This Summer, Connect with Contemporary at Door County Art Fair

You could fly to Basel or Miami for their annual art fairs, but you’d probably have a better time—and save on plane fare—by driving to Door County this summer. The Second Annual Door County Contemporary Art Fair promises 20 booths from galleries in Wisconsin and elsewhere (including Milwaukee’s Green Gallery, Portrait Society and Addendum), along with artist talks, panel discussions, live music, a bar serving old fashioneds and food trucks in a verdant natural environment that says: stop for a minute and enjoy the sunlight and scenery.

Cofounder and co-director Shane McAdams calls the fair’s location, the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, “a perfect setting. Parking is easy. The art will be indoors, but the events will be under a tent. Fish Creek is a nest of leisure comfort in Door County. And the fair is in early June—just before the summer madness begins.”

Last summer’s Door County Contemporary drew art scenesters from Chicago, Minneapolis and beyond. The setting provided a convergence between the thriving craft artisans and landscape painters associated with Door County and the cosmopolitan, big-city art world. “The mix of people and art was good—and people were engaged. It was a meaty, composite experience,” McAdams says.

Site Specific

This year’s Door Contemporary will also include a site-specific, designed landscape courtesy the John Michael Kohler Art Center, and inflatable sculpture on the grounds by artist Claire Ashley. The Miller Art Museum will have a “dedicated space” on the grounds. The Bad at Sports podcast will broadcast onsite during the event from a whirligig-festooned booth.

“We don’t want to be just a trade fair,” McAdams continues. “It’s multi-dimensional with so much going on. It’s the full experience of what art can give you. The whole thing is to show the value art has in the world. It’s not just about acquiring objects.”

With Door Contemporary’s reputation resonating as far away as New York, it has already become a point of connection between the insular world of contemporary art and the wider public. “Contemporary art has done a poor job of creating a living story,” McAdams concludes. “It often hides behind a dogma of its own importance. Art can be smart and conceptually rigorous and enjoyable. Art can be fun!”

The Door County Contemporary Art Fair will be held in Fish Creek from June 4-7. For advance tickets and more information, visit info@doorcountycontemporary.com.