FreshWater Studio and Boyne Arts Collective Celebrate Ribbon Cutting at New Facilities

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FreshWater Studio and Boyne Arts Collective Celebrate Ribbon Cutting at New Facilities

FreshWater Studio and Boyne Arts Collective Celebrate Ribbon Cutting at New Facilities.
By Brittney Moody

According to Mackenzie, the train mural is an

Living in a small town has its fair share of ups and downs, yet one thing a small town like Boyne City has to offer is a great sense of community. Recently, that sense of community has expanded, and Boyne City has one thing more to offer, an increased presence of the arts.
“I have been wishing for this store!” Gail Fox, resident of Boyne City declared walking into the Boyne Arts Collective gallery for the first time Monday. “It’s such an asset to the artists’ community,” Fox continued.
On Thursday, July 9, the Boyne Arts Collective, a soon to be non-profit organization, and FreshWater Studio, housing the works of talented artists, celebrated ribbon cuttings for their new facilities. These new “homes of the arts” are located downtown Boyne City on South Lake Street, on opposite sides of the street.
“The idea is for us to be a destination in the community to come to,” said Martina Hahn, president of the BAC board.
The BAC is separate from FreshWater Studio, connected only by love for the arts.
“It’s nice to have the BAC in the same area because you get to have both galleries without searching them out,” said Tony Williams, co-owner of FreshWater Studio. “We have an art district in Boyne now.”
The premise of the BAC was for artists to have an outlet. Hahn had been searching for others to share her talents in 2007. After putting up fliers looking for those with similar interests, the BAC was founded.
Two and a half years later, Hahn and 60 other paid members have a brand new facility to display and share their work with others. The ages of these members range from 15 years old to 86 years old.
“We’re a collection of the arts, including performers, painters, writers, everything,” Hahn said.
Board member of BAC, Scott Mackenzie, explained their hopes of expanding their gallery to hold workshops, as well as working artists exhibiting their talents.
“We are currently working with a professional non-profit school of dance and music to possibly be one of our collective tenants,” said Mackenzie.
Their current location was donated to the BAC by Glen Catt of Catt Enterprises and they have high hopes for its success.
“We want to help facilitate ways for artists to make a living,” said Mackenzie.
FreshWater Studio has similar ambitions to those of the BAC. According to Williams they hope to provide workshops one day, as well as room for working artists. They have also talked of having acoustic music and wine tastings from time-to-time.
“That’s why we have the word ‘studio’ in our name, it means action, movement as well as gallery,” said Williams.
According to Glen McCune, co-owner of FreshWater Studio, the majority of the work displayed at the time belongs to either Williams or himself. Williams said he was happy bringing his work to a home base in Boyne, as his log art is currently sold all over the country.
“We both work in big mediums and needed a lot of space,” said Williams. “We will be filling the rest of the space with other artists.”
The FreshWater Studio resides in a building that McCune said was “derelict” for 31 years.
“It’s nice to see the building come to life,” Williams said.
Currently their 2500 square feet of gallery space is home to the work of 12 artists, all from Northern Michigan. Wooden kayaks, beds, pottery, paintings, jewelry, among other things can be found at FreshWater Studio.
They are currently providing summer hours from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily, while the BAC is open Fridays and Saturdays for the time being, and by appointment.
Both the BAC and Freshwater Studio will be participating in a duo-grand opening from 4-6 p.m. Friday, July 31 prior to “Stroll the Streets.” According to Mackenzie the street will be closed off for the event. Both facilities anticipate having many of their artists and members present.
“We couldn’t be happier with the city embracing what we’re doing,” McCune said.