The Saugatuck Douglas Art Club was organized in 1953 after the launch of its First Annual Art Show upstairs in the Saugatuck Village Hall.

The Art Club continues to sponsor two outdoor Art Fairs each summer. They are the Waterfront Invitational Art Fair the weekend of July 4, and the Village Square Art and Fine Crafts Fair the last Saturday of July. Both shows are juried, and attract many locals and tourists with high quality and diverse works offered by artisans from the region and across the nation.

The purpose of the Art Club is to stimulate and encourage the creation, study and presentation of the performing and creative arts, to encourage public interest in the cultural heritage of the area, and to encourage freedom of artistic expression. To these ends, the Art Club has served as an incubator, sponsor and supporter of new arts organizations in its artistically vibrant hometowns. We support local cultural and educational projects benefiting the community's students and the general public of the area. The Art Club also responds to needs that the visual art programs in the Saugatuck School District may have.

Every year thousands of dollars are disbursed to local students pursuing arts education in degree-granting programs. The Art Club, in the years from 1991 to 2005, granted scholarships in the amount of over $153,000.

It is unusual for a small town to enjoy a scholarship program which is able to provide substantial support to students pursuing careers in the arts. Among former Saugatuck Douglas Art Club Scholars are many people who are successfully pursuing careers as practicing artists, performing artists, graphic artists and art educators.

The Art Club holds monthly meetings which focus on hands-on workshops, visits to galleries, and programs on local art history and local artists. The Art Club contributes substantially to community education and the cultural life of its hometowns, and it deserves your support. To learn how to become a member or to become a Friend, please click on the Membership tab. Our address is Box 176, Saugatuck MI 49453. 

We encourage you to donate to our scholarship fund, or as a memorial to friends or family.  As a 501c3 non-profit organization all contributions are tax-exempt.

For applications, rules, and maps for our two summertime art fairs in Saugatuck MI, the Waterfront Invitational Art Fair and the Village Square Arts and Crafts, click on the art fairs tab. 

We present interesting programs about the arts throughout the spring, summer and fall.  For information on these programs, which are open to the public, click on the programs tab.

We give thousands of dollars annually to local students pursuing degrees in the arts.  To learn more about them, click on the scholarships tab.