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

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 & Artists’ Residency announces Kathryn Armstrong as New Director of Development

SAUGATUCK, MI (May 19, 2022) – Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency is thrilled to present Kathryn Armstrong as the organization’s new Director of Development. Armstrong will oversee fundraising initiatives, and manage patron, sponsor, and foundation relationships. Armstrong currently works as the Executive Director of the Columbus Area Arts Council where she has expanded programming and increased relations with neighboring arts organizations. She will enter her role at Ox-Bow full-time on June 6, 2022.

"Having previously directed a community arts organization, and with her roots in western Michigan, Kathryn brings to Ox-Bow an infectious energy and fervent advocacy for connecting and sustaining broad community support for the arts and artists." said Board President, Steve Meier. "We look forward to her leadership in deepening our network locally and nationally."

Throughout her career, Armstrong has accrued vital experience as an artist, educator, and arts administrator. Prior to joining CAAC, Armstrong taught at the Herron School of Art & Design in Indianapolis and served as Director for the Basile Center for Art, Design & Public Life. She has also participated in several artist residencies including a Project Residency at Ox-Bow in 2009. Armstrong holds an MFA in Visual Art & Public Life with an emphasis in Sculpture from Herron School of Art & Design, an MA in Studio Art from Eastern Illinois University, and a BFA in Photography from Indiana University.

"Ox-Bow is thrilled to be welcoming Kathryn to our senior management team. Kathryn is passionate about art and artists and is able to translate that to the people who support or want to support the arts with ease," says Executive Director, Shannon Stratton, "She is also an artist herself, with a history as an Ox-Bow Resident Artist. Having alumni return to the organization to contribute to its stewardship is a wonderful outcome; I can't imagine a better fit."

As Director of Development, Armstrong will develop and implement a strategic fundraising plan to raise vital support for Ox-Bow’s programs, operations, scholarships, capital and endowment funds. Much of this will be accomplished through overseeing fundraising events, fostering and managing relationships with patrons and sponsors, and building and leading Ox-Bow’s growing development team.

"I'm honored to be selected as the next Development Director for Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists' Residency,” says Kathryn Armstrong, “The opportunity to work with such a talented team, while helping to advance the mission and be a part of Ox-Bow's legacy as a space for creativity and experimentation is beyond thrilling,"

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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