The photo gallery at Chicago Photography Center provides a great opportunity for the little-known student to display his or her work, and succeeds at utilizing the slender space the way only a non-profit organization can. The building, constructed in the 1920s and recent home to a bond and mortgage company, narrows and converges at the corners of Lincoln, School and Marshfield, creating a unique urban viewing environment.

The gallery is surrounded by windows, requiring the photos to be arranged according to photographer on sturdy structures laddered throughout the arrowhead of the building. This way any passerby can get a glimpse of the art, albeit through windows on which the usual city soot has gathered.

The photography is interesting enough to deserve a few critical looks. The encouraging thing about photography centers that showcase their own artists is the playfulness and lack of pretension present in the art. From the abstract to the moody to the goofy, the displays offer a glimpse into the artists' personality and motivation. Beauty, design and charm may make them interesting, but it is the communication between artist and viewer in these photos that is the real achievement.

The gallery has four showings a year with a grand event to celebrate each opening. You, too, can be a famous photographer if you fulfill the CPC's curriculum of three black and white photography classes (Photo I, Photo II, Photo III). The darkroom classes are available here for $395 for a seven-week session, along with a handful of other classes and workshops that allow you to delve deeper into a world behind the lens.

Centerstage Reviewer: Jeremy Freeden