LURE OF THE LOCAL 5 / LOVE LETTERS

Lure of the Local 5: Love Letters Celebrating the Mundelein Arts Commission’s 10th Anniversary

The Lure of the Local annual art exhibition was established in 2022 to celebrate the creative practices of artists who live and work among us—our teachers, neighbors, friends, and fellow community members. Together, their work offers a multifaceted portrait of contemporary art as it emerges within our community.

The exhibition takes its name from Lucy Lippard’s seminal text The Lure of the Local, which explores the profound ways we construct meaning through place, memory, and identity.

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2026 Theme: Love Letters

Whether it inspires a brand-new work, helps you see an existing piece in a new light, or simply sparks a new idea, we invite artists to explore what Love Letters means through their own creative lens.

From the quiet anticipation of writing a love letter to the joy of receiving one, this simple act captures something deeply human. Few things express longing, connection, vulnerability, and devotion quite like a love letter, and art offers a powerful way to explore those emotions.

In today’s fast-paced world of texts and instant messages, the love letter feels both nostalgic and tangible. What makes you pause in awe? What image, object, place, or memory truly embodies love? Is love a fairy tale or a fantasy? What artistic process draws you in so completely that you lose yourself, much like falling in love?

Let this theme serve as a springboard for your own interpretation. Your subject might be a person, a pet, a garden, a season, a favorite meal, or even a fleeting moment. What you love—and how you choose to honor it—is uniquely your own.

We invite artists to engage with these ideas through diverse mediums, processes, and perspectives. Artists of all mediums and experience levels are encouraged to submit work.

Now in its fifth year, this juried exhibition is presented by the Mundelein Arts Commission and features awards for Critic’s Choice, People’s Choice, and a Purchase Award.

————————————————————————————– Interactive Community Art Proposals

As part of the Mundelein Arts Commission’s 10th Anniversary celebration, we are seeking proposals for interactive, community-focused installations that invite visitors of all ages to participate throughout the exhibition.

————————————————————————————– ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM AT LURE OF THE LOCAL! The Mundelein Arts Commission is pleased to announce our second year piloting an Artist Residency Program, preceding and coinciding with this year’s exhibition, Lure of the Local 5. The Artist Residency invites artists across disciplines a unique opportunity to develop new work in a space of their own that explores the Love Letters theme. This residency offers a group of artists FREE studio space for a period of time leading up to the exhibition, and for a period after the exhibition. The studios are located within the Lure of the Local space and are intended to be a supportive environment where exploration, experimentation, collaboration, and reflection are encouraged. We invite artists across all disciplines to apply for a unique opportunity to develop new work and share their art with our community. Applications for the 2026 Artist Residency program are now open! Visit www.mundelein.org/LURERESIDENCIES for more information and to apply. Residency application deadline: July 26, 2026