glen arbor arts center

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Glen Arbor Arts Center features Woodland Home: A History of a Place

Two forest stewards bring to life the world of Northern Michigan’s woodland 250 years before—at the time of the nation’s founding—and after. Woodland Home: A History Of A Place takes place at the Glen Arbor Arts Center on August 1 at 11 am, with Dave Fenlon, Interpretive Park Ranger with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; and Mae Wright, Tribal Historic Preservation Officers with the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. The program is free and is offered as part of the GAAC’s American Tree exhibit.

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Arts Center author talk examines a changing Northern Michigan

What happens when a place is so beautiful that everyone wants to go there—and then they stay? That question is central to Leelanau County author Tim Mulherin’s book This Magnetic North: Candid Conversations On A Changing Northern Michigan. Mulherin will discuss why he wrote the book, and the conclusions he drew at the July 11 Coffee with the Authors interview at the Glen Arbor Arts Center. The program begins at 11 am.

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Glen Arbor Arts Center holds Youth Plein Air Month

Following a wildly successful inaugural run last year that engaged more than 140 young creatives, the Glen Arbor Arts Center is thrilled to announce the return of the Youth Plein Air Month this July. This unique, month-long program invites children ages 6 to 15 to step outside the traditional classroom and into the fresh air to experience the historic tradition of plein air painting—the practice of painting entirely outdoors. Designed to foster creative confidence, exploration, and a connection with nature, Youth Plein Air Month gives young artists the tools and guidance to translate Northern Michigan’s spectacular landscapes and historic buildings into their own unique artwork.

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Beth Bricker is “still standing” and cancer free

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Two years ago Glen Arbor artist and co-owner of Forest Gallery Beth Bricker was diagnosed with stage-4 cancer and given a prognosis of months to live. She underwent chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, but also pursued alternative treatment methods including reiki. Today Beth is cancer free and still standing. “Still standing” is the title of the exhibit currently on display at Lake Street Studios Center Gallery until June 26. The exhibit, which opened on May 29, celebrates the art and wild creativity of Beth—“our iconic townie gallerina extraordinaire”—with the gorgeous collaboration of driftwood sculpture by Naomi Call.

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Glen Arbor Arts Center observes the Nation’s Semiquincentennial with American Tree

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As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the nation’s layered story of people and place comes into sharper focus. Across the country, this milestone is being marked through ceremony, exhibitions, and public celebration, as communities revisit the question of what it means to inhabit—and be formed by—this history. The Glen Arbor Arts Center responds to that question with American Tree. The exhibition contemplates the role trees played in the formation of the United States 250 years ago—and the role they will continue to play as the nation moves into its next 250 years.

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Glen Arbor Arts Center hosts painter Weiss

Kalamazoo artist Heidi Weiss’s paintings spring from images taken from paused film stills—a number of which will be the basis for a series of new oil paintings that “preserve and disrupt story logic.” Weiss will focus on these “transitional frames” during her Glen Arbor Arts Center residency. Weiss talks about her residency during a public presentation on Thursday, June 11, at 10 am at the GAAC.

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Cerus Quartet plays Sound Garden throughout Glen Arbor area

The Glen Arbor Arts Center is thrilled to host the Cerus Quartet as Musicians‑in‑Residence from June 8–20, as part of their Manitou Music Series, in partnership with Interlochen Public Radio’s Sound Garden Project. Emerging as one of the most compelling chamber ensembles of their generation, the Cerus Quartet brings the dynamic sound of the saxophone quartet to the Glen Arbor area. Their repertoire spans contemporary works and transcriptions of classical masterworks, combining innovation, versatility, and engaging visual elements to create a distinctive performance experience. During their two‑week residency, the Cerus Quartet will offer immersive musical experiences around the Glen Arbor and Empire area, from public performances to school and library visits, open rehearsals, and “Sound Samples” (spontaneous musical interactions in community spaces).

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Glen Arbor Arts Center recognizes 250 years of American trees

American Tree is an exhibit that explores the role trees played in the formation of the United States 250 years ago—and the role trees will play moving forward into this nation’s next 250 years. This exhibition opens Friday, June 5, in the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s Main Gallery. It features the work of 28 artists and continues through Aug. 13. An opening reception is June 5, from 5-7 pm.

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Glen Arbor Arts Center hosts De Castro

Brooklyn, New York artist Angelique De Castro’s Glen Arbor Arts Center residency combines ceramics and textiles/needlework into one sculptural form that builds on the world of Philippine mythology. De Castro will show examples of her work and talk about her residency on Thursday, May 28, at 10 am at the GAAC. The presentation is open to the public.

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Stephanie Schlatter: Finding the Extraordinary in the Everyday

For centuries, the arts have recognized and illuminated the profundity of everyday life. The practice of depicting ordinary, shared social spaces as enduring images is what art historians refer to as genre painting: works that transform the familiar into the extraordinary, revealing the poetry, light, and rhythm embedded in lived experience. It is within this tradition that Stephanie Schlatter’s painting, “Gathered Together,” finds its place. Renowned for her luminous landscapes—renderings of water, sky, and the shifting light of northern Michigan—Schlatter departs from that familiar creative practice in “Gathered Together.” She instead turns to a more intimate, human-centered scene: the vibrant summer atmosphere at Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor. This emphasis on a buoyant, communal vision led to Gathered Together’s selection for the 2026 Manitou Music Poster.

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