Projects
Need Some Community?
Since 2017, SAGE has operated as a space for like-minded individuals to come together and feel like they’re a part of something. And while over the years “like-minded” has defaulted to “creative individuals”, let’s define what that REALLY means for us…
SAGE actually began when two small business makers mentioned within their daily messenger conversation that we needed to be able to be there for others. Not artists, not craft show entrepreneurs, not musicians, writers, teachers, talented kids…nothing that specific. JUST HUMANS IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO MIGHT NEED US.
We choose to express ourselves through art and creating with our hands and minds. We choose to express who we are through the physical adaptation of our deepest emotions and passions. And we choose to take our own abilities and experiences and share them with anyone who needs the hand up.
Hear us: ANYONE
We realize these days it’s not just about the art. It’s about walking through our doors and giving your mental health the boost it needs to be present in your community. Loneliness shaves 15 years off life expectancy…we’re working to combat that.
Explore SAGE’s Current Projects
SAGE has always felt the need to have a presence within the community. In 2021, after bouncing around for several years, our organization finally landed in downtown Green Bay. It was important to us that we be accessible by walking or bus lines, as well as foster a space of authenticity and comfort. A “walk right in” space wasn’t going to work for us; we needed a safe space for anyone wanting to join us. By opening our doors with the simple statement, “Just come hang out”, we’ve created a space that’s about more than art…
…it’s about feeling welcome and valued.
Introducing SAGE’s “Social Prescription Calendar”, a collection of Brown County area arts and culture events that are FREE to participants and attendees.
In the summer of 2024, SAGE began researching the concept of Social Prescribing, collecting studies and reading our way through a pile of books that highlight the importance of social infrastructure in order to build social capital and all for the sake of living in a thriving, supportive community. We called on some of our best collaborators to oversee two of the necessary three roles in Social Prescribing- Link Workers and Community Organizations (many of these orgs are both!). In late January of 2025 we gathered and SAGE gave a presentation on the collaborative proposal. Thus, the Social Prescription Calendar made its way to existence, and we greatly look forward to being present for our community members and their mental health as we collectively address this epidemic of isolation and loneliness.
8 Artists…
8 Organizations…
1 Night for a Chance to WIN 12 Art Classes…
As our bi-annual fundraiser, SAGE hosts the “Social Prescribing Showdown”, a night to cheer on some of our favorite artists and impactful organizations as they team up for three rounds of exhilarating competition.
Round One: 8 Organizations are randomly paired with one of 8 area artists. This round, in two parts, challenges the organization members to complete an unfinished art piece belonging to their artist team member. Audience members act as judges to advance the top 4 art pieces.
Round Two: The top 4 teams from Round One advance to have random art
supplies dumped out at their workstations. Teams had 3 minutes to come up with a plan, then 20 minutes to create a piece of art from what they’d been given. Once again, the audience votes, and the top 2 teams advance to the FINAL ROUND.
Round Three: Art Trivia! The top two teams challenged their brains on what they know about all things arts and culture. For the final round teams got one more opportunity to add a team member. Art Trivia determines the WINNER of the Social Prescribing Showdown. Who will it be this year?
We used to refer to Open Studio as “Creative Community”, but after a bit of trial and error, we found it was too specific to expect folks to show up and make. Maybe you wanna chat about your creative business, maybe you want to bring in your latest piece for a peer critique. Wanna make use of the art supplies we have…heck yes. Honestly, Open Studio has been home to it all, and, most importantly, its been a space where people can feel encouraged to create, encouraged to share, and supported every step of the way.
Open Studio is held the 1st Tuesday of every month from 530-730p in Pulaski and the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 530-730pm inside the Neville Public Museum. We’re up for whatever…from art to advocacy to social justice and true expression.
You just gotta step through the door…anything can happen in the presence of creative energy.
In the winter of 2022, SAGE began testing a collaborative effort with local service-oriented non-profits and artists serving as mentors to their guests. We began with programming at the Micah Center for St. John’s Ministries and Safe Shelter at Oneida. During these sessions, the artist functions as a “creative mentor”, assisting with each participant answering the questions
“What is it you want to say?”…and…
“How do you want to say it?”
In the fall of 2022, SAGE received a grant to begin work on developing formal training for more artists to serve as mentors. In 2023 we trained our first artist mentor within programming with CASA Alba Melanie. SAGE went on to host Creatively Engaged Community with Aspiro in the summer of 2023 and in 2025 we returned to Aspiro with this program while also working with Golden House, ADRC of Brown County, and Oneida thanks to additional grant funding for our program.
Since 2023, SAGE has partnered with the Brown County Library to host the “Green Bay Zine Spectacular”. An event that showcases area talent and their self-published works, the Green Bay Zine Spectacular honors the city’s epicpunk scene and the right to self-expression. Shop from vendors, then spend time in our zine-making station creating your own single-page works for your own self-expression. We’ll show you the classic zine fold, provide all the supplies, and even give you access to a copy machine to share your completed masterpiece.
