Venue Information

Art Mart began in 1958 as an art gallery in a building near the University of Illinois campus. Linda Ballard and Carol Ann Hurt bought the business in 1964, when it was still located in a no longer existing building on Green Street, and they moved it to a new location in the Co-ed Theater building. In 1979 Art Mart moved to its current location in Lincoln Square and expanded into the food business as a response to the growing interest in new an interesting food. Art Mart Toys opened in fall of 1993 and is located across the common area from Art Mart. Since 1964, the store has continued to be constantly changing in the nature of its merchandise as the particular interests of the owners, as well as the community, grow and change. What has always remained constant, however, is an emphasis on providing our customers with well-designed and high quality products. These products are presented in an atmosphere that suggests vitality, color and excitement, a sense of being on the edge in Champa ...