By Cara Goldstone
Passionate local business and arts advocate Joanna Rolek has served as the executive director of the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce for almost three decades. Her love for community engagement and the broad appeal and attraction of the arts for all ages have fueled her enthusiasm to lead an exciting, evolving project for Lake Forest and beyond called ArtsLink North.
Originally launched in Lake Forest more than a decade ago, “ArtsLink North is an evolution of the original initiative that has grown to be an alliance of arts and cultural organizations in Lake County,” Rolek said. “It seeks to celebrate and connect the public to a central hub showcasing promotion and links to Lake County’s diverse and vibrant arts and cultural scene.”
"It has been an exciting process of bringing people together and laying the groundwork for a more connected and thriving cultural scene," says Joanna Rolek about ArtLinks North.
The centerpiece of the initiative is a comprehensive website—ArtsLinkNorth.com—where people can find information about local performances, exhibits, and cultural events all in one place. It also includes a listing of arts and cultural groups, venues for events, and classifieds listing opportunities for jobs, auditions and volunteer engagement.
“Unlike other programs that may focus on a single discipline or institution, ArtsLink North is a county-wide collaboration that serves as a first point of information across multiple genres, designed to be a resource for both audiences looking to engage with the arts and for artists and organizations seeking to collaborate and to promote their work,” Rolek said.
Launched on March 1, the ArtsLink North website is the culmination of more than 10 years of work conducted by the Chamber and Rolek. The project began as a much smaller, locally oriented endeavor that had to be sidelined during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many of the arts opportunities it aimed to showcase were forced to halt their operations.
“When everything came back to life and we were asked to revive the ArtsLink initiative, there were several more people at the table representing entities outside of our communities who were very interested in the concept and wanted to jump on board,” Rolek explained. “It resulted in this terrific, collaborative effort involving more than 40 organizations and attracting supporters from throughout the region.
ArtsLink North looks to build a sustainable infrastructure for the arts in Lake County.
“We found that there was great enthusiasm for what we looked to create: a user-friendly website, opportunity to build partnerships among local institutions, and a means to reach out to the public to ensure that the initiative would reflect the needs of the community. It has been an exciting process of bringing people together and laying the groundwork for a more connected and thriving cultural scene and, very importantly, the opportunity for community-building endeavors.”
Rolek knows well the incredible impact that the arts have on local communities. Raised in Evanston, Rolek was introduced to the arts at a young age.“My mother was a singer, teacher, and choir director, and my father was a professional artist and packaging designer. I was very fortunate to have had some wonderful opportunities to learn about and appreciate culture all around us, which ultimately led to my passion for participation and involvement.”
When Rolek moved to Boston to study vocal performance in college, her adoration for the arts was solidified.
“Learning first-hand about artistic collaboration and opportunities both on and off campus were all things I just loved,” she said. “Since those early years I have had the great privilege and pleasure of performing professionally in a variety of settings, from classical music to jazz and in theatrical productions in Boston, Denver, and Chicago. My trajectory included not only professional settings but also some terrific community performing arts groups and venues.”
Given its emphasis on community and vivid cultural presence, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff were the perfect place for Rolek and her family to relocate permanently.
“When my career transitioned from performance to arts and non-profit administration, I found Lake Forest and Lake Bluff to be a perfect fit with their rich history of supporting the arts and opportunities to contribute to the cultural landscape,” she said. “Over the years, my work in both cultural and business communities has deepened my connection to the area, and I’m very proud to call it home.”
Now, with the launch of ArtsLink North, Rolek is involved more than ever in the field of arts-based community building.
“Working with colleagues to build a sustainable infrastructure for the arts in Lake County—one that connects people to the incredible cultural opportunities here—is a very fulfilling initiative. It has given me the opportunity to bring together my passion and experience in the arts, background in nonprofit leadership, and experience in community advocacy to create something that all of us involved hope will have a lasting impact.”
Find the link at ArtsLinkNorth.com to sign up for the website’s newsletter to receive updates every month about the arts in Lake County.