This summer the Milwaukee Art Museum hosted Lakeside at MAM, an opportunity to enjoy the Museum’s lawn; performances by local musicians, dancers, and poets; yoga; and art making with the Kohl’s Art Studio.
Category: Events
In the early 1950s, designers Charles and Ray Eames painstakingly arranged penny cars, pencils, pills, and papers to photograph for their House of Cards construction set. They probably never imagined that decades later, thousands of children and adults in the Milwaukee region would meticulously decorate their own House of Cards, let alone that these cards would be installed together in a towering spiral at the Milwaukee Art Museum in conjunction with the exhibition Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America.
Every year, millions of Americans make resolutions to start on New Year’s Day. The Milwaukee Art Museum always wants to inspire you, but your art museum also wants to inspire you to reach your goals this year.
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May is Member Month
Here at the Milwaukee Art Museum, our hope is that Members feel like VIPs with us all year long. We simply can’t do the work that we do in presenting exhibitions, stewarding art, and offering educational and family programming without the many thousands of individuals and families that choose to support us with membership donations each year. That being said, we know that our Members use the Museum in so many different ways—about as many different ways as there are members. Some Members never miss a Preview Celebration, when the feature exhibition is unveiled exclusively to Members with lectures, live music and a reception. Other Members plan their social calendars around the dynamic monthly MAM After Dark event. Other Members never miss the opportunity to bring an out-of-town guest to Windhover Hall and the collection galleries. Some Members are even out-of-towners themselves, and support the Museum’s mission from afar. Because we want all our Members to feel appreciated, throughout the month of May we’re offering a variety of specials and discounts available to all levels of membership. Stop by, and let us show our thanks for all that your support has made possible!
Bring a guest—for FREE!
All levels of membership are invited to bring a free guest with them during their visits in May. Bring your favorite art-viewing buddy every day if you like! Museum is not responsible for aesthetic debates that may ensue.
Enjoy Deeper Discounts in the Museum Store and all three Café locations
Members receive 20% off all purchases in the Museum store on Thursdays throughout May. The Museum Store offers an ever-changing selection of unique art objects and books, jewelry, home goods and more. Stop by and see what’s new!
Café Calatrava, the East End Wine Bar and Windhover Coffee will all be offering 20% off food and beverage to Members (with Member card) all month long! All three locations offer delicious food, paired with the most beautiful vista in city of Milwaukee. Be sure to stop by and experience the culinary stylings of our new chef, Zak Groh!
Online shoppers, take note…
All Museum store purchases made online by Members in the month of May over $25 will receive free shipping. It’s a great excuse to splurge on a mom in your life (or on yourself)!
Member Tour: Mommies and Babies: Sunday, May 14, 1pm and 3pm
The Exclusive Member Tour Series continues!
Explore the universal themes of motherhood and young life in art. The 3 p.m. tour is designed specifically for families; bring your kids in strollers and babes in arms. RSVP to membership@mam.org or 414-224-3284.
Member Lecture with Barbara Brown Lee: Treasures from Friends of Art
Tuesday, May 23, 11 am- noon.
Join Barbara Brown Lee, chief educator emerita and fifty-four-year Museum veteran, for this exclusive Member lecture about some of your favorite works at the Museum. Barbara is famous for her behind-the-scenes stories about the Museum, and will be sure to shed some sassy light on the history behind works of art including the Janitor and works by Andy Warhol and Cornelia Parker.
There are so many ways to experience your Museum this May. Check out the full scope of all the Member Month offerings, here.
We hope to see you here during Member Month!
Cheers,
-Elisabeth
Recently engaged? Looking to throw the party of a lifetime? No event venue in Milwaukee compares to the soaring architectural elegance of the Museum’s Quadracci Pavilion. Masterfully designed by the renowned architect and structural engineer Santiago Calatrava, the Pavilion’s Windhover Hall boasts breathtaking views set against Lake Michigan and Milwaukee’s cityscape.
The space acts as a quintessential backdrop to any occasion—it even made a recent date-night appearance on season 21 of ABC’s The Bachelor! Additional rental areas include a spacious auditorium, lavish boardroom suite, modern meeting space, and trendy Café. These areas work perfectly for corporate galas and meetings as well as social celebrations and gatherings.
Milwaukee Art Museum hosts premiere weddings, both ceremony and reception accommodations, including a cocktail hour with dinner and dancing for up to 400 guests. In combination with the expert assistance of a Museum Sales and Event Coordinator, the end result is truly a special and infinitely memorable experience for all.
Contact 414-224-3287 or rentals@mam.org for additional information or to schedule your consultation.
Images: Frontroom Photography
Milwaukee has earned the title “City of Festivals,” and for very good reason. If you are looking to celebrate music, art, film, cultural heritage, specific holidays or simply a love of craft beer, Milwaukee has a festival for you!
In the summer months, when Wisconsin weather is arguably most pleasant for those outdoor activities that do not require snowsuits, you might even find yourself at a different festival every weekend. The Milwaukee Art Museum itself contributes to the city’s lively “festival culture” by hosting the Lakefront Festival of Art every June.
To coincide with the height of our local festival season, I’ve selected some works from the Museum’s collection for their visual resemblance to some of Milwaukee’s most popular upcoming summer festivals. Have fun!
I recently had the privilege of visiting the home and studio of Lois Ehlert, Milwaukee’s award-winning children’s book author, along with my photographer friend Megan Yanz. Ehlert published a personal and inspiring new book in March called The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life, which you can learn more about in our previous post about our visit to Ehlert’s studio. Ehlert’s home, as you can see from Megan’s photos that accompany this post, is a welcoming gallery-like space that deserves its own story. Please enjoy this continuation of our visit to Lois Ehlert’s home and studio.
As is evident from other blog posts, as well as our partnership with the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Chipstone Foundation strongly believes in collaboration. Chipstone’s latest collaboration is with artist, teacher and native Milwaukeean Fondé Bridges.
Bridges has been an artist in residence in Milwaukee Public Schools, community centers and churches for the past 18 years. Fondé, who’s named after Milwaukee’s Fond Du Lac Avenue, has also created public art projects with students at Fond Du Lac and North, as well as Mitchell Airport.
Let’s begin with three seemingly disparate thoughts.
One: Since I started working here at the Museum as the Team Coordinator for the Kohl’s Color Wheels art education outreach program in August, I have seen over 25,000 people while out in the community. As you can imagine, the idea of the accessibility of art has definitely been on my mind.
Two: As part of the Museum community, last month, I had the chance to see two lectures in one day: one on the German potter Grete Marks, given by Mel Buchanan, the Assistant Curator of 20th Century Design at the Museum; the other about the creative process at Pixar Animation Studios, given by Dan Holland, a sketch artist there. It made my day.
Three: I also teach freshmen at MIAD. One of my classes focuses on discussing the philosophical and practical underpinnings of these young artists’ budding visual practices. The other day my students started an impromptu discussion about Felix Baumgartner jumping from the stratosphere. It was a great class.
So, where am I going with all of this? Let me explain.
Categories
What’s Up at the Museum?
The groundhog may have seen his shadow, but the Museum is jumping full steam into spring with its new exhibition, Accidental Genius: Art from the Anthony Petullo Collection.
Containing 200 works of modern and contemporary self-taught art from some of the world’s greatest self-taught artists, the exhibition has opened to rave reviews and much praise, and is on view thanks to the generosity of its collector and donor, Anthony Petullo.
To celebrate the exhibition, the Museum has a variety of programs and Gallery Talks scheduled, as well as panel discussions, dance performances, and a special MAM After Dark.