Vicki Scharfberg
414-224-3243
vicki.scharfberg@mam.org

Target Free First Thursdays coming to Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee, Wis. – August 30, 2010 – The Milwaukee Art Museum has announced a new partnership with Target® that will enrich the lives of the community through increased access to the Museum.

Target Free First Thursdays will provide free admission to all Museum visitors on the first Thursday of each month, starting September 2. The Museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum director Dan Keegan. “Thanks to this fantastic partnership with Target, even more people can visit the Museum free of charge. By offering Thursday evening hours and opening up the free admission to all Museum goers, we anticipate a very successful program. In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that the Museum’s programming surrounding the arts, culture and family literacy be as accessible to as many people as possible.”

Target Free First Thursdays is an extension of the partnership the company has with the Museum.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

This program replaces Milwaukee County Free Day on Wednesdays and applies to individual admissions only.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors and active military, and is free for members and children 12 and under.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Milwaukee, Wis. – August 25, 2010 –American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur Collection will end its highly successful run at the Milwaukee Art Museum on Monday, September 6. The popular exhibition tells of romance, religion, and politics from early American life (1760–1850) through exquisite works of hand-stitched art.

American Quilts features more than 40 exquisite quilts whose fabric, design, and stitching combine to provide an extraordinary visual experience. These works of art also present a wealth of new information about the lives of their makers and the world around them. Quilts make political statements, celebrate marriages, and document the early global textile trade. Close examination of these quilts show the frugal recycling of a pair of men’s wool breeches and the special purchase of fashionable and expensive fabrics used in their creation. The exhibition includes some of the finest and earliest American printed textiles, a quilted Indian palampore, and a kaleidoscopic sunburst quilt featuring over 6,700 pieces of printed cotton.

“American Quilts explores how quilts were made to commemorate life-changing events for individuals, families, or entire communities,” said Mel Buchanan, Mae E. Demmer Assistant Curator of 20th-century Design at the Museum. “The rare quilts on view were passed through generations and, in turn, have become beautiful repositories of history and memory that document women’s political, social, and cultural lives in the early American republic.”

The Museum is open Labor Day, Monday, September 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

EXHIBITION SPONSORS
American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur Collection is sponsored at the Milwaukee Art Museum by the Museum’s Friends of Art. The exhibition is organized by Winterthur Museum & Country Estate. The exhibition is curated by Linda Eaton of Winterthur Museum and organized at the Milwaukee Art Museum by Mel Buchanan, Liz Flaig, and Catherine Sawinski.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors and active military, and is free for Members and children 12 and under. 

Starting September 2, admission is free for all visitors to the Museum on the first Thursday of each month, sponsored by Target. Known as Target Free First Thursdays, this program replaces Milwaukee County Resident Free Day on Wednesdays and does not apply to group tours.

 
ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

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Vicki Scharfberg
414/224-3243
vicki.scharfberg@mam.org      

Contemporary Art Society’s The Art Auction Happening October 23
Silent and live auctions put over 150 items up for bid

Milwaukee, Wis. – August 17, 2010 – The Contemporary Art Society (CAS), a Milwaukee Art Museum support group, will hold its eleventh benefit auction to raise funds for the acquisition of contemporary art for the Museum’s Collection. The Art Auction is open to the public and traditionally attracts nearly four hundred Members from the Museum donor community.

The Art Auction, a black-tie fundraiser, features over 150 museum-quality works of art in a wide variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, decorative arts, and video.  Works range in price from $500 to $120,000. 

“The Museum is pleased to host the eleventh CAS benefit auction,” said Dan Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “CAS plays an integral role in promoting the appreciation and collection of contemporary art, and we are grateful for their continued support. The 2007 auction set a record high of $1 million in art sales, resulting in over $400,000 in proceeds for new works of contemporary art for the Museum’s Collection.”

