‘Art available to all’ at 38th annual Recycled Art Sale starting this weekend

Hardly a day goes by without someone donating a piece of artwork to the Art Center Highland Park, said James Lynch, the nonprofit’s executive director. 

Now, thousands of those pieces, including jewelry, sculptures and ceramics by local artists, and ranging in cost from $5 band posters to $10,000 paintings, will go on sale Friday, Oct. 10, to fundraise for the community gallery and class space’s 38th annual Recycled Art Sale.

Entry to the art center located at 1957 Sheridan Road costs $10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11-12. Entry is then free next week, Oct. 13-18. The art sale will stay open later, until 8 p.m., on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

As the event attracts collectors and resellers from all across the region eager for a first look, entry costs $175 at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10. Entry then costs $75 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m on Friday.

Lynch emphasized that the Recycle Art Sale, which attracted more than 2,000 people and raised $125,000 in 2024, will have something for everyone — whether they are adding to their personal collection or buying art for their first apartment. 

The event also doubles as a social event and will include drinks, a food truck and live music.

Some of the art on sale comes from local artists or from people downsizing their homes, moving out of the area or even redesigning their corporate offices. A signed lithograph by Salvador Dalí will even be on sale. The only kind of art not accepted are rugs, furniture and books.

But the event is “not a rummage sale,” Lynch said, as more than a dozen volunteers have helped curate the supply now covering nearly every surface of the art center’s upper floor. 

The goal, Lynch said, is ultimately for art pieces to be appreciated, rather than end up unseen in a closet. Money raised by the art sale, on average between $70,000 to $100,000, funds staff positions and “cheap and free” programs at the art center, Lynch said. 

Notably, the Art Center Highland Park is independently funded; it rents its headquarters from the city and otherwise earns its revenue through grants, donations and events. 

Once the event is over, some art pieces may go back into storage for next year’s Recycled Art Sale. 

But on the final day, the nonprofit connects with the Peers Housing Association, the Ravinia Housing Association and Community Partners for Affordable Housing to invite individuals who live in affordable housing to select art pieces for free.

“It’s our commitment to make art available to all,” Lynch said of the Recycled Art Sale. “These are not just community events, they’re community-building events because people come out, it’s partially a social event, and this is the most volunteers involved in this event than any other.”

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