Hotei Gallery & Art Center

About me:

Shinto (Japan). One of the seven gods of fortune known in Shintoism. He is depicted with a large belly and dressed in the robes of a Buddhist priest. Attributes include a fan and a large sack on his shoulder that “never stops giving, despite the continuous demand".

Our mission is to create a gallery and art center where we exhibit, sell, create and express all art forms, from the traditional visual arts to the esoteric and healing arts. We feel that by placing an emphasis on local artists and instructors we can provide our community a greater exposure to art and provide activities that will educate, empower and lift the spirit of our community.

Stroll down Morse Avenue from the lake in Chicago’s historic Rogers Park neighborhood, and you’ll witness a street in transformation. New restaurants, music venues and urban cafés are all helping add a vibrant dynamic to an already colorful community.

Keep heading west, beneath the el tracks and just across the street from the Morse supermarket, and you’ll find two storefront windows alive with exploding color and inviting design. The Hoteí Gallery and Art Center, at 1445 W. Morse Avenue, opened in Dec. 2008 by Omar Farah and Nikos Karabetsos is the newest addition to this changing community on the city’s northernmost edge.

Inside Hoteí, which borrows its name from the god of luck in the Japanese Shinto religion, visitors will find two rooms whose walls are covered with dozens of works from local artists, whose art, photography, ceramics and other crafts help tell the story of the evolution of the Rogers Park community, an idea not at all out of sync with Shinto belief.

“Our goal is to do something different than the average art gallery,” says Hoteí cofounder Omar Farah. “People talk about this great idea of fair trade. We want to apply that concept to art. We believe in the artist and not because we’re renting wall space,” he said.

At Hoteí, selected artists from Rogers Park and other Chicago neighborhoods are invited to display their works without paying stiff wall rental fees and without price interference from gallery owners. The selection process also helps keep prices affordable for art lovers on a budget during tough economic times.

“We’re giving up-and-coming artists who can’t afford a manager the chance to show their work. They become their own promoters,” says Farah. “We also believe art doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive to enjoy it. Everyone should be able to enjoy good art.”

But Hoteí doesn’t only focus on art. It’s also a wellness center that offers yoga classes, massage therapy, Tai Chi and even parent-child interactive classes in art and yoga.

Other upcoming events include a silk screening class, candle making workshops, wire wrapping and printmaking.

“The idea of combining an art center and a wellness center is new to this community,” says Farah. “Our goal is to eventually become a non-profit organization established in this community and here for the community.”

Currently, works from more than 20 artists and photographers are displayed at Hoteí, including works from Hoteí cofounder Nikos Karabatsos. Works are rotated every couple of months, and monthly shows offer local residents the chance to view and buy new art as well as interact with the artists.

Hoteí Gallery and Art Center is open Monday-Friday from 12ish-7 p.m., Saturday 12ish-6 p.m. and is closed on Sunday. For more information, including class schedules and a list of events, call (773) 856-0551, or visit www.HoteiArtCenter.Com.