OUR PAST EXHIBITIONS:

Artists in Transition: March 14 through April 27
Opening Reception Sunday, March 16, 1-4 p.m.

High School and Middle School age students from the regional area will exhibit their work. The exhibit will be judged by Saugatuck gallery owner Peggy Boyce. A reception will be held on Sunday, March 16, from 1:00 to 4:00 with awards presented at 2:00 pm. Schools represented include South Haven, Covert, Bangor, St. Basil and Bloomingdale.

"Ship Shapes" Family Exhibition Featuring Maritime Art & Models
Opening Reception Friday, Dec. 14, Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Feb. 2, 2008

Ship Shapes, a family exhibition of maritime and nautical arts and models will open at the South Haven Center for the Arts on Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Feb. 2, 2008. The exhibit is in collaboration with the Michigan Maritime Museum and will feature historical and contemporary art, as well as sailor crafts, navigational maps and charts and the work of a number of local and regional artists. The open reception will be held Friday, Dec. 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. and will feature music, wine and refreshments and is open to the general public free of charge.

Regional artists with original works featured in the exhibit include John Davidson, John Babcock, Bob Tomlin and other from South Haven, Michael Dunn of Kalamazoo, Pat Camillo of Hamilton, and Charmaine Kaptur of Grosse Point. Other local artists will also be represented, as well as items from the collections of local families and businesses.

"Our winter exhibit is always geared towards the family and will feature items that will interest all generations," explains Executive Director Sharon Mack. "We are pleased to have the Michigan Maritime Museum join us in the exhibit. The gallery will be filled with items from the history of South Haven when the harbor was filled with commercial and private vessels, but also to present a number of contemporary pieces on the same theme."

"It is really an opportunity to learn about the time when shipping was a major industrial and commercial part of the area’s economic foundation. It is also a chance to see the different perspectives of life on the water from both the commercial and private leisure point of view," adds Mack.

Schools tours through the exhibit can be scheduled by calling the SHCA office at 269-627-1041. The gallery is open during regular business hours: Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Mondays.

At the Cafe, by Powell Matsongoni of Zimbabwe Street Song, by Basil Baqwa of South Africa Big Sister, by Komla Lawoe of Ghana Masai Moonlight, by Zack Aswani of Kenya

Africa Today Giving Voice to the Contemporary Art of Africa The South Haven Center for the Arts is partnering with Saugatuck-based Amazwi Contemporary Art Gallery to present a special exhibition on the contemporary arts and artists of today’s Africa. The exhibit is entitled Africa Today and will run from Sept. 14 to Nov. 4 on the first floor gallery of SHCA at 600 Phoenix in downtown South Haven. A special opening reception is planned for Sept. 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. at which complementary food and beverages, including South African wine, will be served. The event is free and open to the general public. Since first opening for business in 2004, Amazwi has offered original contemporary paintings, sculpture, jewelry and unique craft items from throughout Africa – Zimbabwe and South Africa to the South, Ghana to the West, and Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan to the East. There is not another gallery with this unique focus for several hundreds of miles. Amazwi is a Zulu and Ndebele (two separate tribes in southern Africa) word for "voices". Gallery owners Mike Tischleder and Wally Peterson, along with gallery manager Audrey Cavanaugh, are delighted to be giving a voice to and raising awareness of the vivid, colorful, soulful, joyous and often unexpected work being created by native artists living and working in Africa today. "Part of our mission at the SHCA is to open people’s minds to the limitless potential of creativity and artistic expression both here at home and around the world," said Sharon Mack, executive director of the South Haven Center for the Arts. "Many people have a deep fascination with all things Africa that stems back to their childhoods, but due to time, distance, expense, and in some cases fear, they are not able to experience it firsthand. That’s why we wanted to expose our patrons to the beautiful art being created in Africa under sometimes very trying circumstances," adds Mack. "We usually hear and focus on the bad news coming out of Africa, while the Amazwi exhibition celebrates the power of the human spirit." Tischleder and Petersen have been on several trips to Africa, both to buy art and to go on photo safaris. Nothing pleases them more than to be able to personally meet with their artists and to see and hear how proud and grateful the artists are that their work has struck such a positive chord with so many of Amazwi’s customers in a faraway and exotic-sounding (to them) place like Michigan. In addition to the exhibit, there will be an informative talk about contemporary African art during the opening reception and a children’s activity related to the exhibit, which will be announced at a later date.

