A Renovated Ojibway Island Frames a Canvas of Creativity at The 4th Annual SAGINAW ART FAIR

‘There is nothing new in art except talent.” – Anton Chekov

As organizers prepare to return to the spacious pastoral splendor of Ojibway Island for the unveiling of the 2026 Saginaw Art Fair, the experience is similar to preparing a canvas of creativity and commerce for an expanding list of artists, vendors, and entertainers designed to showcase an interactive experience for patrons within the vibrant art & music scene of Saginaw’s Riverfront District on the dates of Friday & Saturday, August 7^th & 8^th from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Hosted by the non-profit Saginaw Art Initiative, according to Committee Chairwoman Lauren Collison, everything about this festive annual endeavor has expanded, beginning with the number of participating artists. “There’s so much more variety this year,” she enthusiastically explains. “Last year we showcased 50 artists and this year we have 63 artists attending, with 21 of them making their first appearance. Out of those approximately 32 are local artists with the other half coming throughout the state, including six out-of-state artists.”

“We have a diverse range of media represented, including ceramics, fiber, jewelry, metal, mixed-media, painting, photography, and wood; and some of the new artists attending include Goddess Glass Design and Papillon Press, which is a printmaker creating historically inspired patterned prints, many be antique endpapers or wallpapers circa 1790-1910 they’ve either revived or emulated by creating this own original designs.”

“Several of the new artists consider themselves ‘emerging’, and one of our goals has been to build the emerging artist section of the Art Fair,” continues Lauren. “We have about five booths filled with emerging artists for people who are new to doing art shows, still in college, or recently graduated from college, Plus, I’m going to get to see three of my former students showcase their work this year as participating artists, which is both exciting and gratifying to see.”

With the assistance of numerous dedicated committee members, the mission of the Saginaw Art Initiative is to create an interdisciplinary art fair to celebrate all the fine arts and promote art education. 

“We strive for a holistic art fair that includes a variety of visual, performance, and culinary arts, while building community in the Greater Saginaw Area,” explains Lauren. “Our vision is to create a sustaining fine arts festival that celebrates the beauty of Saginaw, while promoting collaboration between local artists, businesses, and community organizations with the collective goal of supporting arts, culture, and art education. We provide a family friendly atmosphere that includes free art activities and live demonstrations, with the goal of expanding art appreciation to inspire the artist in everyone.”

“An important goal our committee has focused upon is to evolve this into an interdisciplinary art fair, not just about the fine arts or two and three-dimensional artworks, but to also include music, dance, theatre, and all of the arts,” she continues. “We want this to be a fine arts festival, and with the renovated band stage on Ojibway Island, it makes perfect sense to utilize this beautiful space.”

As we go to press Lauren is also excited about featuring more musical performances at this year’s art fair.   “As we kick off Friday morning we’ll be featuring a Yoga Class from 10-11 AM.  We recommend people bring their lawn chairs to enjoy the performances and are excited our musical line-up. On Friday we’ll be featuring The Outfit from 1:00-2:30 PM; The Stephen Byrne Band from 3:00 – 5 PM; and then on Saturday we will have a Werk It! Dance Fitness Class with Hannah from 10 – 11:00 AM, and are filling out the following slots with returning artists and an   Open Dance/Theatre from 12:30 – 1:00 PM, with Tana Michaels performing from 1:30-2:30 PM, and The Crushtones closing things out from 3:00 – 4:30 PM.

Returning food vendors include Sawadee, who provide a type of Chinese Asian fusion cuisine notes Lauren. “They make these fabulous Apple Pie eggroll versions of a cheese Rangoon, and our goal is to have several food trucks for each day of the Art Fair. We also have commitments from Wella’s Kitchen, Heavenly Cakes, Snowball Shaved Ice, plus hope to feature a Charcuterie Board Truck and hopefully more.”

