North Shore Arts Scene

Greetings from the North Shore, where we greet Memorial Day with a nod. It’s early this year, but I think we’re ready. Certainly, the rhubarb is seriously considering it.

It’s a jam-packed weekend with art openings, graduation, the Cook County Market, a big mountain bike race, an author talk, and spring clean-up events, to name a few.  And art-making continues.

Here’s what we found:

Paint a small canvas at Joy and Company on Thursday during the Art Counter Project.

The shop holds an art-making event every Thursday from 3-4:30 pm. All supplies and some instructions are included. It’s open to all and free, although a freewill donation of $5 is appreciated.

Jazz Night at Up Yonder will be held from 6:30-8:30 pm on Thursday, featuring music with the North Shore Swing Band.

The band is a 15-20-piece big band with an amazing group of players and vocalists from the North Shore. Catch them every third Thursday of the month at Up Yonder for your listening and dancing pleasure. Free.

On Friday, there are art openings at Studio 21 and the Johnson Heritage Post.

The big season opening reception at Studio 21 will be held this Friday from 4:30 – 6 pm, featuring three different events: The 2026 Summer Exhibition: “Play,”; an exhibit of potters -A Gang of Green; and open studios for two Art Colony artists who are in juried residencies.

“Play” is the title and theme of the 2026 Summer Exhibition.

Entering its third year of exploring Art + Embodiment, the Art Colony recognized the importance of play as an overarching necessity in both ourselves and our experiences. Play voluntarily pulls us out of the routines of daily life, allowing us to push past boundaries and learn beyond our habitual patterns.

The artist’s studio practice operates in this same realm—a playground for curiosity where the artist establishes a certain practice and then plays around with it. The materials used give direction, substance to react or respond to, and help artists both fail well and build confidence. And, as with most good games, playful improvisation and breaking the rules are key.

This exhibition is steeped in explorative playfulness, featuring works across myriad artistic media by Jose Dominguez, Aaron Dysart, Carolyn Swiszcz, and Judith Yourman.

The exhibit continues through Aug. 29.

Also on Friday, the opening reception for the June show featuring the Art Colony’s clay cohort residency will be held. It features work from Aleka Tomlinson, Jim Sannerud, Catherine Hansen, Lucy Carlson, and Brett Monahan. The exhibit will run until the end of June.

Unified in clay as their medium, ‘A Gang of Green’ showcases the work of five artists arriving at, leaving, and working around The Art Colony’s ceramics cohort program. Each artist stands in different stages of career, life, artistic intent, and influence, all working in the ‘green’ stage of continuous change in artistic practice.

The evening will also feature open studios with the Art Colony’s 2026 Juried Artists in Residence — encaustic painter, Kathleen Kvern, and photographer Andy Richter.

Kathleen’s colorful works, often created in series, explore the layered meanings of personal narrative and the intersection of her spiritual practice and the natural world.
Andy’s dynamic work has explored yoga, consciousness, place, and notions of fatherhood. Moving away from narrative concerns, in his current series of black-and-white photographs, In Solitude Where We Are Least Alone, he returns to the landscape, this time to explore the psychological and metaphysical to convey the sense of mystery and communion he experiences in nature.

Refreshments will be served at the reception. The public is invited.

Studio 21’s summer hours are from 10 am to 4 pm Thursday through Saturday.

A solo exhibition of plein air paintings by Logan Hudson will open at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery with a reception from 5-7 pm on Friday.

Hudson is the winner of the 2025 Grand Marais Plein Air “Best Body of Work” award and first place in the 90-minute Birney Quick Paint.

Of the pieces in this exhibit, Hudson shared:

“Creating works for this show has been a way of studying this beautiful region many of us call home. It has given me the chance to dive deep into the familiar, relying on the subject directly as well as my memory of it.  My love lies here in the Midwest, and the opportunity to create this show has only strengthened that love.”

Hudson lives in Traverse City, Mich. His work consists primarily of oil paintings celebrating the landscape, and his work is grounded in the belief that painting is a documentation of a search for truth within a subject. His technical discipline allows the natural environment to lead the narrative, resulting in compositions that balance atmospheric sensitivity with structural rigmarole.

The exhibit continues through June 14.

The Heritage Post begins its summer hours next week. It will be open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Saturday, and from 1-4 pm Sunday. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Free.

Saturday is busy.

The Cook County Market opens for the season in the parking lot of The Hub at 10 am on Saturday.

Artists and artisans exhibiting at the market are all from Cook County. Look for one-of-a-kind pottery, weaving, jewelry, woodworking, glass art, natural balms and soaps, Lake Superior stones, rock art, hand-dyed clothing, paintings, leather-work, a quick massage, and more. All welcome.

