in the area to further promote the arts.
In major cities, Chakravarty explained that art nights exist, where art enthusiasts can go gallery hopping, which she hopes to eventually start here to bring a world of culture to a small town setting.
“We don’t really have that here because we’re a small community, but we could still create an art night for the locals not to have to travel downtown to do something cultural,” she said.
And although its main focus right now is on visual arts, Chakravarty hopes that in five years Art Cube Studios will expand to music, creative writing and the performance arts as well.
“It would be nice to keep it moving in the direction it’s moving where we get the word of mouth,” she said.
“My main goal is that this [becomes] a sanctuary for people to come and enjoy their life through a creative process. Whether that means that they want to come here and sit in our break room and creatively write in a recliner – just come here and let this be your sanctuary.”
For more information visit
artcubestudios.com.
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