BELOW are JUST some of the projects AND EVENTS which Vizo Arts has collaborated on AND SPONSORED.

east aurora counseling center

We recently made a donation of art supplies to the East Aurora Counseling, Ltd. expressive arts group. The goal of EAC’s expressive arts group is to provide adolescents a therapeutic outlet to express emotions, gain coping tools, and reduce stress and anxiety.

PET PARADE - ALIVE CENTER AURORA

We were thrilled to be one of the sponsors of this event on Saturday, October 30 at Alive Aurora in Aurora Downtown.

taco tuesday crawl - marie wilkinson food pantry

Vizo Arts was thrilled to be one of the sponsors of the Taco Tuesday Crawl to benefit the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry. We provided an in-kind donation of photography and videography to document the event. This event took place on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.

ART COMES ALIVE: a teen art exhibition, aurora, il

Thanks to everyone that attended the Art Comes Alive: A Teen Art Exhibition at Gallery 1904 in Aurora Downtown last night as part of First Fridays Aurora. We were super excited to partner with Alive Aurora to bring this Teen Art Exhibition to the Aurora community.

A big thanks to all the teen artists who submitted their artwork and participated in the exhibition. It was great to meet so many of the artists and their family members. We had over 80 pieces of artwork on display from over 65 local teen artists.

We want to give another big shout out to Alive Aurora for their support and everyone else that made this show a success.

on the wall urban arts festival 2021

Vizo Arts was one of the sponsors for the 7th annual “On The Wall Urban Arts Festival” in Aurora, IL on Sunday, September 19, 2021. This was a free, family friendly celebration of hip hop culture featuring all of the elements of Hip Hop. There was a car show, live music, live performances, vendors, live graffiti painting and much more.

hairy beast dog pawlour, aurora, IL

We were thrilled to be one of the sponsors of the Hairy Beast Dog Pawlour and Gentleman's Parlour 3 year anniversary. The Hot Rods and Hot Dogs Car Show took place on Sunday, July 25 from 12:00 to 5:00 PM. There were cars, art and more.

indian prairie public library, Darien, il

We curated and sponsored the art gallery on both floors of the Indian Prairie Public Library in Darien, IL for the month of July 2021.

a-town boxing club, aurora, IL

We were proud to be one of the sponsors for their fundraising event and to celebrate of the new location of the A-Town Boxing Club located at 727 Hill Ave in Aurora, IL.

aurora downtown and the aurora interfaith food pantry

Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry is hosting Carts for a Cause in partnership with Aurora Downtown and Vizo Arts. To help spread awareness about hunger in our community, local artists decorated grocery carts to be displayed at various businesses throughout downtown during the month of September. You can help us determine the H.A.M. (Hunger Action Month) Cart Champion by voting on Facebook with a like or heart reaction for one of your favorite carts. The location of each cart is listed in the graphics below. Please take a selfie with our #cartsforacause and tag us on Facebook or IG @aurorafoodpantry. May the best cart win!

Good Morning Aurora podcast - aurora, IL

Vizo Arts donated a Zoom LiveTrak L-8, 8-channel Digital Mixer / Recorder to the Good Morning Aurora Podcast team. This podcast mixer will be a game changer for the GMA team and will make their live podcasts a whole lot easier. This mixer also offers 6 buttons to trigger sound effects, commercials and recorded public announcements.

el jardin community garden - Aurora, il

Vizo Arts donated $300.00 to Concrete Rose Studios who funded and cares for El Jardin Community Garden in Aurora, IL. Our donation allowed El Jardin to host a hands on wood shop class. The kids made and painted birdfeeders that were placed in the trees at El Jardin.

gin ingram art - aurora, il

Vizo Arts made a donation of $310.00 to Gin Ingram Art which allowed her to offer three FREE art camps to kids in grades 3rd thru 10th grades in August 2020.

Aurora interfaith food pantry and gin ingram art

Vizo Arts collaborated with the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, Gin Ingram Art and Gin’s daughter Nadia in August 2020.  The theme of this window project is “Hunger Heroes” - which gave a well-deserved shout out to all the Pantry staff and their awesome volunteers during this uncertain time.  Pictured with Gin and her daughter Nadia are Becky, Marcy and Rebekah from the Pantry.  Look for more pictures and a video produced by Vizo Arts soon.  Huge shout out to Gin and Nadia for their help.  Follow Gin on Instagram @giningramart.

INDIAN PRAIRIE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND DEVAN - DARIEN, IL

Devan, the Indian Prairie Public Library, and Vizo Arts collaborated on a Virtual Scavenger Hunt Story Surprise. 

