Besser Museum
is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization.
The Besser Museum is a 501 (c)(3), non-profit, membership corporation stewarded by its own Board of Trustees.
The museum receives no continuing financial support from federal, state, or local government entities or millage.
Operational support is generated through admission fees, membership dues, awarded grants and donations.
Besser Museum is an accrediated museum by the American Alliance of Museums.
Our vision is a community that can explore the dynamic story of Northeast Michigan's interconnected natural resources and cultural heritage
through the ability to navigate the past, illuminate the present, and imagine the future.
Kaleidoscopes
Paper Cut Designs by Shirley Ritzler
January 26, 2020 - October 30, 2020
The family of the late local artist, Shirley Ritzler has granted special permission to the Besser Museum to make prints from scanned negatives of Shirley’s twenty paper-cut designs for exhibition. Inspired by the decorative architectural elements of the older homes and public buildings in Alpena, Ritzler produced a series of twenty paper-cut designs. Her worked spanned a four-year period from 1978 through 1982. These works were on exhibit at the Besser Museum in 1982. Ritzler also compiled her works into a book titled Kaleidoscopes. The paper-cut design shown below was inspired by architectural details found on the home located at 303 State Street in Alpena. Ritlzer’s collection will be on exhibit January 26th through October 31st.