Three complementary events anticipate the gala. A Preview Party on Thursday, October 14, provides an opportunity to preview the artworks for the live auction, attend an informal discussion about the pieces, and begin bidding on those “must-have” items in the silent auction. All of the art will remain on view in the Contemporary Galleries until the close of silent auction bidding, at the end of the gala. A Book Salon on Saturday, October 16, discusses Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton, and a Gallery Talk on Tuesday, October 19, is designed to offer attendees more behind-the-scenes details about contemporary art and artists in a relaxed, social setting.

The Art Auction is presented by M&I Wealth Management. M&I Wealth Management has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Milwaukee Art Museum for many years, and sponsored the Contemporary Art Society’s 10th benefit art auction in 2007.

Reservations for the gala begin at $300 per person and may be purchased online at www.mam.org or by phone at 414-224-3266. RSVP by October 7. To receive more information about the event, contact Rachel Vanderweit at 414-224-3883.
 
CAS THE ART AUCTION
Preview Party
Thurs, Oct 14, 5:30–8 p.m.

Book Salon: Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
Sat, Oct 16, 10:30 am
RSVP: amy.kirschke@mam.org or 414-224-3826. This book is available from the Museum Store.

Gallery Talk
Tues, Oct 19, 1:30–2:30 p.m.

CAS The Art Auction
Saturday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m.

ABOUT CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY
The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is one of several support groups at the Milwaukee Art Museum. CAS focuses on the art of today and offers its members unique opportunities to attend private lectures, visit exclusive collections, and meet with artists in their studios. CAS also contributes to Museum acquisitions of contemporary art; CAS-supported acquisitions have included work by artists such as Erwin Redl, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Robert Gober, Nikki S. Lee, and Christian Marclay.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

ABOUT M&I
Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE: MI) is a diversified financial services corporation headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., with $53.9 billion in assets. Founded in 1847, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank is the largest Wisconsin-based bank, with 192 offices throughout the state. In addition, M&I has 53 locations throughout Arizona; 36 offices along Florida’s west coast and in central Florida; 33 offices in Indianapolis and nearby communities; 26 offices in metropolitan Minneapolis/St. Paul, and one in Duluth, Minn.; 17 offices in the greater St. Louis area; 15 offices in Kansas City and nearby communities; and one office in Las Vegas, Nev. M&I also provides trust and investment management, equipment leasing, mortgage banking, asset-based lending, financial planning, investments, and insurance services from offices throughout the country and on the Internet (www.mibank.com or www.micorp.com). M&I’s customer-based approach, internal growth, and strategic acquisitions have made M&I a nationally recognized leader in the financial services industry.

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Kristin Settle
414-224-3246
kristin.settle@mam.org     

 
Art in Clay: Masterworks of North Carolina Earthenware Comes To The Milwaukee Art Museum
Major Earthenware Survey Alters American Ceramic History

Milwaukee, WI – August 16, 2010 –  The first major North Carolina earthenware survey completed in the United States, Art in Clay: Masterworks of North Carolina Earthenware, opens at the Milwaukee Art Museum on Thursday, September 2, 2010, and runs through Monday, January 17, 2011. Art in Clay presents groundbreaking scholarship that re-attributes ceramic forms long believed to be Moravian to diverse North Carolina cultural groups.

During the last half of the eighteenth century, potters of European descent introduced a variety of Old World ceramic traditions to the North Carolina backcountry. The achievements of these craftsmen often surpassed those of their Middle Atlantic and New England contemporaries, particularly in the application of slip-trailed decoration.

The exhibition will showcase 120 masterworks, including slipware, creamware, faience, and sculptural bottles. Among the most masterful are slipware dishes associated with Moravian potters who trained under, or were influenced by, Gottfried Aust (1722-1788) — a master craftsman who apprenticed in Saxony, Germany and worked briefly in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, before moving to North Carolina in 1756 . The Moravians came to North Carolina as part of their missionary effort, establishing one of the first potteries in the central piedmont region.

