Chicago skyline at night. Photo credit: Leonid Andronov.

Each of the five Great Lakes has a distinct appeal, as do the towns and cities that cluster around them, with art offerings that range from Chicago’s world class museums to more localized, yet equally vibrant, art communities that thrive all along the Art Coast of Michigan. 

Mackinac Island, Michigan. Courtesy Stonecliff Inn.

If you find yourself near Lake Michigan, famous for its sandy beaches, impressive dunes and (relatively) warm waters, notable hot spots for art include the picturesque Saugatuk/Douglas area, which we’ll explore more closely in the following pages, as well as Glen Arbor, Petoskey and Boyne City, all in Michigan, to name just a few.

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. Photo © Elliot Lewis Photography.

Mackinac City Lighthouse on the Sunrise Coast of Michigan. Courtesy Pure Michigan.

Lake Erie is the southernmost and shallowest of the Great Lakes, making it the most hospitable and ideal for leisure activities like fishing and birding. In terms of art, you can take your pick of happenings in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania with highlights that include Erie, Pennsylvania; New York’s Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail, and Ohio lakeside towns like Vermilion, Geneva-on-the-Lake, Port Clinton and Sandusky.

Located at the base of Niagara Falls, Lake Ontario may be the lowest and smallest of the Great Lakes but it resonates with visitors for its dramatic, romantic beauty. Art lovers will find a wide range of art opportunities, from the urban scenes of Rochester, New York; and Toronto; to more rural experiences along Ontario’s eastern shore in Bellevue and Prince Edward County, Canada.

Petoskey, Michigan, is renowned for its abundance of public art. Courtesy Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau.

In the remainder of this destination guide to Chicago & the Great Lakes Region we zoom in on some of our favorite artists, galleries, art centers and institutions that are contributing  to this region’s growing reputation as a destination for art, as much as it is for its natural wonders. In the Great Lakes Region you can find it all.

Top: Barbara Schilling, Lost Lake Lilies, oil on panel, 12 x 12 in.; Barbara Schilling, Beach Birches, oil on panel, 12 x 12 in. Bottom: Barbara Schilling, Rolling Waves, oil on linen, 24 x 30 in.

Working in oils on linen, Schilling builds her surfaces with confident, directional strokes and nuanced shifts in color temperature, creating a sense of movement and atmosphere that invites immersion. From the rhythmic force of wind-driven waves to the quiet stillness of reflective inland waters and the luminous structure of shoreline trees, each painting captures a distinct emotional presence. Rather than documenting a place, her work evokes what it feels like to stand within it. Light becomes a path, water a pulse and land a grounding force. Through this approach, Schilling’s paintings offer a sense of restoration, encouragement and connection—transforming familiar landscapes into deeply felt, resonant experiences.

Top: Bryan M. Holland, Twilight, oil on cradled panel, 8 x 16 in. Bottom: Bryan M. Holland, A contemplation of time and space, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in. Bryan M. Holland, Phoenix, oil on cradled panel, 16 x 16 in.

Recently, Bryan M. Holland’s artistic journey has taken a compelling turn from animal-themed works to a focus on landscapes and cloudscapes. Nature remains his enduring muse, especially the awe-inspiring vastness of the sky with clouds that dwarf distant horizons. “There is something profoundly moving about clouds, both transient and timeless, that captivates me,” says Holland. This fascination drives his current work, where he also explores spatial illusion by pairing expansive, immersive skies with contrasting flat elements such as geometric shapes. This juxtaposition emphasizes a tension between natural phenomena and human-imposed order, inviting viewers to consider the balance between spontaneity and structure.

Cecilia Brendel, Point Arena Lighthouse, oil, 16 x 20 in.; Cecilia Brendel, Nubble Lighthouse, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Ohio artist Cecilia Brendel’s travels along coastlines and vast waters have profoundly influenced her art, especially her striking lighthouse paintings. She is drawn to places where the energy of the ocean meets the quiet strength of these towering structures, spending hours immersed in the changing light and atmosphere. This deep observation allows her to translate experience into paint with remarkable sensitivity. In her work, waves crash with convincing force, their textures rich and alive, while sunlight settles gently across surfaces, creating moments of calm. She also captures the subtle movement of clouds, adding a sense of time passing within each scene. Her paintings balance motion and stillness, making viewers feel present within the landscape itself. Through her work, Brendel invites others to share in these coastal moments.

Top: Cheri Saffro, Something Blue, pastel, 26 x 21 in.; Cheri Saffro, Seafoam, pastel on paper, 21 x 27 in. . Bottom: Cheri Saffro, My Kind of Town, pastel on paper, 17 x 23 in.

Cheri Saffro has always been recognized as an artist. An early scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago made the museum her school. Having studied the Masters, she is able to interpret their work and now paints classic themes for a contemporary audience. Working primarily in soft pastels allows her to combine both her painting and drawing skills, making it the ideal medium for the artist.

