Grand Marais Art Colony
The Grand Marais Art Colony was recently awarded a grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation of $12,000 to support the organization’s capacity building. The Art Colony has a long history in the Cook County area with many dedicated volunteers and teachers that support their mission. Funding provided will assist with a second staff position to assist the Administrator as the Art Colony embarks on a new year focused on the development of a strategic plan for the organization and new and enhanced programming to benefit the students and the community.
The Grand Marais Art Colony was established in 1947 and is Minnesota’s oldest Art Colony incorporating as a nonprofit in 1984. The Art Colony is housed in a historic building constructed as a Catholic church in 1916 and purchased by the organization in 1963. In 2005, the Art Colony doubled its existing studio space through the construction of a new building that is connected to the original structure by an outdoor deck. The new structure has fully equipped studios for warm and cold glass, pottery, painting and printmaking. The mission of the organization is to “provide services to artists, promote art education and nurture art in the community by providing an environment for creative excellence.” The organization carries out this mission through providing a variety of classes, workshops, programs, lectures, open studios, festivals, and exhibitions and offers studio rentals.
