Milwaukee Art Museum Blog

Garden Club’s 100th Anniversary

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date May 5, 2021
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Woman reaching out her hand to touch a floral arrangement

This year, 2021, marks a century-long relationship between the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Garden Club support group. Both the Museum and its support groups have weathered many storms together over these past one hundred years, most recently the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the Garden Club expertly shifted to virtual programming and connections with their members. To help the Museum celebrate this history, Char Schulze, Garden Club president, has agreed to share her thoughts on the Garden Club’s past, present, and future. —Courtney Kihslinger, director of stewardship and events

Art News

Staff Profile: Kantara Souffrant and Robert Stein in Conversation

Post author By Elisabeth Gasparka
Post date April 13, 2021
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Kantara Souffrant and Robert Stein are two new senior leaders at the Museum as of January 2021. The positions that Souffrant and Stein were hired to fill, Curator of Community Dialogue and Deputy Director/Chief Experience Officer, respectively, are integral to the Museum’s Strategic Direction, which, in short, outlines the work the Museum is committed to doing to ensure that everyone in the community feels welcome. Souffrant and Stein recently connected over Zoom to discuss their roles in designing experiences that not only connect people to the art and each other, but also unfold across the galleries, online at home, and out in our neighborhoods.

Art

The Local Press That Produced the Museum’s Member Tote Bag

Post author By Elisabeth Gasparka
Post date March 10, 2021
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Orange canvas tote bag with a yellow floral design made out of the Museum wings

Each year, the Museum produces a gift exclusively for Members who renew early, in response to the first notice that their membership is about to expire. In 2020, we worked with Orchard Street Press, in St. Francis, to produce a distinct Member tote bag. The bag features an original design by Alison Kleiman, design and brand lead at the Museum, that is a playful abstraction of the Museum’s Burke Brise Soliel, affectionately known as the “wings.”

Art Art News Education Exhibitions

“The Art of Now” on View in the 2021 Scholastic Art Awards: Wisconsin Exhibition

Post author By Amy Kirschke
Post date February 10, 2021
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Young woman looking at the screen with stick people drawings in the background holding hands — Victoria Fernandez, “We All Hold Hands,” 2020 (detail). Acrylic and watercolor. National American Visions Award and Gold Medal in Painting. Grade 12, Pius XI Catholic High, Milwaukee, Cathy Burnett, instructor.

This year marks the 45th year the Milwaukee Art Museum has hosted the Scholastic Art Awards: Wisconsin Exhibition, celebrating the artistic talent of students in grades 7–12 from across our state. Unlike in years past, the exhibition is entirely virtual, with more than two hundred works available for viewing through March 21, 2021.

Selecting the works to include in the annual Scholastic exhibition is a challenge in normal times. When twenty-nine arts professionals from across Milwaukee’s creative community gathered online in early January to judge the over 1,800 art submissions, they all agreed this exhibition of next-generation art felt more essential than ever.

Art Education Studio at Home

Snow + Art = Perfect Wintry Mix!

Post author By Brett Henzig
Post date January 21, 2021
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Young man out in the snow holding a small shovel

One of the best parts of living in Wisconsin for many is the snowy winters. While the joy of snow days might not be the same for adults as for kids, the fun of making snow angels or the thrill of throwing a snowball never fades. I remember spending hours digging tunnels through snow drifts that couldn’t possibly have been as tall in life as they exist in my memory. I wouldn’t come inside until my masterpiece was finished . . . or my toes were numb.

As we settle into this cold winter, there are two things that can help us thrive: art and the great outdoors. That’s why the Kohl’s Art Studio is teaming up with the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) to encourage everyone to bundle up and get creative together—outside!