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Read the latest news coming from Ox-Bow School of the Art & Artists’ Residency

Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency Introduces Five-Year Strategic Plan

SAUGATUCK, MI – Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency has established a Strategic Plan to guide the organization from 2025 through 2030. The plan reinvigorates Ox-Bow’s purpose, vision, and priorities while creating actionable steps towards its future ambitions.

“Over the course of two-years, Ox-Bow developed its first truly comprehensive strategic plan thanks to the Capacity Building: Michigan Lakeshore program. This plan has been shaped by the collective wisdom of staff leaders, board members, and community members and deeply informed by the changing landscape for the arts and education since 2020,” stated Executive director, Shannon Stratton, “I am personally grateful for everyone’s contributions and truly energized to have this road map to guide our next 5 years.”

Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency makes final purchase on historic building in Douglas, MIchigan – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, June 14, 2025.

SAUGATUCK, MI (June 6, 2025) – Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency is excited to announce the purchase of 137 Center Street in Douglas, Michigan. The former site of the Douglas library will become the permanent home of Ox-Bow House. 

“The City of Douglas is thrilled to welcome Ox-Bow House as a permanent part of our downtown community,” said City of the Village of Douglas Mayor, Cathy North. “Their purchase of the former library building ensures that this creative and vibrant space remains a cornerstone of artistic life in Douglas. We congratulate them on their ribbon cutting and look forward to their continued presence in the heart of our city.”

Ox-Bow House, a space for the larger community to experience the arts through the same purpose that fuels the 115-year old, independent summer art school that has been welcoming artists from around the nation and beyond to West Michigan since its founding in 1910. Since the inception of Ox-Bow House, we have welcomed over 8,000 visitors, hosted 20 exhibitions featuring more than 60 Michigan-based artists, and generated over $225,000 in revenue—much of which directly supports local artists. 

Ox-Bow House is located at 137 Center Street, Douglas, MI 49406

Ox-Bow School of Art awarded a three-year Special Project grant from the Efroymson Family Fund.

DOUGLAS, MI (November 4, 2022) – The Efroymson Family Fund has given a three-year grant – totaling to $150,000 – to Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency. The funds will support Ox-Bow House: the school’s three-year pilot project, an adaptive reuse initiative for community engagement.

Ox-Bow House is a place for fellowship, art and education, falling in line with the mission that fuels the 112-year old, independent summer art school that has been welcoming artists from around the nation and beyond to West Michigan since its founding in 1910. The project will focus on four goals: activating the former library with thought-provoking programs and a retail space; serving as a cultural anchor for residents and visitors to experience contemporary art; connecting our visiting artists, faculty and students to the local community; and providing space for administrative offices and archives that will be made available to the public in 2023.

The grant will support growth and opportunities for Ox-Bow House from 2022 to 2024 with annual respective gifts of $60K, $50K, and $40K. Over the duration of these years, a portion of these funds will be matched with support from other grants and individual contributions. This is not the first generous gift from the Efroymson Family Fund, which also supports the school’s Visiting Artists Program.

“Ox-Bow is deeply grateful for this support from the Efroymson Family Fund and the confidence they have in our vision for Ox-Bow House,” states Executive Director, Shannon Stratton, “This significant contribution will help us reach our goals in these initial pilot years: evolve a public facing community interface, build a strong retail program, develop our archive and continue our research into the best re-use design for the space with our resident architect Charlie Vinz.”

The classes, workshops, residencies, and public programs of Ox-Bow are developed in-house by a professional staff of artists, curators, and educators. With a vibrant community of nationally and internationally respected artists on campus each year, Ox-Bow House seeks to extend this resource to the public through a diverse menu of programs throughout the year. 

“Ox-Bow is thrilled about joining the Center Street community in Douglas,” Board President Steve Meier affirms, “this extension of our campus is poised to cultivate deeper connections between Ox-Bow’s programs and art-lovers living and visiting the area. The range of opportunities to connect, converse, learn and appreciate the ground-breaking work happening in artist's studios today is limitless.”

The name Ox-Bow House acknowledges the legacy of this historic building as a place for community and celebrates the idea that the house will be a charming place to stimulate learning and exploration. This accessible location will be a welcoming space for community neighbors in western Michigan as well as summer visitors to Douglas and Saugatuck. Plans include a comfortable environment where guests can partake in refreshment while digging deep into meaningful and open conversations over the arts. Ox-Bow House will be home to an exhibition hall, space for programming, and a retail environment for curated art and design objects by alumni and artists from throughout the region and beyond.

Community members eager to experience Ox-Bow House before the year’s end can look forward to the launch of the Winter Market, which will feature the work of regional and national artists. The market opens Saturday, November 26 and will be available to the public Thursdays through Saturdays from 11:00-6:00 p.m. until December 17.

Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency Announces Shannon R. Stratton as New Executive Director

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CHICAGO (October 30, 2019) – The Board of Directors of Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency today announced the appointment of Shannon R. Stratton as the 110-year-old organization’s next Executive Director. Stratton is currently Interim Senior Curator-at-Large for the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Core Faculty for the MA in Critical Craft Studies at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, as well as an independent curator, working closely with the Poor Farm in Little Wolf, Wisconsin. She will join Ox-Bow full-time on February 3, 2020.

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Shannon R. Stratton, photo by Jessica Labatte