The Green Bay Zine Spectacular is the first Saturday in August at the Brown County Library Central Branch.
After nearly a decade hosting a monthly program encouraging people to make art through Open Studio, SAGE has an abundance of qualitative data in the form of personal stories to prove the impact of low-pressure, no cost engagement in the arts. The sense of purpose our artists feel in facilitating these activities only drives our mission statement to advocate for increased opportunities for more local artists to feel the same.
With this in mind, one of SAGE’s strategies for the next three years focuses on empowering artists through training in the field of arts in health. We did a short community needs assessment and capacity assessment of some of our local arts and culture organizations. From that, we determined that one of the greatest community needs was the empowerment of our local artists desiring to do work within the field of arts in health. In Spring of 2026, SAGE partnered with the Neville Public Museum on an initial grant application for funding towards a training model we developed from our years of experience doing the work. Our objective is to train artists located throughout Brown County so that once their training is complete, they can disperse the impact of the field into the communities they live in.
To learn more about the proposed training model or to contribute fiscally towards the work, we encourage you to reach out to us.
At SAGE, we know our efforts are only as strong as the infrastructure around us. Our work must include the community organizations around us in order to build and sustain the needed capacity to fully serve the area. Our strategies to produce successful outcomes for the whole include data collection from local participants and informing fellow organizations on how to utilize the arts and the data to facilitate additional programming and impact community well-being. To provide this, we spent six months working with a consultant to create a strong survey around social connection. We oversee the data coming in and distribute it to the locations that hosted the programming it was collected for. And we share this data and further planning conversations within our Arts in Health Coalition, formed in the fall of 2026.
We also focus on educating the community on how the arts can be utilized to better individual health, because the arts can’t meet their full potential if the impacts aren’t understood. To empower our community, we created a zine with a wealth of information on how different arts modalities positively impact both mental and physical health. We pulled research on the topic to create a better-informed community and show you the work being done nationally and internationally to emphasize that the “proof” is out there for what we’ve always known: engaging in the arts is good for our souls.
This is likely how you found us as this is where we began. In 2017, we were a small group of creatives seeking a support system. From this, we learned about each other, beyond the work, beyond the art, and into a space where shared experiences humanized our efforts to make a living out of what we love.
SAGE has long been the loudest voice for a living wage for local artists in northeast Wisconsin. We’ve taken the time to be the “boots on the ground” who go beyond the economic impact of the arts and into the nitty gritty of what it’s like to try to make it as an artist around here. Sure, we have data that helps us understand how arts and culture events impact our restaurants, hotels, and ticket sales, but HOW MUCH IS THE ARTIST MAKING? That’s the story we live to tell.
If SAGE facilitates a public art project, the dollars allocated to the artist are a living wage for the work. We pay attention to the markets, and we mandate that the artist we are working with understand their worth. Our program model showcases free participation or attendance because we fund the work on the back end or we don’t host it at all. We’ve understood for quite some time that we will not build our organizations on the backs of the individuals we wish to serve. But we will teach you what it’s like to facilitate community engagement, as we believe it’s a wonderful avenue for people to get to know you as a local artist.
With advocacy comes integrity, and we hope that after nearly 10 years in the area that you understand who SAGE is and what we stand for. We believe it’s how you as the artist should stand too…firmly in your convictions, ready with a listening ear, and determined to build a better place for everyone.
As an annual fundraiser for five years, SAGE hosted “The Toy Maker’s Fundraiser”, our ONLY large fundraiser of the year. Each November/December. 30 stuffed animals are handmade by our President and CEO, Stacey Von Busch, and distributed to 30 area artists to “make their mark”.
There are more than 200 stuffed animals out there nationwide, gracing art collections with their unique existence. We are grateful to every artist who participated over the years and the Neville Public Museum for graciously hosting an exhibit of the completed works for us each cycle. It was a great experience and vital towards the efforts needed to maintain a physical footprint in the Green Bay Area.
Public Art Consulting and Facilitation
Modern Warriors: Indigenous Art Market and Event
We’re here for you. We’re here to empower you to be you.
And we’re busting our asses to break down the gates of the current “arts scene” and hold space for an array of authentic art that’s being created from all demographics in our city.
So…need some community?
Currently, we host:
- Open Studio in Pulaski: 1st Tuesday each month
- Open Studio in Green Bay: 3rd Tuesday each month
- Free Art Exhibits: As scheduled.
- Creatively Engaged Community: Ongoing as partnerships with local non-profits.
- A Facebook group to communicate with fellow creatives: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SAGEGreenBay/
We are also honored to host Modern Warriors, a group of Indigenous Artists highlighting their work and talents while functioning as culture bearers in our community.
Need someone to run ideas by or share your art with?
Show up for Open Studio and gain a little guidance, or join our Facebook group of misfits.
Love art and a variety of voices?
We’ve got a stellar lineup that we’re constantly adding to.
Let’s build a diverse, inclusive, accessible, and incredibly COLORFUL community.