SAUGATUCK, MI — When you enter the campus, it feels like trespassing. It’s not just that it’s at the top of a one-way street winding up a sand dune or that the rustic cabins are dispersed throughout century-old hemlocks and oaks. It’s not even the hand-painted signs warning of dead ends and private property.
Simply put, the grounds of Ox-Bow School of Art and Artist’s Residency have a vibe. They’re sacred grounds seasoned with secrets and ghost stories.
Walking through campus makes you feel a parent entering the last day of summer camp. You want in on the fun, but you weren’t here for the weeks of inside jokes.
On Friday, Aug. 1, Ox-Bow is inviting you in, but you have to be willing to break some rules.
Leave your serious side down at the bottom of the dune and experience Taste of Ox-Bow. This recurring series is in its fourth year of creating unique menus emulating the art school’s four pillars: environment, historic preservation, education, and community.
Tucked within Saugatuck’s Tallmadge Woods, the 115-acre campus is hidden away from nearby popular spots, like Mount Baldhead and Oval Beach.
“Taste of Ox-Bow was originally designed to be exactly what the names states, and give a taste of Ox-Bow and all that it encompasses,” said Kate Nguyen, community engagement and events manager.
“The kitchen has always been the heart of our campus and one of our most beloved studios – this event gives our guests a chance to see the pairing of food and art and how each culinary artist approaches food as a medium.”
Friday’s dinner will be an intimate affair, with the table set for 50 to 60 guests. All ages are welcome. Tickets are $100 per person. Guests will also have the opportunity to see working studios after dinner.
New York multi-disciplinary artist and visiting chef Sarah K. Williams and mixologist John Brown, who also serves as beverage manager, prepare for a Taste of Ox-Bow dinner series event at the school of art and artists’ residency’s historic campus on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com
Closing out the supper club summer schedule is “Ruin Your Dinner” by multi-disciplinary artist and guest chef Sarah K. Williams.
“‘Ruin’ is such an extreme. It’s visceral. You think of your childhood and the sort of reprimand, but I like it as an invitation or command, ‘please ruin your dinner,’” Williams said.
Daring her diners to think differently, Williams is integrating sculpture, culinary and musical art to make them question what would “ruin” their dinner.
Is a dish just too pretty to eat? Can sweets come before the main course? Does dinner need to be served and consumed in a particular order?
When describing the culinary exhibit, Williams scrolls through hundreds of test photos of food that’s been pickled, dyed, cubed and shaped.
Setting the scene for the interactive portions, she describes “plucking” and “harvesting” a salad or indulging in a soups, drinks and desserts that are “melting” and “wilting.”
New York multi-disciplinary artist and visiting chef Sarah K. Williams prepares for a Taste of Ox-Bow dinner series event at the school of art and artists’ residency’s historic campus on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com
Williams, who resides in New York and is known for her curious confections via her company Aesthetically Complex Pies, was an artist-in-residence at Ox-Bow in 2013.
Coming back to Saugatuck for the week, the campus still has “the same type of magic,” Williams said.
Her residency was all the collaboration but none of the hierarchy or hustle of grad school at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, of which Ox-Bow is affiliated.
She fondly remembers cathartic canoe paddles in the lagoon and ideas sparking around the bonfire.
For onsite mixologist and beverage manager John Brown, the Ox-Bow magic is seeing the stars blanketed overhead after so many light-polluted nights in the city. Brown came to Ox-Bow in 2020 from the Chicago hospitality industry.
The immersive artist colony has made a Michigander out of him. He now resides in Grand Rapids.
New York multi-disciplinary artist and visiting chef Sarah K. Williams, left, and mixologist John Brown, who also serves as beverage manager, prepare for a Taste of Ox-Bow dinner series event at the school of art and artists’ residency’s historic campus on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.c
With the stress, competition and politics of Chicago fine dining left behind, Brown refocused on the location. West Michigan’s agricultural landscape puts Brown within reach of fresh produce throughout the seasons.
“On the culinary side, not only is this beautiful but if I need some berries in season, let me just walk up the block,” he said. “That access, that playground, has been the enchantment for me.”
The art and antique scene add to the allure. Brown jokes that if there’s a vintage haunt or estate sale within a 50-mile radius, he’s there and he’s leaving with the silverware, glassware and the largest punch bowl for sale.
The Ox-Bow campus itself is a wealth of decor. A quick stroll takes you between print, metal, glass and ceramic studios in full swing.
Artists take a glass blowing class at Ox-Bow on the school of art and artists’ residency’s historic campus in Saugatuck on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com
Saugatuck’s unique mix of funky artists and beach tourists is exactly who Williams and Brown hope to find at the table.
“One of the beauties of working in food versus visual art is that you do have direct contact with your audience,” Williams said. “You’re so isolated in the studio. In food you’re engaging directly with the diners and suggesting they ruin it. I would love to see the thought process of how you approach the ruin.”
While Williams didn’t reveal the whole menu, she said she’s inspired by her southern Virginian grandmother. It’s less about the recipes left behind, and more about the sense of whimsy you find in grandma’s cooking.
Friday’s meal will marry southern staples with artistic rebellion. Messy eaters welcome.
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Dining and Cooking