To answer the obvious question, the Art Center was originally located on Lill Street in Lincoln Park. When it moved to more spacious, rent-friendly digs in 2003, the name, along with its mission to encourage and inspire artistic growth in a non-competitive environment, remained the same. Lill's current home is a refurbished three-story warehouse, appropriate for a neighborhood where strollers and joggers have replaced industrial activity.

Plenty of industrial sites have been converted to art studios, but few are as quirky and charming as Lillstreet Art Center. The "giant hand" mural pointing you to the upstairs art studios looks like something from an amusement park. The studios are clean, well-lit and inviting, the mood is relaxed and the ground floor First Slice Pie Cafe serves artesian sandwiches and fresh baked cakes and pies for munching as you browse the adjacent gallery, a small space that features a rotating series of exhibitions of students' work.

Typically held over five-week sessions, Lillstreet Learning Center classes (painting, drawing, printmaking, textiles, glass bead making, metalsmithing and a long-standing ceramics program) reach artists of all ages, from aspiring professionals to hobbyists. The Learning Center often supplements school curriculum with arts instruction and consistently reaches out to traditionally underserved populations and people living with illness. Lillstreet members support the institution with their donations and enjoy discounts on gallery purchases, workshops, art supplies and week-long summer camp sessions for their kids.

Centerstage Reviewer: Justin Sondak