In 2010, Ox-Bow, school of art and artists’ residency will celebrate its 100 year anniversary as a haven for visual artists, writers, and thinkers. It has been many things to the thousands of individuals who have made it to the Ox-Bow campus in Saugatuck, Michigan since it’s founding in 1910. It has been a community, an eye-opener, a family, a respite, an education, a personal revolution, and an inspiration for new thought and a new way of connecting with others.
Founded on the shores of Lake Michigan as an escape from the city, Ox-Bow’s campus encompasses 115-acres of pristine natural forests, dunes, a lagoon, and historic buildings. It is both defined and protected by the landscape that inspires the artists who live and work here. Somewhere between everyday life and this natural world that is so foreign to many of us, lies the space to open up routine, to envision new possibility, and to experiment with new materials, practices, and modalities.
As much as Ox-Bow is a place, it is also an experience. Through its affiliation with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ox-Bow offers one and two-week courses for credit and non-credit for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students in 6 main studio areas—Ceramics, Glass, Painting and Drawing, Papermaking, Print, and Metals. Ox-Bow’s courses are diverse, ranging in focus from the functional to the sculptural; from traditional to contemporary; and from representational to conceptual. It is the synthesis of this diverse range of studio practices, and the artists who come to engage with them, that offers the diversity of opinion, viewpoint, and discussion that makes the experience of learning at Ox-Bow so rich.
After 100 years, Ox-Bow would be nowhere without the support of its local communities of Saugatuck, Douglas, and the Southwestern Michigan region. It is our pleasure to give back to those communities, by offering a diverse range of shorter- term courses through the Art on the Meadow program. Art on the Meadow courses are designed for the busy aspiring and experienced artists, who are looking for way to start, maintain, or refresh their studio practices. With courses for artists as young as 5, the Art on the Meadow program is a great introduction for all into Ox-Bow’s core program.
In 2010, Ox-Bow is strong. Ox-Bow’s programs and classes are up to the highest educational standards, our students and our artists in residence are making compelling, challenging, and innovative work, and our facilities continue to improve, while maintaining the historic nature of the campus. With a deep and constantly resonating connection to our past, a sense of pride and excitement for our present, and the knowledge that this special place will exist and continue to fulfill the core of its mission, we invite you to join in celebrating 100 years of history, 100 years of artmaking, and 100 years of changing how artists see the world.
Image: by Joel Dean, Tree Conclusion, Student, 2008.