Ox-Bow Goes to Hell 2021 - Photo by Nick Funk
SAUGATUCK, MICHIGAN (October 11, 2021) – Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency announces the 2021 Artists of Residence Evil. This Halloween, Ox-Bow Goes to Hell for a spectacularly spooky weekend. Fueling the fright are artists Keil Troisi (Sunbury, Pennsylvania); Teagan Walters (Chicago, Illinois); Dorothy Melander-Dayton (Sante Fe, New Mexico); Nathan Margoni (Benton Harbor, Michigan); Gurtie Hansell (Chicago, Illinois); Kierstynn Holman (Grand Rapids, Michigan); Salvatore Gulino (Roseville, Michigan); Grace Makuch and Chris Bailoni (Chicago, Illinois); and Eliza Fernand (Grand Rapids, Michigan). Trails and haunted houses are open to the public for all ages October 29, 30 and 31.
Each Artist or “creep-in-residence” will turn one of Ox-Bow’s historic cabins or a portion of the Crow’s Nest Trail into spine-chilling haunts. Residents will design and build their haunts with small-scale budgets and found materials on campus. Each installation will be infused with the artists’ own background and interests, whether that be stage design, science fiction, sound engineering, drag performance, puppetry, or environmental awareness. Spectacles will feature classic ghouls from devils to the undead, as well as Ox-Bow originals such as The Great Black Heron, the Portrait Geist, and the Ox-Bow Paradox.
Mac Akin, Ox-Bow’s campus manager and a founder of the Spooky Trail offers a sneak peak of the event: “The creative and twisted minds at Ox-Bow will bring to life, or maybe unlife, another set of creepy, beautiful and bizarre scenes along the Spooky Trail. There may be some returning spectres previous guests may have seen before, some of the ghosts really like it here and tend to stick around… A few of our cabins become very, let's say, active around Halloween and we and our ghostly residents are excited to invite a fresh batch of souls to an evening they'll never forget.”
Ox-Bow first offered this event to the public in 2019, when staff introduced the first haunted cabin. In an attempt to create a safe and spooky event, they moved the event outdoors in 2020 and created the Spooky Trail. This season, Ox-Bow is delighted to bring back both events for the spookiest weekend yet.
Returning patrons can expect fresh additions at this year’s festivities when visiting the Dark Carnival and Cavern Tavern, where guests can escape the haunt to play games or sip a seasonal cocktail. Saturday’s celebrations will include a Graveyard Rave on the Ox-Bow meadow. Ox-Bow encourages guests of all ages, but notes that Sunday will cater to the youngest ghouls. At the Sunday Halloween matinee, Ox-Bow Goes to Heck, younger guests can enjoy trick-or-treating at a family-friendly haunt.
“There's something magical about facing the unknown even if it's all just pretend,” says Mac Akin. “With care and safety in mind, I hope that the Halloween hellscapes that Ox-Bow creates now and beyond spark a fire of curiosity in the hearts of all who come through, even if sometimes it looks terrifying.”
Founded in 1910, Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency is an arts-based nonprofit with a rich legacy of empowering and investing in artists. Their year around programming welcomes degree-seeking students, professional artists, and those new to the arts. The 115 acre campus – located alongside and protected by the dunes, forests, and waters of Saugatuck – cultivates a space that does not simply host its residents but enhances their practice. Both its facilities and faculty edify their longstanding mission: to serve as a network of creative resources, people, and ideas amidst a energizing natural environment inspired by its rich artistic history and fueled by the potential of a vital future.