Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes
Image: Walking Up the Dune by Josie Levin
When
Aug
11
–
Aug 31, 2025
Open during center hours.
Cost
Free.
This event is presented by Illinois Humanities Grantee Partner Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.
This summer, Brushwood Center presents a new exhibition, Rooted in the Shadow of Coal: Botanical Treasures of the Waukegan Dunes. It is presented in partnership with the Driehaus Museum to explore perspectives on art and nature in association with their summer exhibition featuring acclaimed botanical artist Rory McEwen, Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature.
Rooted in the Shadow of Coal embraces the tradition of botanical art while expanding to include a wider range of artists and media, all focused on the resilient plants of the Waukegan Dunes. Each artwork in the show includes a reference to at least one, and sometimes several, of these botanical wonders. What has proximity to pollution done to the site? What does it mean to have this surviving and thriving natural environment next to coal ash ponds? In this exhibition, botanical art becomes a lens to consider health, equity, and nature.
Exhibit Hours:
- Monday: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Thursday: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Sunday: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.