New Furnace for GMAC!

The Grand Marais Art Colony has made its home in a picturesque, historic 1916 mission Catholic church since the 1960s. But beauty does not necessarily mean efficient and warm. Since our inception we have had to close down the building during the winter due to the high costs of heating. Three times the furnace has threatened to die. We absolutely can not go another winter without replacing it and we need your support to do so!

Over the next couple of years, we plan to renovate this beautiful building to ensure maximum efficiency, but this is the integral first step towards a cozy winter space to create, share and celebrate art.

One quick story. Last winter, a group of artists participated in 20 weeks of Life Drawing over the dead of winter. Due to high demand, we resorted to opening the Historic Building for the Wednesday evening sessions. On one particularly chilly evening, when temperatures dropped below zero, the building chugged to warm. Despite ample time to do so, the building was still 50 degrees when the participants arrived. Artists unloaded their easels and drawing utensils, wearing thick wool sweaters and knitted caps. Our brave model entered, de-robbed and positioned herself as close as possible to the space heater. Of course the starving artist is an old cliché, but a shivering nude model?! Help us replace the old beast of a furnace and upgrade to an efficient, shiny new one that will keep away the winter shivers!