The market closes at 2 pm.

Local artist Tim Vahle will have his gallery, Vahle Fine Art, open this Saturday and Sunday from 10 am -5 pm.

Visitors will see his latest plein air paintings of the North Shore, recent portraiture, and a selection of prints and gifts. The gallery is located in the Birch Alley building, located directly behind Gunflint Tavern at 9 1st Ave W.

The public is invited.

Also on Saturday, the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center on the Gunflint Trail celebrates its season opening beginning at 10 am with a number of new exhibits and displays.

Admission is $6 adults, $3 for children. Discounts are available for senior citizens.

To learn more, click here. 

Also, Saturday is the opening day for The Depot at the Grand Portage National Monument.

This year, look for new exhibits and the completion of a restoration project at the Depot. The Depot is open from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm daily through Indigenous People’s Day, Oct. 12. To find out more, click here.

For mountain bike lovers, the Le Grand du Nord Gravel Cycling Classic will be held on Saturday. The race starts in Grand Marais.

Beginning in downtown Grand Marais, riders will quickly leave the shores of Lake Superior as they head into the Sawtooth Range. The first few miles for all routes are paved as you leave town and get set for each course. There are three races: 10 miles, 26 miles, and 50 miles.

To register and for more information, click here. 

Also on Saturday, the Dog Park Volunteer Spring Clean-Up Day will be held at the Dog Park from 10 am until noon.

Helpers will clean up waste, tidy up trails, shore up the boardwalks, and straighten the fence. Bring a shovel, waste bucket, loppers, and gloves.

Go Dog North Shore is a volunteer-driven non-profit that maintains this public space without financial support from the City or County Government. Volunteers keep the space functional, and donors fund our operations. Learn more at www.godognorthshore.org.

And on Saturday evening, Drury Lane Books will host an Author Talk with Gina Joyce and  Laura Muus, creators of “She Does: Words of Wisdom from North Shore Mompreneurs.”

Gina and Laura will discuss the book and their journey in creating it, answer questions, and sign copies. All welcome.

On Monday, Ecstatic Dance will be held at the 4-H Log Cabin starting at 7 pm.

Ecstatic Dance is an intentional, judgement-free space for free-form movement without words. The dance is an invitation to embodiment, fun, healing, flow, and play. It is open to the public and free. To find out more, click here.

On Wednesday, May 27, the Good Harbor Hill Players invite the community to help launch the magic of the 2026 Summer Solstice Pageant with a festive Kick-Off Party and Puppet Making Workshop.

The event will be held from 6-8 pm with music, light refreshments, and hands-on puppet making, giving attendees a sneak peek into the creative fun behind one of Grand Marais’s most beloved events.

Following the party, the 2026 Summer Pageant Workshops will be held at the same location from Thursday, May 28, through Sunday, June 14, giving the community a chance to create costumes and set scenery.

Public workshops are open:

• Thursdays & Fridays: 3 pm- 8 pm
• Saturdays & Sundays: 10 am – 1 pm and 3 pm – 8 pm

(No public workshops on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays)

The Summer Solstice Pageant Performance will take place on Saturday, June 20, at 8 pm. In the event of rain, a rescheduled performance will be held on Sunday, June 21, at 2 pm at the same location.

All are welcome to participate in the workshops and performances. No prior experience is needed, just a willingness to collaborate, create, and celebrate the season.

For more information, visit Good Harbor Hill Players’ Facebook page, Instagram page, or their website: goodharborhillplayers.org

 Exhibits:

Artist Nicole Birch is exhibiting her work at Tettegouche State Park.

The multi-media exhibit is in the Great Hall and continues through the end of the month.

The Member Show at the Duluth Art Institute continues, exhibiting work from artists throughout the region.

Here are a few pieces you will see:

 

The exhibit continues through July 10.

  Artists at Work: 

Online Findings: 

Sparky Stensaas & Birding: 

 Giving Myself Permission: Following the Spirit, Episode 8, (Final) Click to see the entire series.

Filmed by Patrick Knight 

 Online Music:

Music selections courtesy of WTIP’s Tyler Howell.

Live Music:

Photography:

Here’s a selection of what we found this week:

Wildlife: 

Wildflowers:

 Potpourri:

The Stewart Trail Fire ran to the top of the Silver Creek Tunnel on Highway 61. Photo by Dan Hanger.

 Landscapes, Skyscapes & Waterscapes:

Have a great weekend, everyone. Happy Memorial Day!

Greetings, friends! NorthShore ArtScene is a little short and sweet this week, but full of art and art events. Hope you enjoyed it.

 A special thank you to Jeremy Lopez and Yvonne  Mills for helping with this issue, and to Visit Cook County for its outstanding events calendar.