Our StoryFifty years ago a group of arts advocates saw an opportunity in Holland. The community was growing and the arts were beginning to take their hold in West Michigan, but local artists and designers were missing a support system. This group of artists – painters, musicians, dancers and designers -- met to create an organization that would meet that need. From that beginning in 1967, the Holland Area Arts Council has supported local arts initiatives, organized exhibitions and provided arts education for the Lakeshore area residents and visitors.
Visit the Holland Area Arts Council today and you will be surrounded by art: paintings and sculptures lining the gallery walls, rehearsal rooms echoing with the sound of music, and dance and art studios bursting with creativity you can feel. You’ll also find staff and volunteers working to further the Arts Council’s mission “to educate, engage and challenge the community through the arts.” The Arts Council is a building where kids, grownups, families and artists of all ages come to experience art. It’s also a group of people who are constantly working to spark imagination in our community: always-changing exhibitions, a variety of classes, camps and workshops for all ages, arts and music events, public art projects and arts resources. Stop in to say hi and see what we’re all about! Our Staff
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Our Board of Directors
Anne Gaskin Nemschoff
President Communications Strategist and owner, GaskinPR. Board Member, Holland Area Arts Council, Volunteer Center For Women In Transition, Kid's Food Basket 
Scott Essenburgh
Vice President Retired, Bradford White Corporation; Volunteer for Community Action House 
Jeremy Brieve
Treasurer Counsel, Priority Health. State Bar of Michign, Chairman of the Substantive Law Committee of the Health Care Law Section (6/15 – Present). Board of Directors Treasurer Mercy Air, Inc.(02/13 – Present) 
Rich Evenhouse
Secretary President, The Image Group; Board member, Co-owner Caribou Services, Inc, 
Leslie Brigham
Pre-School Instructor, Board of Directors at Cherry Lane Preschool, Arts Council Board |
Patricia Flynn
Retired Educator/Artist Member,Holland Friends of Art, Woman’s Literary Club, PEO Sisterhood, Michigan Watercolor Society, American Watercolor Society, Arizona Watercolor Society, Volunteer for Hospice of Holland 
Gordon Julius
Julius Group Architecture LLC – Principal; Commodore of the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation 
Lois Mulder
Retired Teacher, Artist, owner, Lois Mulder Photography 
Lori Smolinski
Independent Doctor of Optometry, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at Michigan College of Optometry 
Shani Rotem Padnos
Graduating from Haifa University with a law degree, Shani was an accomplished litigator practicing Corporate Law in Tel Aviv until moving to Holland, Michigan in 2011. She sits on the board of the Holland Area Arts Council to continue a family tradition proud in growing the arts and acceptance of the creative force within us all. |
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Photography by Mike Lozon.