Art in Wisconsin: A Guide for Collectors, Curators and the Curious (Digital Edition)

A Mind of Its Own

Wisconsin and the Arts

"One can get a grasp on the Badger State’s unique complexities—from its geography to its indigenous cultures, its industries to its natural resources. But the question of how the arts figure into the state’s discrete social landscape is a different story and one that I have perennially asked myself." (Michelle Grabner)

Myth and Imagination

Finding the Dark Soul of a State in Wisconsin Death Trip

"If you’ve cruised the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin from Richland Center, to Viroqua, through Mineral Point, and finally north to Jackson County, you’ve sensed the spirits conjured in Michael Lesy’s legendary 1973 book, “Wisconsin Death Trip.'”  (Shane McAdams)

What’s Wisconsin Art?

MOWA Knows

While some states have birthed distinct movements in art, such as the Hudson River School in New York or California Expressionism, Wisconsin art is lesser-known. But that’s changing, and it’s why the Museum of Wisconsin Art is having a moment. (Kristine Hansen)

No Place Like Home

The Extraordinary Surprises of Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts

"Nestled in Cedarburg, a quiet community just twenty miles north of Milwaukee, is the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts, also known as WMQFA. The museum is housed in a hundred-year-old barn and farmstead. It blends in with the surrounding homes and farms, so much so that visitors often drive right by." (Linda Marcus)

Out on the Farm

Rural Art Residencies Thrive in Wisconsin

"Nested within rustic landscapes, far from urban art centers, artist residencies thrive and survive in the rural regions of Wisconsin. In these spaces, artists develop not only their own artistic practices, but also foster relationships with agrarian traditions and local communities." (Rafael Francisco Salas)

Muscular Ideas

Milwaukee’s Commitment to Contemporary Public Art

"Public art has long been considered a civic good in Milwaukee, although Wisconsin has also always ranked at the bottom for state arts giving. The Milwaukee Arts Board has few funds for production today, but a little for conservation, so the burden for public art lays with the nonprofit and philanthropic communities." (Marilu Knode)

Factory Direct

Insider the Kohler Arts Residency

" Fifty-one years ago, Kohler Co.—the plumbing-fixture company in the quaint company town of Kohler, Wisconsin—launched a no-cost Arts/Industry residency to provide time and an ideal studio space to artists. Those selected through a juried process get nearly free rein of the factory along with technical support from the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, for a three-month stint."  (Kristine Hansen)

Art and Science and Art

The Semi-Hidden Wonders of the James Watrous Gallery

"Unknown to many of MMoCA’s out-of-state visitors is the presence of a nonprofit art gallery—in the same building that houses the museum—with an ambitious commitment to elevating Wisconsin’s contemporary artists and curators." (Vera Scekic)

Hotels for Art Lovers

"We encounter art daily, whether taking a stroll in our community, visiting an art gallery, an artist’s studio, or perhaps at a local hotel that you have heard about. By springtime, I am daydreaming of places I want to visit during the summer months. I start by looking at my calendar, then compile a list of destinations and, of course, places to stay. My selections are often defined by where art lives." (Frank Juárez)

Connective Tissue

Flexing Milwaukee’s Art Muscle

"For over a decade, until it shut down in 1997, the publication served as connective tissue between the art scenes of the city, with media, venues and practitioners placed in what the editors described as “printed proximity” to each other. The magazine’s digitized archive, in addition to being a primer on some truly fabulous 1980s Flock-of-Seagullsesque hairstyles, is a portal into Milwaukee’s recent art history, and offers perspective on how today’s art scene came out of it." (Ariel Pate)

The Art Geography of Wisconsin

"Wisconsin art is dominated by the Milwaukee metropolis in its southeast corner, and its surroundings to the south, toward Chicago, and to the north, along the coast up through the recreational hub of Door County. Nearby Madison, the state capital, brings a concentration of university and government institutions. The rest of the state, more rural in flavor, finds a peppering of art venues located in midsize cities." (Susan Aurinko/Newcity Staff)

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