CCCAC STAFF
Cynthia Coté, Executive Director
Cynthia Coté is the founding director of the Community Arts Center. Though her primary duties revolve around management and community outreach, she is passionate about supporting and encouraging artists in their work. Everything she knows about running the Arts Center she learned on the job - except her humility and sense of humor which comes from being at the tail end of a long line of siblings.
She was magnetically drawn to the place of her roots in the fall of 1992 and couldn’t find any reason to leave. So she spent all the money she had on an abandoned mine house in Osceola Location and continues to make it home. She acknowledges the conscious effort required to balance her administrative work and her art practice. She actively shows in group and solo exhibitions and creates temporary site specific installations with her book constructions, color pencil drawings, and collected curiosities.
She was magnetically drawn to the place of her roots in the fall of 1992 and couldn’t find any reason to leave. So she spent all the money she had on an abandoned mine house in Osceola Location and continues to make it home. She acknowledges the conscious effort required to balance her administrative work and her art practice. She actively shows in group and solo exhibitions and creates temporary site specific installations with her book constructions, color pencil drawings, and collected curiosities.
Bonnie Loukus, Assistant Director
Bonnie Loukus has worked at the Copper Country Community Arts Center since 2002. Bonnie coordinates our educational programs and fundraising events, maintains our social media, press releases, and website. She also curates the Youth Gallery, manages our volunteer program, is responsible for graphic design materials, and assists with all other manner of odds and ends of running an Arts Center.
As an artist, Bonnie is a trained oil painter, practicing printmaking and book arts. She has a humanities degree from Michigan Technological University and a BA Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Degree from Finlandia University. In 2019 she and letterpress printer Daniel Schneider were awarded a three-month international artist's residency at TYPA, the Estonian Print and Paper Museum in Tartu, Estonia.
As an artist, Bonnie is a trained oil painter, practicing printmaking and book arts. She has a humanities degree from Michigan Technological University and a BA Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Degree from Finlandia University. In 2019 she and letterpress printer Daniel Schneider were awarded a three-month international artist's residency at TYPA, the Estonian Print and Paper Museum in Tartu, Estonia.
Daniel Schneider, Letterpress Printer
Daniel Schneider is our letterpress printer in residence. He teaches classes, conducts demonstrations, talks, and prints fundraising items for the CCCAC. He has done a lot of heavy lifting to help set up our letterpress studio. Daniel earned a Bachelor's degree in journalism from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI and a Masters in Industrial Archaeology from Michigan Technological University.
You can view Daniel's research work, prints, and fine press books on his website Industrial Rust.
You can view Daniel's research work, prints, and fine press books on his website Industrial Rust.
CCCAC Board of Directors
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After a lifetime out West, John Arnold’s interests in historic preservation and the design of sustainable and meaningful built environments led him to Michigan Tech to study the use and reuse of the Keweenaw’s living postindustrial landscape, and, like many before him, decided to stick around. John is an architect with UP Engineers & Architects in Houghton.
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Ellen R Campbell is CEO of NECi (nitrate.com) and Silver Bear, Inc, applying the power of biotechnology to environmental challenges. She has been Treasurer of Lake Linden's Downtown Development Authority for a number of years, demonstrating her fascination with economic development. Ellen views a vibrant arts infrastructure as basic to quality of life for all communities.
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Stephanie Carpenter is a fiction-writer and a senior lecturer in creative writing and literature at Michigan Tech University. Since moving to the Keweenaw in 2013, she’s been a frequent student at the CCCAC, where she enjoys experimenting with new art forms like letterpress and basket-making. She joined the board in Spring 2018, bringing her communication skills to the team.
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Annelise Doll, Hancock native and librarian at Michigan Tech, puts her love of the Copper Country and her organizational skills to use helping with various projects and events at the CCCAC. In her spare time, Annelise can be found rehearsing or performing with 47 North, a local fusion belly dance troupe. Annelise has been a board member since 2017 and fondly remembers taking class at the art center as a child back in the 90's.
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Terry Monson is a retired economist, who has taught at Michigan Tech and Finlandia University, and has lived in the Copper Country since 1977. He serves as the CCCAC’s Treasurer and has been a Board member since 2011. As an economist, he is a ‘numbers’ person and quite aware that his comparative advantage is not art. So he contributes through formulating budgets and monitoring the CCCAC’s finances, which allows his talented artist friends to specialize in their creative work rather than crunching numbers.
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Allison Neely is a native of Minnesota and one of the archivists on staff at the Michigan Tech Archives. She has served as the volunteer coordinator for the 41 North Film Festival since 2016. Outside of work you can find her instructing Zumba fitness classes at the Michigan Tech Student Development Complex. Allison is a new member of the CCCAC and excited to bring her love of the arts and experience in volunteer and event planning management to the team.
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Kris Raisanen Schourek was a high school biology and art teacher for 40 years, as well as a photographer. As a working artist and an art teacher, she was familiar with the CCCAC for many years prior to joining the Board. She has been a member and the secretary for over 15 years. She brings leadership and public relations experience to the board. Her love of writing is reflected in the minutes she composes, and her love of cooking and baking is frequently shared at CCCAC events.
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Interested in joining the board? Expand your skills, share your strengths, and be an ambassador for the arts by joining the CCCAC Board of Directors. We seek a diverse group of positive-minded volunteers and encourage young people to apply. This is an active board, participating in Kerredge Gallery openings, fundraisers, events, and special projects. Anyone interested in finding out more is welcome to contact board member Annelise Doll at annelisedoll@gmail.com.
Applications are reviewed by current board members, and prospective members are invited to attend a board meeting.
Applications are reviewed by current board members, and prospective members are invited to attend a board meeting.
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Front Desk
Freddie is in charge of front end operations at the CCCAC. He greets all visitors, has extensive knowledge of where to strategically lay in order to provide the best customer service, and knows which local artists give the best pets. |
