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Ludington Offers Artists Opportunity ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - The town of Ludington is located along the Lake Michigan shoreline, about an hour north of Muskegon. Like a lot of Michigan towns, Ludington is trying to make the transition from being a manufacturing town to a tourist destination. They've got beaches, a lighthouse, and a state park. But they don't have a whole lot of arts. But the town is trying to change that.

Class is about to start, so Pat Munsell grabs a table at the back of the classroom and sets up her watercolors, her paint brushes, her canvas. Today's lesson is portraits. "We did the faces up to this point, and now we're going to learn how to feather in the hair and make it look good," says Munsell.

Munsell taken every class she can at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts ever since it opened in September 2008.

"They were struggling to get this started, and it took a lot of work," says Munsell. "And I waited a long time for them to get enough so they can start some classes, and it's made a big difference in my life, I really enjoy being a part of this."

Munsell's not the only one who appreciates having an art center in town. Terry Murphy is the Center's executive director. She says a couple from Chicago decided to retire in Ludington partly because they heard there was a Center for the Arts in the works.

"And that was really striking to me and gratifying to hear that the the level of arts and culture in a community is really important and that can make the difference in their lifestyle choice. So I think there are a lot of different segments of the community that are starting to look at that and promote it in terms of arts and cultural tourism."

Now, as far as tourism goes, a woman I met who was visiting for the weekend said it's got a long way to go. Ludington doesn't look like your typical lake town. Sure, you'll find a couple ice cream parlors and antique stores, but you'll also find a Moose Lodge, an Elks Lodge, and lots of consignment stores advertising bargain basement prices.

But Amanda St. Hilaire says that's partly why she and her husband, Nathan, decided to move to Ludington 10 years ago. I caught up with St. Hilaire at her studio, where she was wearing a smock covered in dust and paint.

10 years ago, they were looking for a place to open their very own art gallery. They started by checking out well-known art meccas like Saugatuck, Traverse City, and Ashville, North Carolina.

"But basically it came down to affordability," explains St. Hilaire. "To be part of those other competing markets would have been a lot larger of a start up cost for us and we just couldn't afford to be part of those markets."

They met a real estate developer in Ludington who offered them the entire first floor of a downtown building. And for rent they'd be charged a percentage of their sales.

They were sold. They opened up their store, the Red Door Gallery, a few months later.

Now, St. Helier knows Ludington isn't nearly as big as Traverse City, and it isn't as close to the Chicago art scene as Sauguatuck is, but "is it capable of blossoming into an art mecca? It absolutely it," declares St. Helaire. "And I pay homage to the year-long community. The community is welcoming and they've got their arms open and they're cheering us on."

The community also cheered on Lars Kvalvaag. Like a lot of 27 year olds, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, so last November he decided to open a coffee shop and live music venue called Redolencia.

"Literally on a shoestring, we did not have a good business plan or anything like that. But we've had so much help from the community. Our plumbers, electricians, just met us since we opened and been willing to barter and trade."

So if you're an artist, and you're looking for a town with little to no competition, cheap rents and bartering, Kvalvaag says if you've got an idea for a business there are "8 or 9 empty buildings on the main drag right now." © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio