Milwaukee Art Museum BlogLakefront Festival of Art is turning 60—and it’s never looked better.
As Milwaukee’s signature summer celebration of creativity, Lakefront Festival of Art has long been where art lovers, families, and festivalgoers come together to enjoy art, community, culture, and our city’s unbeatable lakefront views. To mark the festival’s 60th year, the Milwaukee Art Museum is unveiling a fresh new look for LFOA—one that honors its legacy while turning up the energy.
For more than two years, the conservation team at the Milwaukee Art Museum has been collaborating with other experts to conserve Robert Gober’s Untitled installation so it can return to the galleries and again immerse viewers in an animated, watery scene, as the artist originally intended. When visitors peer inside the suitcase, they often think the watery tableau is created by a screen. The truth is much more exciting! What you see is a sculpted pool filled with gently lapping water, silicone seaweed, and wax limbs. But this installation, like all artwork, is not inert. Gober made the work in 1997, and over the course of 26 years, mechanical elements became worn and algae grew.
Spoiler alert: Visitors who come to the Museum for the exhibition Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980 will find a Volvo in the galleries. Dedicated to the extensive cultural exchange between Scandinavia and the U.S. in the 20th century, the exhibition presents the Volvo and its innovative seatbelts as examples of design for social change.
We at the Milwaukee Art Museum were deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Isabel Bader, a loss that is greatly felt within our Museum family. A longtime patron and friend of the Museum, Isabel was known for her remarkable passion and steadfast commitment to the arts, which had a profound impact on our institution and our community. For decades the Museum has benefited from the boundless generosity and invaluable support of Isabel, her late husband Dr. Alfred Bader, and the Bader Family’s charitable foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Inc.
True or false: the Museum’s collection galleries always stay the same?
The Milwaukee Art Museum is thrilled to announce our very own Marcelle Polednik, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director, has been honored with a Milwaukee Business Journal Women of Influence Award for her significant contributions to the arts and our community.
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
Nolan Busalacchi, Black Lives Matter. Silver Key. Grade 12, Whitefish Bay High School, Tanner Teipel, instructor
Taylor Gilbert, Examination of Architecture Elements. Silver Key. Grade 12, Oak Creek High School, Laura Dorow, instructor
Juanqi Hu, A Peaceful Isolation. Gold Key. Grade 12, Pius XI Catholic High School, Cathy Burnett and Pat Frederick, instructors
Hailey MacKenzie, The destruction of identity. Gold Key. Grade 12, D C Everest Senior High School, Melissa Clay Reissmann, instructor
Karina Rodriguez, “Defend the Oppressed”. Gold Key. Grade 12, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor
Hiwot Schutz, Identity. Gold Key and Docent Class of 2017 Award. Grade 12, Shorewood High School, Jessica Mohagen, instructor
Heidi Spalitta, How We See Each Other. Silver Key. Grade 12, Middleton High School, Peter Ludt, instructor
Grace Umek, Self-Obsessed. Silver Key. Grade 12, Pius XI Catholic High School, Will Swenson, instructor
Hope Christiansen, Untitled–Ceramic Sculpture–A Stack of Three. Silver Key. Grade 12, Port Washington High School, Michael Styles, instructor
Sydnie Dehne, “Stretch”. Silver Key. Grade 10, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor
Mackenzie Finger, Pouring Hope. Gold Key and Peter and Debra Johnson Award. Grade 12, Southern Door High School, John McCaulley, instructor
Sky Greer, Covid Time Capsule. Gold Key and Alice Steuck Konkel Award. Grade 9, Wauwatosa West High School, Andrea Skyberg, instructor
Alexandra Heller, In The Backyard. Silver Key. Grade 12, Wauwatosa East High School, Kelly Frederick Mizer, instructor
Daniel Novacek, Scraper Retariat. Silver Key. Grade 12, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Janet Bruhn, instructor
Aine Rogers, Cherry Pie. Gold Key. Grade 12, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Janet Bruhn, instructor
Mira Santo Tomas, “Flying Bowl”. Silver Key. Grade 9, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor
Sara Staples, Tortured Turtle. Silver Key. Grade 8, University School of Milwaukee, Sarah Markwald, instructor
Sarah von der Ruhr, The Hollow of Man. Silver Key. Grade 11, De Pere High School, Ashley Koehler, instructor
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1. Megan Hedtke, The View From The Greenhouse. Gold Key. Grade 12, Brookfield Central High School, Sarah Scott, instructor
2. Karina Rodriguez, “Somos Millones”. Silver Key. Grade 12, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor
3. Amalia Seeger, “Roma”. Silver Key. Grade 12, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor
4. Katherine Shalyaev, “Le Consulat”. Silver Key. Grade 11, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor
5. Anneke Zaiser, “NYC Pizza”. Gold Key. Grade 11, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor
6. Thomas Elfelt, “My Space”. Gold Key. Grade 11, Brookfield Academy–Upper School, Elaine Buckley, instructor