Special Events & Activities

Collison says the Saginaw Art Initiative will again be staging numerous art activities to engage patrons with the creative process. ““We’ll conduct a couple of raffles and in the Makerspace have three different art activities that consist of classes for the first 40 to 50 participants and drop in for art activities,”

The schedule consists of the following: Friday, August 7^:  10:00 - 11:30 AM Tie-Dye Bandanas;

11:30 - 1:00 Drop in for Art; 1:00 - 2:00 Firefly Painting; 2:00 - 3:00 Drop in for Art; 3:00 - 5:00 Mushroom Luminar Jar.  Saturday, August: 10:00a – Noon Paper Quilling; Noon - 1:00 Drop in for Art, 1:00 - 2:00 Marbled Coasters; 2:00p -3:00 Drop in for Art 3:00 - 5:00 Poured Painting Class,

“The Firefly Painting class should be a really fun activity,” comments Lauren. “If you imagine lightning bugs and fireflies upon an evening sky, people will be able to draw some of these images and then watercolor over the top; and with the Mushroom Luminar Jar class we’ll give people a little light to light them up so they look like a little mushroom with a red top and white polka-dots, which should also be a fun experience.  We’ll also give demonstrations on how to do Paper Quilting, and two popular activities from last year that we brought back are the Marbled Coasters class and the Poured Painting Class.” Collison adds that all these activities are on a ‘First Come First Create’ basis support from local organizations and sponsors ensures the can provide all art activities free of charge to participants.

When asked what the biggest challenge has been pulling together this year’s outing, Collison says this is the first year it hasn’t felt like a challenge. “It’s getting easier to pull this together each year because the committee that helps organize this is phenomenal. I certainly couldn’t do this alone and am fortunate to have eight to 10 solid people that I can count upon. Everybody has their niche to focus on and I truly appreciate everything they do.”

“The City of Saginaw has been great to work with,” she adds. “They stay in communication with me and want to see successful events happen on the Island as well, and I am excited to be able to bring the Art Fair back to Ojibway Island.”

““Our sponsors this year include major funding by UA Local 85 UA Local 85 Plumbers, Steamfitters & HVACR, and other sponsors include the Saginaw DDA, Fordney Club, Frankenmuth Credit Union, SAWA (Saginaw Area Watermedia Artists), Spicer Group

And Saginaw Northwest Kiwanis.  In-Kind donations were also made by R.B. Satkowiak's City Sewer Cleaners and ABO Tent & Event Supplies.

 Community Groups in attendance include Pit & Balcony, Potter Street Station, READ Association (Friday Only) Saginaw Public Library Book Mobile, and SASA Robotics.

Other planned activities include yard games, a raffle for a Crochet Blanket and original reduction block print from the poster design for 2025, a Scavenger Hunt Friday & Saturday from Noon to 1 PM, and Art Fair T-Shirts and handmade bags for sale to support future art fairs.

As for the layout on Ojibway Island, the road will be open for one way traffic all the way around the island and there are now 5 parking lots on the Island that people may utilize when attending the event.

“We have more things that we are planning on pulling together and will have any last-minute updates on our Saginaw Art Fair Facebook page.

Here is a breakdown of the artists that will be showcased:

Mixed Media • Bambi Inkorporated, Corinne Roberts Illustration, Geniene Inspirational Art, Jennifer Burns,   Rachel Mccaffrey Art,   Sue Ward Art,  C. Meyer.

Sculpture • Altered Art, Bougie D’ Amour, Coyly Script, On the Rocks by Lisa, Tawny Lounge Design, Uniquepensetc

Ceramics • Dreamscape Clay Studio, Emily Christine Pottery, Kate’s Ceramics, Lantern Quest, Mud Princess Studio, Pottery and Designs by Ellie, The Little Robin Co.

Drawing • Busch Pastels

Fabric/Fiber/Leathern • Brownie Points, Calico Dyes, Jest Creative, Macrame' by LJ, SommertymeCreations.     Food(Pet)            Miss Abbie's Pet Treats

Glass • ArtsyAnndee, Goddess Glass Design, Indigo Butterfly by Ronda Olson, Sterling Dreams

Jewelry • ArtsyGoods, Barb Quenneville, Beverly Fay Designs, Briarwood Designs, Missy Rose Studios.        

Language Arts/Author • Fyra B Ginn.    

Metal • Mason Welding

Painting • Dan's Watercolors, For the Love of Color, Ingrid Tourangeau, Josh Comics, Ken Kueffner Studio, KP Originals, Louise Chen Art Studio & Friends, Paintings by Sherry Rogers & Stacie Rose-Weir, Simple Works, Sunshine and More, Surprise Boom, Matthew Jacobson, Isaiah Poe, Brenna Robinson

Photography • J & T Photography, Kabscapes, Nevaeh's Photography, SHELLY LAWLER, Rick Sattler, Apple and Thistle, Papillon Press

Wood • WMN Woodworking, Saginaw Birdhouse Guy