Ragdale’s High School Arts Week

Ragdale is pleased to announce that High School Arts Week is returning for its 18th season. This intensive weeklong experience welcomes up to 75 students in grades 9–12 to immerse themselves in a designated study track — creative writing, visual art, or performance — on Ragdale's historic retreat campus in Lake Forest, Illinois. Working directly alongside professional artists, students benefit from a level of focused, uninterrupted creative engagement that is rarely possible within a traditional school schedule. The week culminates in a public showcase and celebration of student work on the afternoon of Friday, July 17, 2026.

Ragdale works with area schools and their faculty and administrators to field nominations for students who would benefit from the time and space to develop their creative skills under the guidance of distinguished instructors. Ideal candidates are students who demonstrate exceptional promise, a genuine passion for the arts, and the motivation to expand their creative potential. There are no fees for accepted students, and daily lunch and snacks are provided, as well as all supplies and materials.

For over fifty years, Ragdale has partnered with area schools and students — through workshops and inventive intersections with creative professionals — to reaffirm the vital role of art in a well-rounded education. One of the largest and most celebrated artist residency programs in the United States, Ragdale is rooted in the belief that engagement with the arts is essential to a healthy and vibrant world, with a mission to steward an inspirational environment that fosters courageous creativity and inclusive community. The organization serves writers, poets, visual artists, dancers, choreographers, composers, and musicians — welcoming artists from a broad range of disciplines and backgrounds. In 2026, Ragdale proudly celebrates its 50th Anniversary, having supported more than 6,000 alumni over the course of its history — a milestone that reflects its enduring commitment to creativity, community, and extending the transformative power of the arts to the next generation.

For more information on High School Arts Week, please email John Rich, Deputy Director, at john@ragdale.org.

2026 Instructors

PROSE WRITING with Margaret Hawkins

Margaret Hawkins is the author of five books, including three novels.  Her third, Lydia’s Party, was published by Penguin, and her new book, At Home With Schizophrenia, was recently released by Lived Places Publishing. Her short stories have appeared in The Missouri Review, Minerva Rising, and Bridge. Her essays have run in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Perch (Yale), and Brevity, among others.  She wrote a long-running column about art for the Chicago Sun-Times, was a correspondent for ARTnews, and currently writes about art and ideas for The Democracy Chain.   When she's not writing or walking her dog she teaches at Loyola University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

DRAWING IN NATURE with Journie Cirdain

Journie Cirdain is an emerging artist who makes drawings that explore themes of human interaction with the non-human in ways which interpret this relationship as far more complicated and mutually generative. She earned a BA from the Great Books program at St. John’s College and an MFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has shown nationally and internationally in group shows, and is represented by Western Exhibitions in Chicago.

COMMUNITY BOOK BINDING with Regin Igloria

Regin Igloria is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in the Chicagoland area. His drawings, artists’ books, sculptures, and performances portray the human condition as it relates to the natural environment and inhabited spaces. In 2010, he founded North Branch Projects, an organization that builds connections through the book arts, which allows him to work with various communities to create crossover between disparate populations. Igloria has taught at places such as The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design, Marwen, Snow City Arts, and Carthage College, and recently served as Artistic Director at Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, IL. He received a 3Arts Next Level Artist Award as well as local, national, and international grants, support through artist residencies such as Camargo Foundation and Ucross, and has exhibited internationally. He received his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design.

DEVISED PHYSICAL THEATER with Chih-Jou Cheng

Chih-Jou Cheng (程之柔) is a Taiwanese movement artist, physical theatre creator, and puppeteer currently based in Chicago. She holds a degree in Drama Creation and Application from Taiwan, with training in Theatre of the Oppressed, Forum Theatre. She is also trained in theater education and was a recipient of the 2014–2016 Scholarship Program for Excellent Teacher Education. Her performance credits in US include The Left Hand of Darkness (Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival), RHINOCEROS (HERE Arts Center), The Dream King (Teatro Vista), The King and I (Drury Lane), and A Chorus Line (Metropolis), as well as collaborations with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Roughhouse Theatre, and Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Her original works—including Hold Your Hand, Above the Water, Lost & Found, and Unfinished Island Songs—explore themes of migration, identity, and healing through interdisciplinary physical theatre. Her work has been supported by the Ragdale Foundation, DCASE, and the Chicago Cultural Center Dance Studio Residency. She is a recipient of the Chicago Arts & Health Pilot for Creative Workers, the Princess Grace Honoraria and Princess Grace Fellowship, and the 3Arts Award in Dance.