Non-objective Artwork by Robert Battle (Main Gallery) and John Babcock’s Landscape Exhibit (Upper Gallery).

The South Haven Center for the Arts will present its 57th Annual Members’ Show with the nautical theme “Go Fish”. The exhibition will be held from May 4, 2007 through June 17, 2007 with a special opening reception on Friday, May 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the general public. The show will feature award ribbons for Best Theme Award and numerous purchase awards. This event is sponsored by Trelleborg.

	Elementary students are featured in the exhibit "Building Blocks" from March 16 through April 29, 2007 with a special recognition reception on Sunday, March 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. The pieces will be juried and special recognition will be given to the exceptional entries and recognized during the young artist's receptions.

Student Art Exhibit - Artists in Transition
February 9 through March 11, 2007

It is once again time for the 2007 Student Art Exhibit at the South Haven Center for the Arts. This special exhibit, which is a favorite annual event, will bring hundreds of family, friends and art lovers to the center to view and honor the creative works of area students. The high school and middle school show entitled "Artists in Transition" will be held February 9 through March 11, 2007 with a special reception on Sunday, February 11 from 1-4 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend this free event and meet the artists throughout the afternoon.

Marian Anderson	John Mooy

David Habicht

Cynthia McKean

Patrick McKearnen

South Haven Center for the Arts is Open Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

"What is a portal? A door. A window. A hole or an opening. A passage or a connection to where or to what or possibly to whom? It is the starting point of a transition and it is the end of the trip. Either way it is only the point of origin. At some time, we all have begun an adventure or ended one. The end is also the beginning of a new journey and a mystery."

This is the intriguing invitation to the exhibit of Michael Dunn's work, opening at the Art Center on August 18. The title of the exhibit, Portals, calls us all to experience his drawings, photographs and prints while exploring connections: between the artist and the viewer, between the idea and the object, between our reality and our dreams.

The owner/architect of Michael Dunn/Designworks, Michael has designed offices, libraries and churches as well as residences. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts with emphasis in painting and print making, and currently teaches drawing, painting and printmaking at Western Michigan University.

The opening reception for the artist and the first opportunity to view the exhibit will be Friday, Aug. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. On Sunday, August 27, the public is invited to a potluck dinner at 5:30 (Bring a dish to pass and your own table service. The Art Center will provide beverages.) Following the dinner, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a talk by the artist, and an opportunity to accompany him on a walk through the gallery.

Alma College Statewide Print Competition The SHCA is proud to host this 2006 Travel Exhibition from June 24 through Aug. 13 in the Lower Gallery. More than 50 prints in this exhibition include a wide variety of techniques, media and subject matter from artists throughout Michigan. The traditional methods of woodcut, lithograph and etching are joined by new technology such as laser and archival inkjet print that produce multiples of original artwork.This show reflects the diversity of education, age, and experience of the artists creating prints in Michigan today.

Three artists from the Alma College faculty are featured in the upper gallery. Sandra Lopez-Isnardi specializes in traditional gelatin silver prints and pigment inkjet digital prints. She focuses on digital technology as a tool used with traditional arts, specifically photography, and as its own medium. Robert Rozier has his paintings, prints and drawings on display. His travels to Mexico and Europe inspired watercolor landscapes. Back in the studio these experiences fostered multiple series of drypoint engravings.

Michael Volker, is a painter and printmaker whose landscapes are widely collected, and his work has been published in limited editions.

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previous show:
2006 Member Show

The 2006 Member Show, "Impressionistic Dreams," will inspire those who did not enter to get their art ready for next year. High quality and creativity were evident in the 100 art pieces, which included examples of painting, drawing, ceramics, quilting and sculpture. One installation asked visitors to add to the art by leaving a written message. Forty-eight artists have one or more entries, filling the South Haven Center for the Arts with colorful and artistic interpretations of the theme "Impressionistic Dreams," or with the artist's own personal expressions.
This year, purchase awards were sponsored by Filbrandt Family Funeral Home, Craig and Luann Harden, and James and Paula Marcoux. People's Choice Awards were selected by those who attended the Opening Reception. They went to Jeremy Kelemen for his wood sculpture "Nature" and to Lou Rizzolo for his Watercolor.
Works purchases included Janet Beatty's "Reflections", Sharon Prinz's "Lighthouse", Mary Ann Mathews' "Sunrise in Palm Springs", Patricia Gaylord's photographs, "Garden in Winter" and " Independence Day", Sylvia Sperry's "Color of Anger", and Joan Bonnette's mixed media "Dancing Tulips". Congratulations to the artists and thank you to those who took advantage of the Annual Member Show to purchase original works by local artists.

