Selective Focus: Art on the Planet

Art on the Planet is a relatively new gallery on Tower Avenue in Superior, offering an eclectic collection of local artists as well as a number of classes. Managers Nancy and Kat fill us in on how they got to their current location, and what they hope to create in that space.

AOTP: “Art on the Planet” is managed by Nancy Senn of Superior Candles and Kat Senn of katsingerArt and we assumed management of the shop when Twin Ports Stage announced intentions to close “Art on the Plaza” (which was a project of the John D. Munsell Legacy Fund), initiated in October of 2015 and formerly located in the Belknap Plaza of Superior.

With much assistance and sage advice from Lindsey Jacobson and Jodi Rochon of the Superior Business Improvement District we found our best path forward through a new location at 1413 Tower Avenue in a building owned by Kim Moen and occupied in part by her make-and-take shop, Wine Beginnings. With a grant from the Superior Business Improvement district for signage, we re-opened in our new location as Art on the Planet on Nov. 1, 2016.

Art on the Planet is an art and artisan consignment market hosting the work of over 115 local artists. We like to think of the shop as a place “Where FINE art meets FUN art!” offering fine ceramics, oil and acrylic paintings, photography, jewelry, pyrography, and textiles alongside fun and quirky re-visioned furnishings, hand-screened kitchen towels, mixed media artworks, home decor, and bath and body products.

Art on the Planet specializes on the work of local/regional artists and artisans, and we are always accepting new artists whose work is handcrafted and fits well with our local/regional focus.

Of course, the challenges of operating a retail gallery in the digital age are much the same for Art on the Planet as they are for any other retail initiative, however, the uniqueness of our art and artists insulates us from the daily grind of the standard business model (ie: Buy it for a buck and sell it for three) and allows us to highlight the training and technique that brings added value to the delightfully different fare that can be found here. Our greatest intrinsic reward is managing a marketplace where the stunning creativity of the Northland can be fully appreciated and the enthusiastic response we have enjoyed from our customers assures us that we are on the right track!

But it isn’t just our customers appreciation of completed art and artisan work that makes Art on the Planet such an enjoyable adventure, it’s also the variety of personal enrichment experiences we have been able to offer through a partnership with Artist in Residence Scott Checkalski who provides arts instruction in a variety of visual mediums to individuals, private groups and parties, and public classes offered here at the shop as well as a walk-in opportunity to experience the Art of Tarot through a professional tarot read on any “Tarot Tuesday.” It is our hope to expand these personal enrichment opportunities as the necessary remodeling of the classroom areas of the building continues.

In fact, Mr. Checkalski’s influence has been so well-received that we have been inspired to schedule our first private art exhibit featuring Scott Checkalski acrylic paintings in a show entitled “Hallway Dreams” set to open June 5.


You will find examples of the many artists marketing their work through Art on the Planet at artontheplanet.weebly.com and a full calendar of events at Art on the Planet is listed on facebook.com/pg/artontheplanet/events.


Of course, Art on the Planet is only one of many visual arts-related resurgences percolating on this side of the bay and you will find new artistic developments and initiatives through the Superior Council for the Arts (info @ superiorcfta.org) , Shannon’s Stained Glassery (shannonsstainedglassery @ gmail.com), and Twin Ports Stage, as well as the ever-present arts promotions provided through Andrew Perfetti of Goin’ Postal (superior @ goinpostal.com).

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