Fairfield to Open Baylake Bank Children’s Art Exhibition

On Saturday, February 16, the Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art in downtown Sturgeon Bay will unveil its Annual Baylake Bank Children’s Art Exhibit, which showcases the recent work of art students from several area schools. The exhibition will launch with a free open house from 10 am until noon in the art center’s lower-level b2 Gallery, where visitors will enjoy coffee, soft drinks and sweet treats while they view the artwork alongside the student artists and their families.

“We didn’t have a theme for the exhibition this year,” said Shan Bryan-Hanson, the Fairfield’s exhibitions director. “This is simply a fun, colorful children’s exhibition based on teacher’s choice, which means the kids really had free reign with their imaginations and creativity.

A scene from the 2007 Baylake Bank Children’s Art Exhibit Open House, which took place on Saturday, June 2, 2007.

“The teachers and kids look forward to this exhibition each year, as do the staff and volunteers here at the Fairfield,” she continued. “We couldn’t do it without the ongoing support of Baylake Bank, which has been our signature sponsor.”

Participating schools in this year’s Baylake Bank Children’s Art Exhibition are: Southern Door Elementary School, with art teacher Barb Schriner-Schmitt; Sawyer and Sunset Schools, with art teacher Julie Gebauer; Gibraltar Schools, with art teacher Karla Donahue; St. John Bosco, with art teacher Margaret Lucas; and St. Mary Elementary of Algoma, with art teacher Margaret Lucas.

As a special treat for those attending the Children’s Art Exhibit open house, Sarah Bradley, proprietor of the Artists Guild in Sturgeon Bay, will be conducting a free hands-on painting activity for children in the Fairfield’s lower-level b1 Studio. Families are welcome to stop by the b1 at any point during the open house to join in the fun.

“The hands-on painting activity is sponsored by the Artists Guild LLC, with additional funding provided by exhibition sponsor Baylake Bank,” Bryan-Hanson said. “We’re grateful to Sarah for donating her time and for the support of both the Artists Guild and Baylake Bank, which has allowed us to offer the painting activity free to the public.”

Bradley, a Door County wife and mother who earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire, also is a member of the Door County Life Drawing Group, which comprises artists of all experience levels who meet to draw from an unclothed model. The sessions take place every Sunday from 2 to 4 pm at the Artist’s Guild Studio, located above the Small World Market at 139 North Third Avenue in Sturgeon Bay’s downtown historic district.

The Annual Baylake Bank Children’s Art Exhibit is scheduled to run through Saturday, March 29.

The Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art is open free to the public, 10 am – 5 pm Wednesday through Saturday during the offseason. For more information about the art center and its upcoming exhibitions and events, call 920.746.0001, send e-mail to [email protected] or visit http://www.fairfieldcenter.org.