The NIU Art Museum Gallery in Chicago will hold its third annual Art-making and Fun(d)raising event this Saturday.

The day begins at 10 a.m. when you can watch your favorite artists create original pieces in front of an audience. There will be a silent auction at 7 p.m. for the artwork that was just created, along with a free reception.

For those who are unfamiliar with the NIU Art Museum in Chicago, it was created in River North back in 1985. It holds about five events a year, two of them being shows associated with NIU faculty and graduates alike.

The Chicago gallery offers many programs to the public. Some of the more popular ones are educational programs, such as lectures and panel discussions. The gallery also has many exhibitions, as does NIU’s gallery at Altgeld Hall, which is under renovation.

The past two Art-making and Fun(d)raising events have been pretty successful, said Julie Charmelo, director of the Chicago gallery.

“We were better prepared the second year,” Charmelo said. “We’re hoping this year will be even better. We get more artists every year.”

The gallery has been doing a lot to promote this event, which boasts 30 participating artists. You may have seen the announcement cards that have been circulating the campus, but the gallery also is relying on word-of-mouth to promote the fundraising event.

For information, call (312) 642-6010.