Competition and Festival of Outdoor Painting
on the North Shore of Lake Superior
Registration for 2020 is now open!
2020 Competition Dates:
September 11-18, 2020
Deadline for Juried Competition Applicants:
11:59pm Monday, April 20, 2020
2020 Exhibit Dates:
September 18-October 11, 2020
Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery
115 Wisconsin St., Grand Marais, Minnesota
September 11-18, 2020
Deadline for Juried Competition Applicants:
11:59pm Monday, April 20, 2020
2020 Exhibit Dates:
September 18-October 11, 2020
Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery
115 Wisconsin St., Grand Marais, Minnesota
Plein Air Grand Marais is a 17 year tradition bringing outdoor painters to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a week of painting, competition, learning, and camaraderie. Beginning in 2018, the event is organized by Outdoor Painters of Minnesota together with the Cook County Historical Society's Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery.
Plein Air Grand Marais welcomes artists of all ages and abilities. The Competition consists of invitational and juried painters. An Open Class consists of registered artists who may exhibit their best original work created during the event in an Open Class reception-exhibit and compete for the Art On The Rocks award in the Quick Paint. A public art activity at Joy & Co. in downtown Grand Marais will offer supervised plein air painting for children and adults and a clothesline art exhibit. Daily paint-outs and Mini-Workshops with professional plein air Competition Artists are open to all artists.
2020 Artist Guide, Schedule, Mini-Workshops and Prizes will be published when finalized. Subscribe to our PAGM Newsletter for updates.
Thank you to our community partners and sponsors!
Mini-WorkshopsUp to 22 professional plein air painting instructors competing in the event offer a 3-hour workshop during the week of competition. These popular mini-workshops are attended by painters of all ability levels, helping to make Grand Marais a destination-painting event for artists to learn from each other and get inspired.
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Daily Paint-OutsPainters may paint anywhere legal and safe within Cook County to be eligible for Competition and Open Class exhibits, but artists and visitors alike enjoy knowing where to find painters during Competition Week. We work with community partners and award sponsors to provide a list of recommended painting locations and schedule daily paint-outs in some of the most scenic places on the North Shore.
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Public Art ActivitiesPlein Air Grand Marais provides opportunities for community members and visitors to try outdoor painting. Community paint-boxes will be available at local sponsor Joy & Co. for anyone to create a painting for public display in a picket-fence gallery. A children's plein air painting activity also will be supervised at Joy & Co.
Artists' SocialsPlein Air Grand Marais is more than a painting competition: it is an opportunity for artists of all levels to socialize, learn, make new connections and enjoy conversations, food and drinks together. Watch for the 2020 schedule including appetizers and nocturne painting social at Wunderbar, bonfire social at Neil Sherman's, west-end bonfire social at Sugarloaf Family Cabins, and happy hour gatherings at local restaurants and other sponsors.
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Professionals' Panel DiscussionOn Thursday before the Quick Paint, past prize winners will be featured for a panel discussion on plein air painting.
Hootenanny
It's a Thursday night tradition: After the Quick Paint, we gather at the harbor picnic shelter at the Grand Marais Municipal Campground to sing, play music along with our ad-hoc band "The Plain Errors," and celebrate the week's painting achievements.
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