We asked kids to write a short story each week for four weeks. These short stories were open to kids in grades 1-6, and were based on the Scavenger Story Surprise videos posted every Monday on the Indian Prairie Library’s YouTube channel. The kids watched a new video each week to see what the three surprises were, then they explored their house and yard to find similar items and then used the items as writing prompts for their short story. If they were in the 1st grade, we asked them to write one page.  If they were in the 5th grade, we asked them to write five pages.

Kids could Zoom with Natalie from the Library on Thursday afternoons for an online writing workshop. She provided inspiration for creating characters, settings, and plot twists. Participants shared their stories by emailing nataliew@ippl.info or mailing them to Indian Prairie Public Library, 401 Plainfield Rd, Darien IL 60561.

Stories were published on a digital story board with original illustrations created by local artist, Devan. Log on to her website- www.artbydevan.com and follow her on Instagram @devantheartist.

AURORA DOWNTOWN - VIRTUAL FIRST FRIDAYs - AURORA, IL

Vizo Arts sponsored a virtual scavenger hunt on Friday, April 3, 2020. We donated $1000 worth of gift cards to support downtown businesses in Aurora, IL. First Fridays in Aurora gives the community a chance to support local businesses, enjoy art, music and great food. It usually draws large crowds to the city’s downtown area. But the April 2020 event was virtual because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

the Front Steps Project - Aurora, IL

Amy Nelson Photography and Vizo Arts invited individuals and families to be a part of The Front Steps Project Aurora! Due to the overwhelming response of people we had wanting to participate, we thought making a contest out of this project was a great idea!  Vizo Arts donated six - $50.00 gift cards that were given away in a random selection drawing.

To enter the contest, we asked people to do the following:

1. Take a photo of you and your family on your front steps of your house as a way to document the quarantine. We recommend not showing your house number.

2. Upload your photo to Instagram using the hashtag #frontstepsprojectaurora <- Make sure to use this hashtag.

3. IMPORTANT: Follow and tag @vizoarts and @amynelsonphoto.

4. Submissions must be in by Wednesday, April 1st at 5:00pm.

5. Winners will be announced on Instagram Live on virtual first Friday, April 3rd on the @amynelsonphoto
account.

Branch gardens & the marie Wilkinson food pantry

Thanks to everyone that Jingled-n-Mingled with us at Branch Gardens on Friday, December 6. We had a blast. Thanks to Kori and Bryan. Thanks to all the artists (John Cornelissen, Rose Regulus, Anton Witek, STLTHART, and Lily Elyse). Thanks to Echo and Ransom, Oliva Ports and the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry for joining us as well.

Aurora Area interfaith food pantry

In partnership with the Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry, Vizo Arts donated the materials to create an art gallery at the Food Pantry. Vizo Arts is curating this new space and featuring established artists as well as aspiring artists from Aurora and the surrounding communities. The mission behind this space is to provide a warm and welcoming environment for the people it serves. Are you interested in showing your paintings, artwork and photographs in the new gallery? Contact Vizo Arts through Facebook messenger or by email at vizoartsjoe@gmail.com for more information. We are thrilled to be working with the Aurora Food Pantry and appreciate their support.

Aurora Area interfaith food pantry

Vizo Arts would like to give a big shout out to everyone that brought food or made a monetary donation to the Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry on Friday, September 6th. Vizo Arts curated a Photography Exhibition at Gallery 1904 in Aurora, IL. and that evening and we asked people to bring non-perishable food items or to make a donation. Great news! - in addition to all the food that was dropped off, $209.00 in cash was donated, plus we matched that donation with another $209.00 in cash for a total of $418.00, then multiply that times 7, for a grand total of $2,926.00 because remember, every $1 donated provides $7 worth of food. Thanks again to everyone that donated.

ON THE WALL Urban Arts FESTIVAL 2019

Vizo Arts was one of the sponsors for the 6th annual “On The Wall Urban Arts Festival” in Aurora, IL on Sunday, September 1, 2019. This was a free, family friendly celebration of hip hop culture featuring all of the elements of Hip Hop. There was a car show, live music, live performances, vendors, live graffiti painting and much more.

A HUGE THANK YOU to this year's festival sponsors: Aurora Township, Vizo Arts, Distinct Visual Solutions, Verenia, Ward 1 Alderman, Emmanuel S. Llamas, Ward 2 Alderwoman, Alderman Juany Garza, Ward 3 Alderman, Ted Mesiacos, Ward 6 Alderman, Mike Saville and Ward 9 Alderman, Edward Bugg, Alderman.

Gary Brown Art Gallery

Vizo Arts volunteered to take photographs and videos for Gary and Susan Brown, owners of the Gary Brown Art Gallery in Aurora, IL. Gary and Susan hosted a First Friday event on June 7, 2019 at their new gallery and asked Vizo Arts to help them boost their social media presence and to provide some marketing expertise. View the slide show below to see just a few pictures from the event. You can see all the pictures from the event on the Gary Brown Art page by clicking here.

