Grand Marais Art Colony plans expansion to offer artist lodging
Dec 03, 2025 10:01AM ● By Content Editor
All photos from the Art Colony
From the Grand Marais Art Colony - December 3, 2025
In 1947, Birney Quick had a brainchild. The wave of artist colonies and communities had made its way from Europe in the late 1800s to the East Coast of the United States in the early 1900s. And after visiting a number of these communities, Birney was convinced that the North Shore would be a perfect spot to establish one. As a professor at the Minnesota School of Art (now Minneapolis College of Art and Design), Birney worked with the institution to launch the first Outdoor School of Painting in Grand Marais, an eight-week summer session.
The Art Colony’s first “home” was in the wilds of Grand Marais and in the community itself. A very fitting start for a community of artists.
After a brief interlude in Red Wing, the Art Colony made its return to the North Shore when the City of Grand Marais wrote to the Minneapolis School of Art and asked them to come back to Grand Marais; a vote of confidence that the community wholeheartedly supported this endeavor. The summer art school reopened in Grand Marais in 1952, using the top floor of old City Hall, and the program was renamed the Town Hall Art Colony.
The Art Colony’s next evolution of home came in 1963, when our co-founders, Birney Quick and Byron Bradley, went in together to purchase the St. John’s Catholic Church building, as the congregation moved locations. What has been lovingly called Founders Hall by the Art Colony community has been our steady home for 62 years. Thousands of students have left their art markings on the floor and walls of this building and consider it a creative home.
From there, the Art Colony was able to build a second studio building in 2005, which allowed us to expand our programming and have dedicated office space and community access to medium-specific studios and equipment; a rare opportunity in a sparsely populated wilderness area.
June of 2019 was the next stage of home ownership, when the Art Colony purchased the former Arrowhead / North Shore Pharmacy and Viking Haus, two buildings right on Highway 61 adjacent to the downtown business district. This space increased our visitor traffic by more than 300%, and our footprint by 60%, allowing us to expand our studios and launch a full gallery store as well as a dedicated exhibition space. This space has also served as an essential community gathering space for over 600 community members during private events, such as the Violence Prevention Center’s candlelight vigil, the Dark Skies Festival, and Cook County Care Partners events.
And now, it is our pleasure to announce that we have signed a purchase agreement with dear friends Lori and Terry Backlund to purchase Ella’s Inn. Ella’s has operated as a six-room Inn for the past two decades and is directly adjacent to our original building, Founders Hall. In fact, Ella’s was originally built in 1936 as the rectory for the Catholic Church. As we approach our 80th year of operation, we are delighted to share that we are launching a capital campaign to close on this property in May 2026.
The following FAQs will hopefully answer the majority of questions people may have. We also encourage you to reach out to Art Colony staff and leadership with additional questions.
What will the Art Colony do with Ella’s Inn?
We will be able to offer lodging options to artists participating in our classes and programming.
The large green space / backyard will give us future opportunities to expand our facilities and build a purpose-built kiln room and glaze mixing area for our ceramics studio.
Karen Brown, Art Colony board chair, shares, “Our board enthusiastically supports this exciting new opportunity to further the Art Colony’s mission and to better support our students, resident artists, and program participants.”
Will non-artists or those unconnected with the Art Colony be able to rent at Ella’s?
While we will prioritize Art Colony participants, the Inn will serve as a mixed rental unit, and we will welcome general rentals.
Has this been long in the planning?
We’ve been on the short list with the Backlunds for several years, knowing that if they were going to sell, it would be worthwhile for us to consider this purchase. The Art Colony board was not anticipating this option to come up at this time, but is fully supportive of the strategic decision.
Cook County resident and current Art Colony Board Member Kristofer Bowman affirms, “We are thrilled about this fortuitous opportunity for the Art Colony and the community. The ability to offer lodging packages for students and space for future growth while also creating a year-round rental for the community as well as job opportunities for locals weaves a beautiful tapestry.”
Will the Art Colony pay property tax on Ella’s Inn?
The guest house will remain on the tax base. As a not-for-profit, the Art Colony is tax-exempt when a property fulfills our missional work and income goes back into the mission. Because Ella’s Inn will continue to lodge general visitors as well as missional program participants, we will pay property tax and unrelated business income tax.
Will Art Colony students also stay in other lodging establishments?
Absolutely. The Art Colony hosts hundreds of artists per year, all with varying lodging needs and desires. We value our lodging partners and know that students will continue to select the location that best supports their time in Cook County.
Why is the closing in May 2026?
This date allows us to launch a capital campaign, which will begin in the New Year, and it also aligns with the capital funding that will come from some of our major foundation sources. If you are interested in keeping up with what is happening with this project, please sign up for our eNewsletter at the bottom of our homepage: https://grandmaraisartcolony.org/.
THANK YOU!
It is fitting that we are able to announce this expansion during the season of Thanksgiving. We are grateful for a community that not only supports the arts but also recognizes that ready access to the arts leads to greater civic engagement and more social cohesion. The Art Colony has a three-million-dollar economic impact in Cook County, with 40% of our student population coming from Cook County, while 48% come from beyond the North Shore, and 12% from Canada. We look forward to serving our arts community, creators of all ages and skill levels, for many years to come.
