The Saugatuck Center for the Arts celebrated its fourth year partnering with Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP) at this year’s Fiesta, part of our ongoing efforts to support West Michigan community arts. Families stopped by the SCA table to create colorful layered collages inspired by Artist in Residence Jaer Medina’s exhibition, At the Edge of the Market. Drawing on pieces of tarp and transferring their designs onto tissue paper, participants explored color and layering through hands-on making.
Partnerships Rooted in West Michigan Community Arts
Since 2023, we’ve worked with LAUP to expand access to art and mental wellness programming. Throughout the year, our partnership extends beyond Fiesta through programs like ¡Adelante! and ¡Más Adelante!, where creative expression becomes another way to support wellness and build community. The SCA also connects with local high school students at LAUP’s annual Youth Career Fair.
Inspired by At the Edge of the Market
This year’s activity drew inspiration from Jaer Medina’s exhibition At the Edge of the Market. A Chicano artist and educator based in Holland, Michigan, Jaer works across collage, sculpture, photography, and community-based art. Jaer invites people to look more closely at the traditions, places, and objects that shape daily life.
His newest exhibition explores the colorful world of tianguis–traditional Mexican open-air markets. These markets have served as places of exchange, gathering, and most importantly, community for many generations. Throughout the exhibition, colorful overhead tarps become more than just shelter. Overlapping layers of texture and color help create a space where families shop, neighbors meet, and traditions continue across generations.
Creating Together
Participants began the activity by drawing directly onto small pieces of tarp using colorful tempera paint sticks. Some drew flowers, flags, patterns, and bold lines and shapes. Once they were happy with their drawing, they carefully pressed a sheet of brightly colored tissue paper over the tarp. Lifting the tissue paper away revealed a colorful print of their original drawing.
Each new layer was sealed onto a board with Mod Podge, slowly building a collage of overlapping colors and images. As more tissue paper was added, earlier drawings peeked through transparent layers, creating colorful collages built one layer at a time!
As families added layers to the collages, they witnessed how each new print changed the artwork beneath it. By the end of the afternoon, no two pieces looked the same. Throughout the activity, visitors experienced some of the same ideas explored in At the Edge of the Market– using everyday materials to create something connected to community.
Bringing exhibition-inspired activities into community spaces is one way the Saugatuck Center for the Arts continues building relationships beyond its gallery walls by supporting West Michigan community arts. Just as At the Edge of the Market celebrates exchange and gathering, LAUP Fiesta brought neighbors together to celebrate culture, creativity, and community.
