Elmhurst Area Natives in Visual Art & Performance Exhibition

Elmhurst area natives Jeff Mendenhall and Robert Manzano will be featured in Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s latest addition to its two-year 20th Anniversary retrospective season, “Art. Heals.,” May 6 – 14. This curated performance and visual art exhibition featuring music, dance, theater, poetry, multimedia and visual art was created to bring the arts and the Chicago community together, to help heal and connect after the effects of the global pandemic. The gallery opens at 7:30 p.m. with performances starting at 8 p.m., in the Auditorium at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster Ave. ‘

Jeff Mendenhall is a Visual Digital Artist, a resident of Lombard and a native of Bensenville and Elmhurst. His credits in Chicago include artwork on West Chicago "Rebirth" banners around the city, featured pieces in Fermilab's 2021 and 2022 “Be A Part of Particles” virtual art gallery. Mendenhall will also be featured at Side Streets Studio’s (Elgin, IL) "Monochrome Yellow" show in May.

Robert Manzano, a performer in “Art.Heals.” is a resident of Villa Park, Illinois and a native of Northlake. He attended West Leyden High School and Northern Illinois University. Manzano’s recent credits include the movie “For My Family” that was shown at the Reel Film Festival and involvement in “Tug of War” and “Apat” with CIRCA-Pintig.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble is Chicago’s only multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to social justice and socially conscious work that builds community through the arts “one voice, one story, one person at a time.” CDE is dedicated to creating performances that blend together dance, theatre and visual art to tell stories about the human condition.

Tickets are on sale now for $20 general admission (adult non-students), $13 student general admission (high school students over the age of 16 and college students) and free general admission (under the age of 16). Ticket sales online end two-hours before the performance but will be available at the door for $30. The evening’s running time is currently two hours including an intermission. Information on other participants and tickets are available at Danztheatre.org.