Indian Prairie public library

Vizo Arts sponsored a PopCon Fan Art Contest at the Indian Prairie Public Library (IPPL), 401 Plainfield Rd, Darien, IL, 60561 on Saturday, May 4 from 1:00 to 3:00pm. Artists of all ages created fan art of their favorite pop culture character! Art was on display and judged during the PopCon event by Vizo Arts. Artwork was judged in three age categories: 12 and younger, 13-18 years old, and 19 and older.

Simply Destinee Youth Center

Vizo Arts was with Liza Oliva at Simply Destinee Youth Center in Aurora, IL. Vizo Arts co-founder John Cornelissen donated one of his popular photographs of the Chicago bean for the silent auction at the Simply Destinee Dancing with our Stars event. Vizo Arts was also a sponsor of the event on Thursday, April 18, 2019.

ROSE REGULUS

Vizo Arts is with Rose Regulus. Vizo Arts donated 10 canvases of all sizes to Rose to support her work and help her on her way to greatness. Art is her Legacy - Greatness is her Destiny. You're an inspiration to all Rose Regulus, keep up the great work!

Aurora Arts Initiative

Vizo Arts donated an ultra-compact 8-channel PA system with custom matched speakers, a 500-watt stereo powered mixer and a microphone, along with a wide variety of art supplies to the Aurora Arts Initiative in Aurora, IL. The Aurora Arts Initiative under the direction of Emily McDonald is dedicated to helping artists create art and movements. They aim to help establish artists within the community through collaboration, networking, and exposure. The donation from Vizo Arts will help the Arts Initiative with their mission.

SPANISH COMMUNITY CENTER

Vizo Arts partnered with the Spanish Community Center - Centro Español in Joliet, IL. to sponsor free painting classes for the kids and parents in the Joliet community. VizoArts donated all the art supplies and refreshments for the events. Vizo Arts is pleased to once again be working with Ruben Calderon, a Joliet artist and owner of Art of Breath Galeria. Ruben was the instructor on Saturday, February 9th, 2019. We would also like to thank Maureen Lopez from the Spanish Center for all of her help and support!

RUBEN CALDERON

Ruben’s painting of John Belushi will be on display at the Art from Ashes Burnt District Exhibit beginning February 1st at the Joliet Area Historical Museum.  Vizo Arts printed and matted several copies of his Belushi print, Ruben signed each one of them and is now offering the prints for purchase. Two sizes are available:  an 8 x 10 photo, matted for a 11 x 14 frame for $25.00 and a 11 x 14 photo matted for a 16 x 20 frame for $40.00.  Contact Ruben at 815-630-7291 or message him on Facebook, if you’re interested in purchasing a print. Get your Belushi print now while supplies last. The Old Joliet Burnt District Artists and their work is fascinating.  

DIMARIE VAZQUEZ

Vizo Arts proudly supports Dimarie Vazquez. She is an amateur aspiring artist from the western suburbs of Illinois. Vizo Arts funded some art supplies (acrylic paints and canvases) to support her work.

Kottrell johnson

Kottrell Johnson is a hip hop artist from the western suburbs of Illinois. Vizo Arts is a proud sponsor of Kottrell and his music and we funded this Arturia Creative Drum Machine for him. Keep up the great work Kottrell.

ruben calderon and ART OF BREATH GALERIA

Vizo Arts proudly supports Ruben Calderon. He is the owner of Art of Breath Galeria located in downtown Joliet, IL. Vizo Arts sponsored his art show on November 10, 2018 and also funded new signage for the front of his galeria. View the slide show below to see the transformation. Find out more about Ruben on our artists webpage - click here.

New signage for the front windows at the Art of Breath Galeria in Joliet, IL. View the slide show above to see the before and after pictures.

Indian Prairie public library

The founders of Vizo Arts have a strong connection to the Indian Prairie Public Library, and have supported the creation of the WouldShop, LittleTown, and Baby Bundles, as well as helped sponsor special events.

Sunny Patch Project

The Sunny Patch Project raises awareness about the troubling food gaps in the Darien, IL community and the many families struggling to access garden-fresh food. Since 2015 Sunny Patch has invited families, identified by area social workers and local food pantries, to grow with them. Vizo Arts founders funded a greenhouse for year-round growing.

Richmond Education Gardens & Apiary

Richmond Education Gardens & Apiary is a joint community project between the villages of Clarendon Hills and Westmont. This outdoor classroom located on a small unused public road right of way opens in spring 2020. The founders of Vizo Arts funded a butterfly garden in this space.