Every organization has a beginning. Artworks has several.
This fall, we’re telling that story. It’s the story of how two grassroots organizations came together with a mission and vision for their community, how the people of that community came together to support them along the way, and how Artworks, through our outstanding supporters, is working to preserve those groups’ legacy in the many seasons to come.
In these first two weeks, we’re looking back – all the way back – to the beginning.
A lot of folks in the Artworks family have heard the story before; some even watched it unfold firsthand. But all of our donors, members, artists, community partners, and friends have something in common:
You are a part of this story.
THE BEGINNING
The Mecosta County Council for the Arts (MCCA), was founded in the Summer of 1976.
That year, a handful of community members pooled their creative energies to form traveling musicals and provide a platform for local performing artists to express their creative talents.
Shortly after, in 1983, the MCCA and what was then Ferris State College awarded a grant to establish a Humanities Council for West Central Michigan (HCWCM).
The goal was to bring further awareness and understanding of the humanities to Mecosta County.
Both of these groups promoted the arts and humanities through countless projects and programs. Among them were music recitals, dance performances, poetry workshops, community plays, public art installations, and art exhibitions.
Many of their contributions are with us today. One need only pass by the Big Rapids Community Library’s statue of Anna Howard Shaw to see the mark the MCCA made on the city. Likewise, the Humanities Council’s Up & Down the River column in the Pioneer Newspaper, developed in the late 1980s, is published by Artworks to this day.
Many of their contributions are with us today. One need only pass by the Big Rapids Community Library’s statue of Anna Howard Shaw to see the mark the MCCA made on the city. Likewise, the Humanities Council’s Up & Down the River column in the Pioneer Newspaper, developed in the late 1980s, is published by Artworks to this day.
They also laid the groundwork for many of the community organizations that exist in Big Rapids today. Our friends at Stage-M, for example, formed as an outgrowth of the MCCA in 1981.
Since the beginning, community support has made it all possible.
Our predecessors recognized this: beginning in 1984, the MCCA recognized one Patron of the Arts each year who has shown exceptional dedication to the arts and humanities. That tradition lives on to the present day.
Lloyd and Renée Radell, Anna Howard Shaw, 1988
For more than two decades, these organizations proved that our community wanted the arts and humanities to thrive here. But they were still operating wherever they could find space.
Eventually, the community decided that Artworks needed something more permanent: a home of its own.
BUILDING ARTWORKS
Artworks, as a place, was created in 2000, when the MCCA opened a nonprofit art gallery in which local artists could exhibit and promote their art.
They didn’t do it alone.
Within one week, the community contributed over $10,000 to the project. Soon after, the Humanities Council joined the MCCA in using the same facility for its programs.
The benefits were immediate. Exhibitions & Programming, still a major pillar of impact at Artworks, could run for longer and occur more frequently.Local artists stepped up to share their craft through artist workshops. The gallery created a physical destination for the arts and humanities in Big Rapids, and the two organizations began a history of events and programs that had been “movable feasts" in the past, but that now had a home thanks to the donors who made it happen.
Artworks at its 102 S. Michigan Avenue location, as shown on a flier for the 2002 Spring into Art event. (Image courtesy of Shirley LeRew)
The Painted Turtle Gift Shop’s mascot in front of our building today.
In 2002, Artworks moved into a portion of what was then known as the old Stage Building, one of the largest buildings in the heart of Big Rapids’ historic downtown.
Once again, Big Rapids showed up. Volunteers came together from all over Mecosta and Osceola counties to move Artworks from a smaller storefront to a prominent home for the arts and humanities.
Thirty years later, Artworks remains at 106 North Michigan Avenue.
While some things have changed, Artworks remains a place that connects artists with people who support and value their work.
Our gift shop, now titled the Painted Turtle, carries the work of hundreds of artists from across Michigan. The Painted Turtle is staffed entirely by volunteers, many of whom are those same artists, and many of whom have been with Artworks since its founding.
A WEDDING FOR THE AGES
In 2006, after a year of careful planning and reorganization, the MCCA and HCWCM got married.