 “For the Moravians, slipware plates and dishes functioned as reminders of their European roots as well as potent symbols of religion and the cycle of life,” said Luke Beckerdite, curator of the exhibition. “For other potters and their patrons, decorated earthenware was a means of expressing and preserving their identity in the New World.” 

Other objects in the exhibition can be attributed to the Loy family, who were French Huguenot descendants who settled in Alamance County. They created pottery decorated with cruciform designs and fleur-de-lis, long considered classic French motifs.

“The North Carolina potters created vessels that were not only practical and beautiful, but also significant to their culture and religion, during this time,” said Beckerdite.

EXHIBITION SPONSORS
Art in Clay is co-sponsored by the Chipstone Foundation, Caxambas Foundation, and Old Salem Museums and Gardens, North Carolina.

The exhibition is curated by Luke Beckerdite, an authority on American decorative arts; Johanna Brown, curator of Moravian arts at Old Salem Museums and Gardens; and Rob Hunter, editor of Ceramics in America. It is organized at the Milwaukee Art Museum by Ethan Lasser and Claudia Mooney of the Chipstone Foundation.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors, and active military, and is free for Members and children 12 and under. 

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

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PROGRAMMING FOR ART IN CLAY: MASTERWORKS OF NORTH CAROLINA EARTHENWARE

Gallery Talks
1:30 p.m.
Thurs, Sept 23 | with Luke Beckerdite
Tues, Sept 28 | with Claudia Mooney
Tues, Nov 2 | with Rob Hunter

Lecture: Art in Clay
Thurs, Nov. 4, 6:15 p.m.
Take a closer look at the pottery traditions in the exhibition with Luke Beckerdite, Art in Clay curator and editor of the Chipstone Foundation’s annual publication American Furniture.

Symposium: American Ceramics Circle
Fri–Sat, Nov 5–6, 2010
Attend presentations by top scholars at this symposium of the American Ceramics Circle (ACC), a national educational organization committed to the study and appreciation of ceramics. Visit the ACC website at www.amercercir.org to register. Contact Mel Buchanan (mel.buchanan@mam.org or 414-224-3281) with questions.

Vicki Scharfberg
414/224-3243
vicki.scharfberg@mam.org 

EUROPEAN DESIGN EXHIBITION COMING TO MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Artful question of form vs. function to be pondered October 9, 2010–January 9, 2011

Milwaukee, Wis. – August 5, 2010 – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s newest feature exhibition, European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century, opens October 9, 2010. It is the first encompassing, critical assessment of contemporary Western European design from 1985 to 2005.

European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century will present more than 250 seminal works including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, glass and product design that reveal the extraordinary creativity of 118 European designers. The exhibition defines Europe’s central role in driving design’s proliferation during the 1980s and 1990s.

 “This exhibition reminds us that great art is present in our lives every day. European Design Since 1985 makes art accessible,” said Mel Buchanan, Mae E. Demmer Assistant Curator of 20th-century Design. “Whether it is a light fixture, a vase, a chair, a vacuum, or a knife and fork, it is not just an object. These are useful and beautiful artworks that express ideas and opinions and sometimes genius.”

European Design Since 1985 features multiple works by the most influential figures of the period’s “older generation,” such as Ron Arad and Philippe Starck, who have attained the status of design masters. The exhibition also presents a younger generation of designers for the first time, such as Tord Boontje, Maarten Baas, and Hella Jongerius.

The exhibition and catalogue divide designs into two major movements, those that continue a “Postmodern” attitude and those that renew a “Modern” tradition. The two camps exemplify an ongoing dispute: what is the leading design principle, artistic concept or function?

The first theme explores the continuation of early 1980s Postmodernism, when designers opened up the parameters of high design.  Eschewing reason, their objects can be purely conceptual, highly decorative, historicizing, or even kitschy. These designers embraced handcraft, conceptual art, and ornament.
On the other hand, the second theme explores a rational tendency that concurrently swept across Europe. To designers with a Modernist spirit, like the “form follows function” school of the 1920s Bauhaus, good design comes from the integration of use, materials, and process. Their designs are usually for mass-production, but can look spare and refined, or curving like natural forms.
 