Co-chairs LuAnn Harden amd Sue Manning wish to thank volunteers whose help made this year's exhibition possible: Wes & Elaine Stephens were greeters at the Opening Reception. The following people furnished refreshments; Penny McCreary, Janet Beatty, Joan Bonnette, Luann Harden, Sue Manning, Jean Gilman, Linda Navarre and Pear Ahnen. Joan Bonnette, Sue Manning, and Gail Ohnsman helped with hanging the artwork.

OTHER PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS:

Art Collage" will run through February 5. Visitors may see "Art Collage" Tuesday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, from 10 a.m. 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.

For more information, call the art center at 269-637-1041.

“Artist’s books can take on any form that best suits the art, Ross-Miller said. So it is difficult to describe or define them. Generally, artist's books are more visual than textual,” she said.

“I think it is an exciting combination of book artists because of the unusual materials used and because all the books professionally executed,” Ross-Miller explained. A lot of attention has gone into the structure of the book, she noted.

All of the artists have studied book making, and they are all accomplished artists. Most of the artists have a fine arts background and have concentrated on the book as an art form.
Three workshops will be held in connection with the show. The first adult workshop is on gold leaf. Pam Rupps, who does illuminated manuscripts, will teach people how to put down gold leaf with natural materials to get beautiful effects. The 45-minute workshop will be Sunday, October 23 at 4 p.m.

Ellen Sprouls will teach adults how to create pop-up books Wednesday, October 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. She will also teach a children’s pop-up book workshop Sunday, October 30 from 2 to 4 p.m.

These artists have pieces in collections in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Chicago Art Institute, and Princeton University among other prestigious institutions.

Visitors can see the exhibition in the Center’s lower gallery Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, call the Center office at 269-637-1041

“I have attempted to explore the concept of what a book can be, but not at the expense of discarding its content,” says Jones. "No matter how eccentric its form, a book takes its life, its significance in the human message it imparts and in the ideas it stores and suggests to us. A book is not simply a piece of sculpture, for a book without content is a mere artifact."

Ironically, in the middle of the area’s summer drought, the next exhibition at the South Haven Center for the Arts is entitled “Water Works, An En/Compass Art Group Exhibit. Eleven Michigan and Illinois artists will be showing paintings and sculptures, mixed media pieces that represent their interpretations of the theme --water-- in many media including oil on canvas, acrylic, metal, found objects and others.

The opening reception for the exhibition is Saturday, August 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Center, 600 Phoenix Street in South Haven. The theme has inspired some of the artists to write poems and others to use the format of the book to express their ideas. The use of books to convey the exhibition’s theme is in keeping with the Center’s designation of 2005 as the Year of Books and Art because this year is the 100th anniversary of the construction of the former Carnegie library building that now houses the art center.
Josephine Borromeo, one of the participating artists, described the work she will have in the show in her artist’s statement. ”My work combines the theme of water with symbolic color and form, dream imagery, metaphysical thought and psychic event,” she said. The quote that she cites from Masaru Emote, who has studied water for years, suggests the depth and vastness of the theme -- “…to understand water, is to understand the cosmos, the marvels of nature and life itself.”

The Historical Association of South Haven (HASH), in conjunction with the South Haven Center for the Arts and Western Michigan University, is presenting Catskills of the Midwest – The Jewish Resort Era in South Haven. The show opens June 17 at the Center and runs through July 31.

Spokesperson Sue Hale said everyone involved with the exhibit is very excited about it. Catskills of the Midwest will include enlargements of Jeanette Stieve’s vintage postcards, photographs from the Appleyard collection, artifacts, objects and memorabilia pertinent to the particular resorts in South Haven. The planning committee has been in contact with representatives of Jewish organizations at the state level, including the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan and the Michigan Jewish Conference.

There will also be a videotape presentation of Jewish resort owners commissioned by the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Other details in the works include a possible cooperative effort between Mary’s City of David in Benton Harbor and HASH that would consist of a coach tour involving both the “Catskills” exhibit and the Gate of Prayer synagogue located on the grounds of the historic City of David.