We mean that literally, by the way.
Karl Linebaugh (left) and Jack Batdorff (right) pose after the symbolic wedding ceremony that united their organizations as MOCHA.
On June 17th, 2005, Artworks hosted an at once serious and hilarious wedding ceremony between the organizations. Jack Batdorff (after whom the Batdorff Gallery is named) represented the Art Council, while Karl Linebaugh represented the Humanities Council.
The two read vows before a crowd of witnesses, and the organizations, now married, took a new last name: The Mecosta-Osceola Council for the Humanities and Arts, or MOCHA.
Shortly after, MOCHA purchased our building in its entirety. We’ve been adding to it ever since; through decades of renovations and enhancements, our building continues to grow, change, and endure from the support of generations of community members whose love for the arts and humanities continue to make Mecosta County the vibrant place it is today.
In 2007, Artworks went from being MOCHA’s project to its identity. Artworks became its sole moniker – one that represents not only the paintings and sculptures in our exhibition space, but all of the arts and humanities, from music, literature, stage plays, and any other form a work of art may take.
ARTWORKS: HERE TO STAY
After becoming simply "Artworks" in 2007, the organization entered a new chapter.
Over the years that followed, Artworks welcomed new leaders, artists, volunteers, audiences, and programs. The particular exhibitions, classes, performances, and community events changed from season to season, but the purpose remained remarkably consistent: to give the arts and humanities a home in Mecosta and Osceola counties.
As Artworks grew, so did the community's investment in making sure it would be here for the long haul.
In 2019, Jack and Susan Batdorff, longtime friends and leaders of Artworks, provided one of the most powerful acts of public support in Artworks history: the full payment of Artworks’ remaining building mortgage. The Batdorff Gallery, the largest and most central of Artworks’ gallery spaces, is named in their honor.
“Jack Batdorff (1937-2020) was an avid writer, adventurer, philanthropist, collector, and photographer. He was a friend to all, but especially to the creative community which he deeply supported.”
— Plaque located in Artworks’ North entrance
The Batdorffs’ gift allowed Artworks to invest more than ever into programs and events that bring the arts and humanities to our community.
And the community kept building from there.
In 2024, Artworks kept looking ahead. The board met to create a new strategic plan geared toward achieving the growth and sustainability to keep the arts and humanities thriving in Mecosta and Osceola counties.
Part of that plan was the creation of an endowment. In 2025, when Artworks recognized twenty-five years of celebrating the arts and humanities in our region, our community supported us with a contribution of $25,000. (We only asked for $20,000 that year.)
Big Rapids-based duo High Strung Steel prepares to take the stage at Artworks’ inaugural Artstock music festival.
When Artworks introduced a new kind of fundraiser, the community showed up once again. In 2026 - just last summer - two more friends of Artworks, Carlleen and Brian Rose, lent their property to hold a one-of-a-kind fundraising event and music festival titled Artstock. The event raised funds across all of Artworks’ programs, all while doing exactly what Artworks is meant to do: spotlight the work of local artists.
The Roses’ gift to Artworks is the latest in a long, continued investment from our community. That investment has declared what more than forty years of continued support from our Patrons of the Arts, artists, community partners, and friends have shown:
Artworks is here to stay, and we’re here to continue creating memories for the people of this community.
ONE ENDURING LEGACY
Today, Artworks carries our forty-year history forward through four pillars of impact: Exhibitions & Programming, Children’s Programming, Scholarships & Outreach, and Building Enhancements. Each of these represents a different way our community comes together to make the arts and humanities part of life in Mecosta and Osceola counties.
But beneath all of them is the same thing that has sustained Artworks from the beginning: people who believe this work is worth continuing.
That's why our community helped establish the Artworks Endowment. Today, it has grown to $56,000 with a goal of reaching $100,000 by 2028. The endowment is one way we're making sure the institution generations of artists, volunteers, donors, and community members have built together can continue for generations to come.
Now, it's our turn to write the next chapter.
