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Competition and Festival of Outdoor Painting
on the North Shore of Lake Superior
September 5-13, 2025
2025 Juror: Neil Sherman
Next Year: September 11-19, 2026
Extended Competition Exhibit dates: September 19–November 1, 2026
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Competition Exhibit Venue:
Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery 115 W. Wisconsin St Grand Marais, MN 55604 |
Artist Headquarters:
Grand Marais Campground Rec Hall (Across from the Campground Office 114 S 8th Ave W, Grand Marais, MN 55604) |
Painting begins: August 10, 2025
2 Nights Lodging at Menogyn: September 4-6, 2025 Competition Week: Sept 5-13, 2025 Competition Exhibit: September 14 – October 5, 2025 |
2025 Competition Class
*Workshop Instructors
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David R. Becker*
Paul Bergquist Carl Bretzke* Andrew Carr William Check MaryAnn Cleary Michele Combs Jack Dant* Allison Eklund Bridget Ertelt Karl Everett Greg Finnegan Abbey Fitzgerald Katharine Gotham Nelia Harper* Stephen Herzog Margie Helstrom Julie Highlen Michelle Hoge Logan Hudson |
Suhaila Ihsanullah
Kim Jore Matt Kania* Tadas Kosciuska Chanda Kraft Brendan Kramp Thomas Kutschied Brock Larson Mark Larson Cheryl LeClair-Sommer Elizabeth Lexau Dan Mackerman* Melissa Malen Linda Mark Sandra Maxwell Benjamin McGaffey Joanne Meierhofer Jimmy Navarro Gary Olson Jennifer Plourde |
Greg Preslicka*
Steve Puttrich* Erin Renier Jairid Rossow Kelly Schamberger* Kurt Schulzetenberg Susan Seaborn David Smith Randy Spry Renee St Leger Lisa Stauffer* James Turner Bob Upton* Tim Vahle Ken Valentas Angela Velin Michelle Wegler Stephen Wysocki* Jake Zirbes Michael Zirbes |
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Get your PAGM Caps and Beanies here, embroidered on demand through Tee-Spring.
Plein Air Grand Marais is an annual tradition since 2008 bringing outdoor painters to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a week of painting, learning, competition, and camaraderie. Since 2018, the event has been organized by Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and hosted by the Cook County Historical Society's Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery.
Plein Air Grand Marais welcomes artists of all ages and abilities. Painters self-select their class of participation: The Competition Class consists of invitational and experienced painters who commit to display four paintings eligible for awards in an exhibit at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery from the opening reception Friday through the first Sunday in October. Open Class artists may exhibit one painting created during the event at a Wednesday night exhibit and awards reception. A public art activity at Joy & Co. in downtown Grand Marais offers supervised plein air painting for children and adults and a clothesline art exhibit. A 90-minute Quick Paint competition on Thursday, daily paint-outs, and Artists Socials are open to all registered artists. Anyone in Grand Marais during Competition Week may register to attend PAGM Workshops with professional plein air Competition Artists and the Juror Workshop on the Saturday after the final reception.
Thank you to our community partners and sponsors!
The Cook County Historical Society operates Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, which hosts the PAGM Competition Exhibit.
Joy & Co., which sells art materials and gifts from its store in downtown Grand Marais, donates gift certificates for Open Class Quick Paint awards, and supervises a public plein air painting activity in their alley during Competition Week.
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Visit Cook County awarded a grant to the Cook County Historical Society to fund promotional materials for the event.
Wet Paint contributed gift cards for Artists' Choice and Honorable Mention awards and fine art materials from suppliers for Open Class awards.
Artist and graphic designer Kim Gordon designed the logo and print materials for our event.
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2024 Juror Brock Larson
WorkshopsEvery year, some of our professional plein air painting instructors competing in the event offer a 3-hour workshop during the week of competition. These popular paint-along workshop demos cost just $50 each and are open to painters of all ability levels, helping to make Grand Marais a destination-painting event for artists to learn from each other and get inspired. An individualized Juror Workshop with painting critiques is offered for $100 per person on the final Saturday of the event.
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2024 Paint-Out at YMCA Camp Menogyn
Daily Paint-OutsPlein Air Grand Marais is all about bringing people together to paint. Daily paint-outs are scheduled during Competition Week at Artists' Point, Grand Marais Campground, YMCA Camp Menogyn, various State Parks along the North Shore, Superior Hiking Trail, and a traditional nocturnal paint-out in downtown Grand Marais.
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Public Art ActivitiesPlein Air Grand Marais provides opportunities for community members and visitors to try outdoor painting. Berton Boxes are supervised by local sponsor Joy & Co. for anyone to stop by and create a painting for public display in a picket-fence outdoor "gallery."
Artist SocialsPlein Air Grand Marais is more than a painting competition: it is an opportunity for artists of all levels to socialize, learn, and make new connections. An Artist Social is scheduled every day of Competition Week.
Birney Quick PaintOn Thursday afternoon from 3:30-5:00pm, we have a quick paint competition in honor of Birney Quick, a pillar of Grand Marais's rich history of community arts. This exciting spectator sport attracts visitors to watch the timed all-weather event and was featured in an award winning documentary. Paintings are displayed on the rocks at East Bay near Artists Point and juried for awards immediately after the 90 minute event ends. The Birney Quick Paint is open to all registered PAGM artists.
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Off-the-Easel Sale in Harbor ParkOn Thursday at 11am before the Quick Paint, all registered artists may display and sell paintings created during the event and enjoy seeing each other's work. Competition paintings may be pre-sold and remain eligible for prizes if buyers wait to take home their paintings until the awards reception on Friday.
Hootenanny
It's long been an annual tradition to gather at the end of Competition Week at the harbor picnic shelter at the Grand Marais Municipal Campground to sing and play music together. Join "the Plain Errors" and celebrate the week's painting achievements on Friday after the final reception.
Open Class Reception
The Open Class awards reception is held on Wednesday of Competition Week starting at 5:00pm. The 2025 Open Class reception will be catered by Fisherman's Daughter and held at our Artist HQ, the Campground Rec Hall.
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