Top: J. Petter Galleries, Ebullient Appeal, acrylic on canvas, 36¼ x 46 in., by Rein Vanderhill.  Exterior view of J. Petter Galleries. Photo by Kim Zahnow. Bottom: J. Petter Galleries, To All a Good Night, oil on canvas, 12 x 24 in., by Debra Reid Jenkins. 

Featuring best-selling Great Lakes painters Rein Vanderhill and Debra Reid Jenkins, alongside acclaimed jewelry artist Paula Neale Rice, the exhibition brings together a dynamic range of pieces that explore light, movement and form. Sweeping Great Lakes waterscapes, expressive abstractions, and intimate botanicals are thoughtfully paired with heirloom-quality jewelry, creating a layered and immersive experience for collectors and visitors alike.

Janet Grissom, Cardinal at Rest, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 in. Janet Grissom, Song of the Cedar Falls, oil on canvas, 36 x 30 in. Janet Grissom, Across the Bridge, oil on linen, 40 x 30 in.

“My goal is to see the unknown through nature, and with paint in hand, share these personal findings on canvas,” says Grissom. “Precious, unnoticed nuances come alive as I meander through the ever-changing forests, move into the quiet caves, and walk near the rippling river or around the flowing fields of golden grain. I pay particular attention to the modulating color tones, the diverse textures and observe the overall design; realizing that with each bit of wind, the total composition changes. Searching for true concentration, I work to capture my favorite moments, calling the viewer to reach for my personal message, to see the story that I have to tell.”

Top: Kathleen Kalinowski, Enchanted with Autumn, oil on linen, 16 x 20 in. Kathleen Kalinowski, Birch and Northern Blue Flag, oil on linen, 30 x 20 in. Bottom: Kathleen Kalinowski, A Hill of Hollyhocks, oil on linen, 16 x 20 in.

Kathleen Kalinowski is known for her representational landscape paintings with impressionistic color and brushwork. Much of her work consists of painting in plein air, directly from nature, a prelude to her larger studio paintings. She has been working as a professional fine artist for 30 years using oil and pastel as her mediums. She paints the landscapes of her native Michigan in all seasons and favorite places from her travels. Her home and studio are just north of Grand Rapids in a rural area close to farms, rolling hills, and plenty of rivers and streams. She often finds water as her inspiration from the shorelines of the Great Lakes to northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula.

Top: Muskegon Museum of Art, Twister, Again, powder-coated aluminum, stainless steel, 18 x 20 ft., by Alice Aycock.Muskegon Museum of Art, Back Porch Lullaby, mixed media collage, 48 x 60 in., by Judy Bowman. Bottom: Gallery view, Muskegon Museum of Art.

Tucked away in the beautiful coastal city of Muskegon, Michigan, the Muskegon Museum of Art is a destination not to be missed. Founded in 1912, the MMA is renowned for its permanent collection of fine American and European paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings. Regularly on view in the permanent collection galleries, you will find works by notable artists such as John Steuart Curry, Edward Hopper, Elizabeth Catlett and more.

Top: Saugatuck/Douglas, Saugatuck area. Photo by Julien Capmeil. Saugatuck/Douglas, Button Gallery, Douglas, MI. Photo by Craig Watson. Bottom: Saugatuck/Douglas, J. Petter Galleries, Douglas, MI. Photo by Julien Capmeil.

Today, that same creative spirit defines the area through an inviting mix of galleries, studios, exhibitions and public art. From thoughtfully curated gallery spaces to spontaneous moments of creativity found throughout town, art reveals itself at every turn. Visitors often have the opportunity to meet artists, hear the stories behind their work and experience the creative process up close. The result is a destination where art is not just displayed but deeply woven into the experience, earning its distinction as the Art Coast of Michigan.

Clockwise from top left: Center for Native Futures, street view, Chicago, IL. Center for Native Futures, Gussied Up, 2024, gouache on Aquabord, 36 x 24 in., by Hattie Lee Mendoza (Cherokee Nation). Center for Native Futures, The Magnitude of Me, 2023, oil, oil paint stick and graphite on canvas, 72 x 72 in., by Sean Chandler (Aaniinen).

Center for Native Futures (CfNF) is the only Native artist-led arts organization in Zhegagoynak (Chicago). Located in the heart of downtown, its mission is to promote and advocate for the advancement of Native fine art and foster contemporary Native artists. On view through July 25, the current exhibition features work by Hattie Lee Mendoza, Melissa Melero-Moose and Sean Chandler. Mendoza describes her work as “a flux of mediums and objects in constant conversation.” She weaves gifted or found materials, incorporating Cherokee basketry patterns, pottery or beadwork patterns to reflect her cultural background. Melero-Moose’s work is about place, identity and memory, using traditional basket shapes and color schemes from her Paiute homelands. She utilizes organic materials and experimental acrylic mixtures to create highly textured basketry patterns and shapes on a two-dimensional surface. Chandler uses large-scale unstretched canvases as a base for his paintings that convey themes of wanting to conceal oneself, while simultaneously fighting to maintain cultural identity in contemporary society. His work draws from Aaniiih imagery and the idea of being a “free” human being to communicate his lived experience. —