Door to Creativity Campaign
Reinventing our campus for the next generation of art learners and lovers.
“Be an opener of doors.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Door County has long been seen as a haven for artists, creatives, and art appreciators. It’s been 57 years since filmmaker and artist Madeline Tripp Tourtelot, herself a student of the early art colonies on the peninsula, founded the Peninsula School of Art to establish a permanent place where artists could both create and connect with the land.
Today, PenArt is the premier Midwest destination for visual arts education, continuing to provide a dynamic and inspiring environment for artists of all ages and all skill levels from every corner of the country and beyond.
We’ve also outgrown our space. PenArt currently serves approximately 1,500 students and 10,000 annual visitors — numbers that have increased considerably since our last building project 25 years ago, when our year-round school and the Guenzel Gallery were constructed.
And, it’s not just the number of visitors and students that’s changed — art has changed, too. There are new art forms and technologies that we want to give our students the opportunity to explore.
About Door to Creativity
Our Door to Creativity (DTC) campaign is the catalyst that’s helping us expand and revitalize — for those who know PenArt today, and those who will experience us in the future. The $6.5 million dollar project gives us the opportunity to meet our community’s growing creative needs.
Here’s what the full project entails:
Expanded spaces for arts learning that meet students needs.
Spaces to serve, meet and greet our visitors and students.
Preserving and sharing our history.
Year-round arts programs for children and families.
New programs in digital arts, photography, and videography.
Connections with schools and community organizations.
DTC Campaign Status
We began the planning and fundraising for the Door to Creativity in 2018. In 2021, we began broke ground on the first phase of construction and opened the new and updated spaces by mid-June of last year.
The completed projects include:
A new adult painting and drawing studio
Four new youth studios
Completed great lawn/outdoor classroom and meeting space
Upgrades to our existing facilities — new siding, roofing, and energy-efficient doors and windows
Updates to all utilities and services
Some of the upcoming projects include:
Creation of a safe student drop-off and school bus turn-around
A second dedicated adult painting and mixed media studio
A digital arts and photography teaching studio
New administration and visitor service area
Development of a new school archive and library
Additional parking, pathways, and lighting throughout campus
Access to community partners — Gibraltar School, Door County YMCA, and downtown Fish Creek
Help Us Open More Doors to Creativity — Donate to PenArt Today!
Your donation to our Door to Creativity campaign will help us reimagine our arts education and enrichment programs at PenArt for future generations.
If you’re looking for a way to support lifelong learning and creative growth in visual arts education, we’d love to have your support as we continue to work through the second phase of this campaign, which is critical to the future of arts accessibility and programming in Door County.