Traverse City singer-songwriter Allie Kessel performs on the Glen Arbor Arts Center front porch on Friday, Aug. 23, from 5-7 pm. This Manitou Music concert is free, and open air. Concertgoers should bring a chair, and refreshments. Kessell possesses a unique musical style that blends folk and soul influences. With a passion for spreading positive messages of inclusivity and unconditional love, Kessel’s songwriting reflects her personal experiences and observations of the world.
“Coffee With The Authors” is a live, conversational interview with local and regional authors about the craft and process of writing. On Aug. 18 Traverse City poet and teacher Jennifer Sperry Steinorth discusses Her Read, a book-length collage poem. In the tradition of reusing canvases, Steinorth appropriates a seminal text, The Meaning of Art by Herbert Read (Faber & Faber, 1931), and with the liberal use of correction fluid, scalpel and embroidery floss, erases and transforms the book from art criticism into feminist verse. Sarah Bearup-Neal, GAAC gallery manager, leads the conversation. The interview begins at 1 pm.
Leelanau County offers an idyllic setting that continues the venerated tradition of plein air painting. With its stunning vistas of rolling hills, cerulean waters, and dense woodlands, the area provides endless inspiration for artists. The Glen Arbor Arts Center annually hosts the Plein Air Weekend where myriad artists converge on the town to participate in a two-day painting event. It serves as a platform for creative practitioners to showcase their mastery of light, shadow, and perspective. This event is a summer pinnacle and, essentially, the foremost artistic gathering in Glen Arbor. Then there is Crystal Rivers Outfitters (CRO)—a seemingly unlikely venue for plein air art. Situated in the heart of Glen Arbor, it is most often associated with outdoor sports and recreational activities: kayaking on the Crystal River, biking on the Heritage Trail, and snowshoeing out in the Port Oneida Historic District. To further enhance CRO’s repertoire, owners Katy and Matt Wiesen, enlisted plein air artist Stephanie Schlatter for an annual summer art pop-up on its grounds. This one-day event was established in 2019. “I thought it would be fun to spend a week painting their many properties or areas [that] their businesses serve, like the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Crystal River, the Heritage Trail, and such. And then showcase the art in a wet paint sale—in the spirit of artist residences,” Schlatter explained. Schlatter will arrive at the patio of M22 Wine Bar on Aug. 8 from 3:30–5 p.m. where she will share her wondrous work and her ethereal, creative energy.
More than 75 talented artists from across Michigan and throughout the Midwest will converge on Glen Arbor on August 2-3 for the annual Plein Air Weekend hosted by The Glen Arbor Arts Center. The event includes two outdoor painting competitions and exhibitions of original work at the Glen Arbor Town Hall on Friday and Saturday evenings. The weekend begins with the popular Quick Draw on August 2. This year’s theme is “Country Roads, Take Me Home” and artists will have a 3-hour window of time to paint in the Glen Arbor area.
If it’s July, then it must be time for art projects for Glen Lake middle schoolers. Same for August. And September, October—you get the idea. Thanks to a partnership between the Glen Arbor Arts Center and Leelanau Investing For Teens—the Suttons Bay-based center for after-school activities commonly known by its acronym LIFT—each month the art center offers a class for students from Glen Lake Middle School. The partnership started in April 2024 and programs will continue through April 2025, or until all 12 classes are fulfilled, though both GAAC and LIFT are hopeful additional funding will allow it to continue.
Lake Street Studios/Center Gallery in Glen Arbor dedicates itself to promoting and celebrating the arts with its annual summer exhibitions—titled “Center Gallery Art Shows”—serving as the centerpiece of its mission. This year marks the 34th anniversary of the weekly series of art openings that showcase local artists and include contributions from other prominent Michigan creative practitioners. They run every Friday evening from 6-8 pm. A total of nine artists will display their work this summer, June 28 through Aug. 31. To commence the 2024 summer season, Glen Arbor-based artist, Shirley Hoagland, will exhibit her pastel work. Hoagland has deep ties with Glen Arbor’s art community. She has been an instrumental part of the GAAC, serving as its vice-president in 2003 and then president from 2004-06.
The Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC) is keeping the lights on a little longer this summer. Late Night Fridays continues Friday, June 21, with open galleries and a front porch concert from 5-8 pm. A to Z Music performs on the GAAC’s front porch stage. Zinnia Dungjen and Audrey Mason are a singer-songwriter duo from Interlochen Arts Academy, and will perform a unique blend of original songs and covers. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring their own seating, and refreshments.
The Glen Arbor Arts Center and Interlochen Public Radio are once again bringing free community pop-up performances to businesses and public locations around the region. Between June 3-15 the Fivemind Reeds Quintet will play at spots including the Glen Lake Narrows (pictured here), the Arts Center front porch, the Leelanau School beach, and the Glen Lake Library in Empire. For more information, click here.
The Glen Arbor artist community will hold a reception at Lake Street Studios on Saturday, June 1, from 3-6 pm for an exhibition that runs until June 26 with proceeds from all works sold benefiting Beth Bricker, co-owner of Forest Gallery and a pillar of the local artist community who is battling cancer. Beth’s parents, the late Ananda and Ben Bricker, were founding members of the Glen Arbor Art Association 40 years ago. “Beth has always been a champion of the artists in her community, and it is our hope that we, as artists and friends, can send love and support back to Beth and her family in this emotionally and financially difficult time,” the Lake Street Studios friends wrote in a statement.
The Leelanau Peninsula, with its saturated colors and resplendent landscape, has long been a magnet—and perhaps, even a torment—for countless artists. This magical corner of northern Michigan offers a rich, resonating color palette: from the azure blues of Sleeping Bear Bay to the chartreuse fields of Port Oneida to the lavender orchards flanking Center Highway. George Peebles of Grand Rapids is one such artist who has long been drawn to Leelanau County, and who so masterfully depicts its terrain with his vibrant, bold oil paintings. In recognition of Peebles’ enormous artistic talent, the Glen Arbor Arts Center has selected his work, Empire Bluffs, as the image for the annual Manitou Music Poster. Empire Bluffs—like the whole of Peebles’ body of work—is distinctive for its blazing, almost electric color. It is a kaleidoscopic tapestry of sorts. Indeed, the employment of high-octane hues is very much Peebles’ signature. That his work is so deeply color-driven is especially remarkable given that Peebles is colorblind.