UPCOMING EXHIBITS
Powers Gallery
Fabrications VI: A Fiber Arts Show
January 5 – February 16, 2023
Reception: January 5, 6 - 8 pm
The Bonifas continues our tradition of holding a competition show each year. 2023 is showcasing the best of the regional contemporary fiber art scene and we encouraged quilters, weavers, and fiber artists of all kinds, to submit to our Fabrications VI: A Fiber Arts Show. This exhibit looks to show off innovative work rooted in traditional fiber materials and explore unexpected relationships between fibers, non-traditional materials and other creative disciplines. The show has been a juried show in the past but to encourage more entries, we have removed the jurying part. Awards will be picked out by judge Fay Runkel—quilter and owner of Tebear’s Sewing & Quilting, so submit your best works for a chance at one of our awards. The judging will be based on three equally weighted criteria: creativity, originality and skill.
Winners:
First Place: Glamoura Fleur by Laurie Landree
“What a stunning piece! Very eye catching, with nice embellishments and great color. Nice workmanship.” -Fay Runkel
Second Place: Felted Birch 3 By Martha Fieber
“This is a lovely piece. I like its many textures and depth. With the felted background and trees in the foreground with the stitched branches on top, it comes together very nicely.” -Fay Runkel
Honorable Mention: Mighty Birch by Sandra Weber
“This is a nice piece, with warm, muted colors. A good presentation with the birch represented throughout.” -Fay Runkel
Honorable Mention: The Immigrants by Donna Thurston
“There is a lot of feeling in this piece. Beautiful work and very touching. This piece evokes thoughts of where many of us came from.” -Fay Runkel
Featured Artist Award, Sponsored by Tebears Gift Shop:
Colors From My Garden by Danita Rask
“A bright piece that fits its name. So many beautiful shades of color and great embellishments woven together like a garden.” -Fay Runkel
Youth In Art
February 23 – March 23, 2023
Open Houses: 3 - 6 pm
Grades K - 5th & Learning Center: March 15
Grades 6th - 12th: March 16
The Bonifas Art Center sets aside its gallery spaces each year to honor the creative learning in Delta County area schools. As part of a nation-wide celebration, we remind our community of the importance of creative learning options and of our commitment to the creative spirit. Nearly 700 pieces of children’s artwork brighten up the gallery spaces and herald the coming of spring with a flourish of color. This year we will be handling the receptions differently. We will be holding open houses from 3 - 6pm on March 15 and March 16 to help spread the visitors out that come to view the exhibit. In addition, we will be recording the awards ceremony and posting it to our facebook on March 14th. You are sure to leave with a smile on your face after visiting this show!
Award Sponsors:
Escanaba Kiwanis | GFWC, Escanaba Woman’s Club | Billerud (formally Verso Corp.) | Michigan Education Association Coordinating Council #17B | Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District | Bonifas Arts Center
Bonifas Membership Show
March 30 – May 18, 2023
(This show will be down from May 1st - 8th for our Benefit for the Bonifas)
Reception: March 30, 6 - 8 pm
A 40+ year tradition, the Bonifas Membership Show, has encouraged members to share their creative explorations at every level of ability. It is a rich and varied exhibit where emerging artists show side-by-side with our experienced and professional artists. This exhibit is a community favorite and worth taking a walk through. Enjoy!
Winners:
First Place: Austin Ash of Escanaba, MI for "Point of Contact"
Second Place: Melissa Sharp of Escanaba, MI for "Sanctuary"
Honorable Mentions: Michele Cunningham of Rapid River, MI for "Gold Flower" and Dawn Delaney of Perkins, MI for "Spirit of the Sun"
Bonifas Featured Artist Award: Karen Brabender of Peshtigo, WI for "Music of the Spheres"
Escanaba Downtown Featured Artist Awards:
Caroline Italia Carlson, Julie Ann Neisius, and Karla Sunn
Gladstone City Hall Awards:
Austin Ash, Caroline Italia Carlson, Pasqua Warstler, Diane Erickson, Dawn Delaney, Jessica Johnson, Phyllis Fleury, Janice LaFond, Erin Mielcarek, Raymond Swanson, Paul Rose, Michele Cunningham, Karla Sunn, Sandra Weber. These works will be on display in the Gladstone City Hall from May 26 - July 10.
Escanaba City Hall Awards:
Artworks will be on display at the Escanaba Public Library through out the year.
On display in Summer: Dan Young, Karla Sunn, and Chris Weber
On display in Fall: JoAnn Deuel Shelby and Jeanne Gilley
On display in Winter: Lauren Hovland, Erin Mielcarek, and Michele Cunningham
On display in Spring 2024: Jeanne Gilley, Karla Sunn, and Chris Weber
Congratulations to ALL of our member artists in the show.
Award Sponsors:
Thank you to our 1st and 2nd place award prize money sponsor, The Marley Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation as recommended by the Dorothy Vogt Family.
Thank you to the Escanaba DDA for introducing the new Featured Artist Award where the winners will have their work reproduced for permanent display in the Center Court Art Gallery coming this Spring/Summer
Vitality and Continuity:
Art in the Experiences of Anishinaabe,
Inuit, and Pueblo women
May 28 – September 10, 2023
Opening exhibit reception June 2, 6 – 8 pm
This exhibition celebrates some of the critical roles Anishinaabe, Inuit, and Pueblo women fulfill in their families, their communities, the art world, and beyond. Rooted in contemporary and historical artworks, this traveling exhibition explores themes like mothering, making, art world success, spirituality, and continuity in visual culture across generations.
