Past Exhibitions
Fantastical Flora and Fauna
Regional Juried Exhibition
2020
The South Haven Center for the Arts celebrated Frida Kahlo’s garden at Casa Azul in 2020, her lifelong refuge and inspiration. This celebration of indigenous Mexican culture featured a range of plants and animals native to her home country. In her studio, Frida painted still lifes and self-portraits exploding with the colors and shapes of these plants and animals.
What’s growing in your garden?
Moonlight Garden by Debra Howard
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Frida Kahlo's Garden
Reimagined
Summer 2020
Both the Frida Kahlo's Garden and Exhibition Advisory Committees worked with community partners, art teachers, and artists to put grand and detailed plans in place for our celebration of Frida Kahlo this summer.
Though the art center had hoped to display the National Endowment for the Humanities exhibition, "Frida Kahlo's Garden," due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the art center had to close to the public.
The SHCA is extremely prideful and grateful that the organization was able to pivot quickly and lean into the work that could be done at the time. The art center brought the spirit and inspiration of Frida Kahlo and her garden to South Haven through an outdoor garden and poster exhibition downtown and to the exterior of the art center, as well as online events and virtual exhibitions.
Read the update from Executive Director here.
Image designed by Jennifer Sistrunk
This activity was sponsored by the Paul Hix Office of Edward Jones and The Greater South Haven Area Community Foundation, and supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
BOND: Five Mosaic Artists
2019
Darcel Deneau – Sue Majewski – Joan Schwartz – Michelle Sider – Ruth Tyszka
2D and 3D mosaics created from glass, stone, ceramic and repurposed materials that illustrate the essential, yet often invisible bond between materials and the foundation on which each work is built.
It's All In the Eyes by Joan Schwartz
Click here to learn more about BOND.
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
South Haven Artists of Tomorrow
Student Exhibition
Spring Annual
Each year the South Haven Center for the Arts gives local K-12 art students the opportunity to showcase their work in a professional gallery setting. South Haven High School, Baseline Middle School, North Shore Elementary School, St. Basil Catholic School, St. Paul Luthern School, Bangor Schools, Covert Schools, and Van Buren Tech participate each year.
Artwork by Kyra Gumpert, 2020
This activity was sponsored by South Haven Public Schools, and supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
70th Annual Member Exhibition
Two by Two
2019
30 artists displayed more than 50 pieces of artwork that showcased their talent through creative interpretations of this wide-open theme.
Artwork by David Baker and Judy Anthrop
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tales of the Sea: An Exhibition of Mythical and Aquatic Art
2018
Juried exhibition that featured a diverse yet cohesive body of work from around the country exploring themes of aquatic beauty, mythology and folklore.
Artwork by Vincent Mattina
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Exquisite Corpse
Head-to-Toe and In-Between
2018
Featured the unique artwork of the the Southwest Michigan Printmakers (SWMP).
Artwork by Bev Hundley
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Beyond, Behind, Beneath
Narrative Self-Portraiture
National Juried Exhibition
2020
The South Haven Center for the Arts invited artists from across the nation to create narrative self-portraits. Artists were asked to take inspiration from the exhibition Frida Kahlo’s Garden—a National Endowment for the Humanities traveling exhibit that presents an intimate look at how nature and culture nourished Kahlo's creativity and informed the narrative in her art.
"Life In Isolation, Life During COVID-19" by M Martinez
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Setting Stones
71st Annual Member Exhibition
2020
The South Haven Center for the Arts celebrated 71 years of member creativity with an exhibition called Setting Stones.
Our members are our rock.
Stonehenge, Plymouth Rock, (R)rolling (S)stones, rock-n-roll, etched in stone, sticks and stones, rock your world, concrete jungle. You name it. You might just see it.
Artwork by Claire Hamlin
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Marion Anderson and Dorris Akers
What's Next?
2019
An exhibition in honor of the evolutionary artwork of South Haven residents Marian Anderson and Dorris Akers, two extraordinary artists who have been contributing art to our community for many years. Let their work tell you their stories.
Artwork: Detail of a painting by Marian Anderson from a drawing game played with her daughter during a flight to Japan.
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Innovations in Fiber
Regional Juried Exhibition
2019
Creative explorations in fiber and textile incorporating traditional and non-traditional materials from suede to steel.
Yogi Bodhi Tea Wisdom by Cynthia Boudreau
Click here to learn more about fiber art.
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
With (re)Purpose
9th Annual Juried Exhibition
2018
With (re)Purpose features artwork created by regional artists that repurposes recycled materials into something beautiful and sustainable. With this exhibition the artists and the SHCA hope to create an awareness of the importance of responsible consumption to help protect earth’s global ecological footprint. We all live downstream.
Artwork by Theresa and Jeff Heaton
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
FUSEDChicago Midwest Encaustic
2018
Featured the work of 23 artists working in the ancient medium of beeswax and pigment.
Click here to learn more about encaustics.
Cover Me Again (6) by Cat Crotchett
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Art of Magic
2017
Exhibition that highlighted the world of performance magic and magicians in America and beyond through early lithography, posters, prints, and other 19th and 20th century historical artifacts to explore connections between the art of magic and the magic of art.
This activity was supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.