Life has come full circle for Dan Jarvis, art gallery coordinator for Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, a photography student who worked in the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery when he attended the college 20 years ago.

Jarvis was already working in the darkroom lab as an aide in 2004 and got to know the gallery director. “So I started out helping in the gallery and found out I had a knack for it and stuck with it,” he said. After completing a bachelor’s degree in photography at Columbia College in Chicago and helping install exhibits for years as a contractor, he was hired in 2024 as gallery coordinator.

Having been around the gallery for 20 years, Jarvis is well-versed in its exhibits and has a clear goal of what he hopes to find among artist submissions for its 2026-27 season.

“We want to find work that speaks to students and the community as a whole – the idea that we have world-class artists that you might see at the Art Institute in Chicago but in the south suburbs,” he shared. “Being a community college we’re definitely aiming at a diverse group of people. We want to cater to the students, the faculty, the community who come in.”

Often, community members view the gallery’s exhibits when the adjoining theaters host performances, Jarvis said.

The gallery hosts four or five shows by visiting solo or small group show artists every year. Submissions for 2026-27 exhibits are being accepted until Jan. 31, 2026. Selections will be made in March.

Artist Antonia Ruppert’s exhibit “A Broken Crayon Still Colors” was displayed in 2023 in the art gallery at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos HIlls. The one-room gallery can display everything from large-scale paintings to smaller pieces on pedestals and will change the room to match the artist’s vision, even if it means painting the walls. (Mollie Burkiewicz/Moraine Valley Community College)

Artists must be able to travel to the college for a reception and live in the United States or have a representative for payment and shipping, as well as being able to drop off and pick up their pieces or pay to have them shipped. Complete proposal requirements are available online at www.morainevalley.edu/fpac/call-for-exhibitions.

Tianna Conway, managing director for the Fine and Performing Arts Center and Jarvis’ supervisor, had nothing but praise for him. “Each season, Dan Jarvis curates a wonderfully diverse lineup of exhibits and artists. Having served on the selection committee for two years, I’ve seen firsthand how thoughtfully the group, made up of community members, faculty and staff, works to select artists that reflect a wide range of perspectives and styles,” she said.

“Our gallery might be small, but it has a big impact,” she added. “With about 8,000 visitors last year, whether they’re attending a reception, heading to class, or catching a show at the FPAC, the gallery remains a vibrant part of campus life. I encourage everyone to stop by and explore the exhibitions. It’s a remarkable cultural gem right in our backyard.”

The gallery is a busy place, featuring nine or 10 exhibits annually. As well as visiting artists, it hosts a faculty show, juried student show in the spring, a show featuring art by area high school students and a community art show in the summer. Exhibits stay up for three to five weeks. “It’s a well-rounded season,” Jarvis said.

Exhibits are funded through a combined support of “college funds, the Moraine Valley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council and the Friends of the Arts annual donation program,” Conway said.

“To the school’s credit, they have always set aside the budget for this fine and performing arts center to run,” Jarvis shared, adding that the gallery’s expenses are minimal. “I have a budget for food for the receptions. We have the backing of the school, which is nice. They tend to value the arts here.”

Jarvis handles installing exhibits, often with help from the artist, with most installations taking only a day. In the future, he’d like to involve student aides in the process. “It’s a good skill to have as an artist to know how to hang your own work.”

Jarvis invited students to help install work by one of last year’s visiting artists, Siri Stensberg, who has large-scale pieces that involve found objects. “Students got to work on the final installation and be part of the finished product,” he said.

Artist Siri Stensberg was accepted last year to exhibit her work in the gallery at Moraine Valley Community College. Transforming the space with her found objects for “Unsteady Vanishing Points” took three days, and she led a workshop for students to work on the installation. (Daniel Jarvis/Moraine Valley Community College)

Typically, the selection committee, made up of 12 to 15 people, receives dozens of proposals from artists for the limited number of slots available and keeps “diversity in all forms” in mind, whether it’s the artist’s culture, background and experiences to match Moraine Valley’s diverse student body – as well as diversity in the art itself, such as “new ways to think about old mediums,” he said.

Jarvis said proposals are accepted for a few months and then he looks at them and the work samples, putting together a slideshow of 12 to 15 proposals he thinks are the strongest when the committee meets. The group is made up of students, faculty, community members and people in the arts building, with members changing every few years to get “fresh” opinions.

High school art teachers and engaged students, such as those in art clubs, also are invited. “I can see that they have a real passion for art,” he said, adding that alumni also have been on the panel.

“Keeping in the spirit of community college, it’s not just my decision on who gets a show,” he explained. “We have a five-minute discussion about each body of work, and then I have them vote. Sometimes there’s a tiebreaker here and there, but usually you can gauge the room and the top four rise to the top, and those are the ones we offer a show to.”

In keeping with the college’s educational mission, artists are encouraged to submit a proposal for a workshop held there. Although it’s not a requirement to be chosen, “it’s a feather in your cap,” Jarvis said. “We like to do two workshops per semester if we can.”

For instance, Lisa Wolcott, who works in kinetic sculptures and found objects, gave a workshop about transforming everyday objects. “It started as a table of things people would have thrown out, but students had the creative minds to take three things and make something really interesting,” Jarvis shared.

Croatian-born artist Ana Žanić, who has lived in the Chicago area for about 17 years, was accepted to show her work at the end of the summer in the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery at Moraine Valley Community College. She also led a workshop for students titled Watercolors, Mark Making, Mindfulness to highlight her watercolor technique. (Daniel Jarvis/Moraine Valley Community College)

Another artist who gave a workshop is Ana Žanić, who was born and educated in Croatia but has lived in the Chicago area for nearly 20 years. “My main visual language is organic abstraction in watercolor on paper and Yupo,” she said, adding that she uses layers of washes and “mark-making” as well as creating small sculptures out of clay.

After an artist reception and talk at the gallery for her exhibit “Origins: Wondrous Worlds,” she led a workshop titled “Watercolors, Mark Making, Mindfulness,” showing mark-making tools from her studio and giving a short demonstration of her watercolor technique. “The students experimented with different tools and created marks of various shapes. Each participant then made their own watercolor piece, beginning with loose, spontaneous washes, drips and sprays, and then adding more detailed repetitive marks,” she said. She also brought a collection of dry twigs, pebbles and seed pods to inspire the mark-making.

Because of the timing of her exhibit and conflicting travel plans, she had to rely on Jarvis to set up the display, leaving him detailed directions and a sketch of the layout. “When I returned from my travels and saw the exhibit, I was beyond pleased – everything was placed exactly as I had imagined it.”

Žanić, who said she is “always on the lookout for gallery spaces that are visually clear and uncluttered and that consistent present artists whose work reflects authenticity and integrity,” urged artists to apply for a gallery show at Moraine Valley.

“Moraine Community College and the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery demonstrate great professionalism and support for artists, and they set an excellent example through their artist program. I was especially impressed by the level of dedication that gallery coordinator Dan Jarvis brought to every aspect of the process – from prompt and detailed communication and pristine installation to providing high-quality images of the exhibit.”

In addition to displaying her art, Žanić received something valuable from the experience. “Exhibiting and sharing my work in an academic setting is very important to me. I find that contributing to the education and cultural engagement of new generations of students and future artists keeps me continuously engaged on a level completely unrelated to the commercial side of the art world,” she explained.

The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and during most performances at the Fine and Performing Arts Center, although holidays may affect these hours. For information about submitting a proposal, contact Jarvis at artgallery@morainevalley.edu or 708-608-4231, Ext. 4231.

Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/moraine-valley-decaprio-gallery-2026/