Spotlight Anishinaabe, Inuit, and Pueblo women artists include: Kenojuak Ashevak (Inuit), Kelly Church (Gun Lake Band of Pottawatomi/Grand Traverse Ottawa/Chippewa descent), Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso), and many more.
Supplemental Gallery Programming is funded, in part, by Art Bridges
This is one in a series of American art exhibitions created through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by the Detroit Institute of arts as part of the Art Bridges Initiative
Galleries that contributed the exhibited artwork are: Dennos Museum Center, Midland Center for the Arts, Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Bonifas Arts Center
More Than A Uniform
September 21 – November 2, 2023
Reception: September 21, 6 – 8 pm
The More Than A Uniform Exhibit highlights service members, veterans, family members and caregivers and the art they make.
We want service members, veterans, family members and caregivers’ art to be seen and their voices to be heard. We hope that you will find a sense of understanding in this exhibit, that as the art is shared, the stigma around mental health and suicide will fade away in the face of a shared understanding.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE XXX
November 9 – December 28, 2023
Reception: November 9, 6 - 8 pm
Northern Exposure Mission Statement: The Bonifas Arts Center supports its annual regional competition, Northern Exposure, expressly to both encourage Upper Peninsula artists to create new artworks and to showcase a comprehensive look at the contemporary artwork being created in the U.P.
The Studio Gallery
New Works by John Hubbard
November 10, 2022 – February 16, 2023
John Hubbard, oil painter, has been very busy these past few years. His talent has been growing one stroke at a time with most of his works emphasizing a concern for light. This will be observed in his recent Raven series where Hubbard remarks that “Ravens are very intelligent birds and are one of only a few animals that have learned to use tools. I think they are a very underrated animal and in the past have been depicted in demeaning ways.” Hubbard continues to say, “Any subject is a potential image for a painting if it is played up in a way through the use of lighting that creates a visual excitement of brightness and shape structures. As a result, I often paint images that may not have any obvious social intent, and are merely an exploration of pattern.”
Youth in Art
February 23 – March 23, 2023
Open House: 3 - 6 pm
Grades K— 5th & Learning Center: March 15
Grades 6th—12th: March 16
The Bonifas Art Center sets aside its gallery spaces each year to honor the creative learning in Delta County area schools. As part of a nation-wide celebration, we remind our community of the importance of creative learning options and of our commitment to the creative spirit. Nearly 700 pieces of children’s artwork brighten up the gallery spaces and herald the coming of spring with a flourish of color. This year we will be handling the receptions differently. We will be holding open houses from 3 - 6pm on March 15 and March 16 to help spread the visitors out that come to view the exhibit. In addition, we will be recording the awards ceremony and posting it to our Facebook on March 14th. You are sure to leave with a smile on your face after visiting this show!
BONIFAS INVITATIONAL AWARD:
Featuring "ALPACA PENCIL" Artist Dena Bliss
March 30 - May 18, 2023
Come experience the wonderful world of lino block printing in this fun exhibit brought to you by Dena Bliss. Dena won the Bonifas Invitational Award during Alberta House’s annual juried show. The award lets the winner hold a featured solo exhibit in our Studio Gallery. Dena won the prize with “Sea Turtle”. The 3 artworks submitted by Alpacha Pencil (Dena Bliss) were difficult to just select one to “win” which meant this artist’s work was intriguing enough to bring to our gallery space, according to Oman. “I’m excited to see the public’s response to this artist’s creativity and hope they walk away inspired by this late 1800’s artform that is having a revival in popularity.” If you can’t wait to see Dena’s work, visit her website: www.alpacapencil.com
Artist Expo
May 25 - September 7, 2023
This expo will highlight local area artists. Come see what the artists have been up to and if you like something, you can buy it and take it with you the same day! We are expanding our Kasota space to give more opportunities for our artists to make gallery sales through out the summer.
Bonifas Membership Show Winner:
Featuring Karen Brabender of Peshtigo, WI
September 14 - October 20, 2023
This Studio Gallery exhibit will feature artwork by the winner of the Bonifas Featured Artist Award given out at the Bonifas Membership Show. This award gives the winning artist the experience of a solo show, greater visibility and potential sales opportunities. This is the ideal opportunity for the artist to reach new audiences and gain valuable exposure.
The 100 day project: new beginnings
November 9 – December 28, 2023
This exhibit will show off the artworks made by participating artists during The 100 Day Project, which launched January 20 and went until April 30, 2023. The 100 Day Project was started years ago by Marquette artists Ann Russ and Catherine Benda. Our local artists worked under the Marquette umbrella for the past 4 years. Ann and Catherine did a fantastic job organizing this project and it took on a life beyond our Upper Peninsula but all things end--the rain has stopped and we are no longer under the Marquette Umbrella. We are on our own—A NEW BEGINNING-hence the theme that was chosen for this year. The works created and on display were made and worked on every day for 100 days.
Diane Kribs-Mays and Kate Oman felt that this was an important enough project to continue to offer our artists because working daily creates a HABIT, and that HABIT is what gives one the courage or impetus to begin a project of any kind including an art project that began as an idea. We hope you find some inspiration to create your own artwork after visiting this show. If you are interested in participating in our next round of The 100 Day Project, please let Kate know via email (kate@bonifasarts.org) and she will keep you in the loop with the details.