Justin Christensen-Cooper

Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan is open for self-guided tours inside the museum, and patrons can also enjoy the Poetry Walk on the museum lawn.

Besser Museum is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable environment for its visitors, staff, and volunteers. New policies and procedures, based on national, state, and local public health guidelines, have been developed and will be followed to ensure a safe and comfortable museum experience for everyone.

The following reopening guidelines are now in place:

¯ No more than 25 people in the museum at one time. To ensure 6-foot social distancing, the Besser Museum will limit admission to twenty (25) guests for a one-hour, self-guided tour. Making registrations for your visit is highly recommended. Walk-ins are welcomed only if the museum is not at the 25-person capacity for that hour.

¯ Continual cleaning and disinfecting of high traffic/high touch areas. The museum will be closed for 30 minutes between each one-hour tour to be cleaned and disinfected.

¯ Compliance with the 6-foot social distancing. Guests will be asked to follow the direction of the footprint stickers placed on the floor throughout the galleries marking a safe 6-foot social distance between visitors not from the same household.

¯ Museum staff wearing face coverings and practice good hygiene. Museum staff will be wearing face coverings according to CDC guidelines.

¯ Museum visitors will be asked to wear face coverings in accordance with the Michigan Governor Executive Order No. 2020-59 and practice good hygiene. A hand sanitizer station is available upon entry. Masks will be made available to visitors who did not bring their own. Guests are asked not to touch exhibits and artifacts.

¯ The Planetarium: Guests can expect limited capacity, shorter presentations, and a limited show schedule. The planetarium will be cleaned and sanitized between presentations. Masks will be required in the planetarium.

The Besser Museum will continually analyze, adapt, and adjust procedures as necessary to ensure safety and compliance with national, state, and local public health regulations.

To make reservations for a one-hour, self-guided museum tour, please call 989-356-2202 or email bessermuseum@bessermuesum.org.

Museum admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and $3 for children. Museum members are free but will still need to make reservations.

All guests will be asked to leave the museum on time so staff can clean and sanitize the museum before the next scheduled tour.

Self-guided one-hour museum tours are available during the following times on Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. On Sunday, tours are offered at noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

The Besser Museum appreciates all its patrons for helping keep museum staff and visitors safe.

Christensen-Cooper named 2020 Juror

Justin Christensen-Cooper, executive director at Art in the Loft, will be the 2020 juror for Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan’s Juried Art Exhibition. Entries will be accepted Oct. 12-19, and the opening reception will be from 2 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 1. The show will run through Dec. 31.

Christensen-Cooper graduated with honors from Michigan State University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Art Education for kindergarten through 12th grade. He previously taught sixth through eighth grade art at Prairie Middle School in Aurora, Colorado, which is Colorado’s largest middle school.

In addition to teaching, Christensen-Cooper is a practicing artist with a focus on ceramics and printmaking. He has led large-scale art exhibits and fine arts events throughout Denver, Colorado during his seven years of living there. Christensen-Cooper has been the gallery coordinator at Art in the Loft since February 2013 and executive director since 2016. He oversees all gallery operations, educational programming, artists and inventory, coordinating of gallery events and programming, along with increasing community involvement through memberships and sponsorships.

He is a native of Alpena and now raises his four children with wife Mary by his side.

Submission details

This competition is open to all Michigan artists 18 or older. Entries can be in any medium, and all entries must be original works of the artist’s own creation, and have been completed in the last five years. All artwork must be framed or mounted and ready to exhibit.

Each artist may submit up to three entries for a single nonrefundable fee of:

$15 for Besser Museum members, or $25 for non-members.

Artists can choose from one of two different options to enter artwork:

¯ Bring artwork, entry fee, completed entry form, jury notification form, and self-addressed stamped envelope to the Besser Museum. All pieces must have an Identification Form attached.

¯ Email completed entry form, along with high quality photos of artwork to JuriedArt@bessermuseum.org. You can submit payment through PayPal, with credit card by calling the museum at 989-356-2202, or by mailing a check to Besser Museum at 491 Johnson St., Alpena, MI 49707.

Entry fees must be received for artwork to be juried.

Artwork must be able to enter the building through 4′ x 8′ doors if accepted.

Entries must be submitted Oct. 12 to 19. Selection will take place Oct. 20 to 24. Non-selected work must be picked up Oct. 25 to 31. All artwork must be picked up Jan. 2 to 8.

Awards

The first-place winner will receive $300 plus a solo exhibition in 2021.

The second-place winner will receive $200, and the third-place winner will receive $100. Honorable mention awards will also be given. All awards will be presented the night of the opening reception.

The first-place and second-place awards are sponsored by the Lucas & Janet Pfeiffenberger Fund, which underwrites the juried art exhibition. The third-place award is sponsored by the Northeast Michigan Artists Guild.

For more information, visit bessermuseum.org.