“This exhibition is friendly, colorful, and whimsical,” said Buchanan. “European Design Since 1985 offers a fantastic variety of objects that blur the line between fine art, craft, and design. It might differ with what some define as fine art, but you can also argue that many of these chairs and lamps are as conceptual as a bronze sculpture or abstract painting.”

European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century is organized by the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Denver Art Museum in conjunction with Kingston University, London. It is curated by R. Craig Miller of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and coordinated at the Milwaukee Art Museum by Mel Buchanan, assistant curator of 20th Century design.

EXHIBITION SPONSORS
European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century is sponsored by the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century
By R. Craig Miller, Penny Sparke, and Catherine McDermott
This groundbreaking publication is the first critical examination of the dramatic developments in Western European design and explores the most important conceptual and aesthetic movements during the previous two decades. Sumptuously illustrated, European Design Since 1985 is essential reading for designers, architects, students and anyone interested in the relationship between design and contemporary culture.  Hardcover: 272 pages, with 300 color illustrations.
Hard cover ($65/58.50 for Members) and soft cover ($45/40.50 for Members) copies are available in the Museum Store, 414-224-3210 or www.mam.org/store.   

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors and active military, and is free for members and children 12 and under.

The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for everyone.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

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ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR EUROPEAN DESIGN SINCE 1985: SHAPING THE NEW CENTURY
Members Opening Reception
Thurs, Oct. 7, 5:30–8 p.m.
Lecture: 6:15 p.m., with R. Craig Miller
Lubar Auditorium
Appetizers and cash bar

Member Exhibition Lecture with R. Craig Miller
Fri, Oct. 8, 1:30 p.m.
Lubar Auditorium

Gallery Talks with the Curator
Tues, Oct. 12, 1:30 p.m.
Tues, Nov. 9, 1:30 p.m.
Tues, Nov. 30, 1:30 p.m.
Tues, Dec. 14, 1:30 p.m.

Express Talks
Thursdays, Oct. 14-Jan 6, Noon

Gallery Talks in FRENCH with Béatrice Armstrong, French Institute of Milwaukee
Sat, Oct. 30, 1:30 p.m.
Sat, Dec. 4, 1:30 p.m.

Guest Lecture with Alberto Alessi
Thurs, Nov. 18, 6:15 p.m.
Lubar Auditorium

Book Salon
Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Donald Norman
Saturday, Nov. 20, 10:30 a.m.
Bradley Rooms
RSVP to Amy Kirschke at 414-224-3826 or amy.kirschke@mam.org

MAM After Dark | Under the Table
Fri, Nov. 19, 5 p.m.–midnight
Explore your interactive side, Euro Design-style, with UWM Dance and Digital Media Departments, and local hip-hop duo Lab Experiments.
Details and advance admission at www.mam.org/afterdark.
 
Family Sunday | Holiday by Design
Sun, Dec. 12, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

For additional information, images, or interviews, please contact:
Kristin Settle
414/224-3246
kristin.settle@mam.org

Press contacts:
Kristin Settle             
414/224-3246       
kristin.settle@mam.org 

Vicki Scharfberg
414/224-3243
vicki.scharfberg@mam.org           

Sam Francis Foundation bestows gift on Milwaukee Art Museum
Over 500 prints represent almost complete body of graphic work

Milwaukee, Wis. – July 27, 2010 – The Sam Francis Foundation has donated over 500 prints to the Milwaukee Art Museum.  Sam Francis (1923–1994) was an American painter and printmaker who used a variety of colors and techniques to experiment with both surrealism and abstract expressionism.

“We are honored to accept this gift from the Foundation, representing nearly all of Sam Francis’ lithographs, etchings, and screenprints dating from the early 1960s to the 1990s,” said Mary Weaver Chapin, associate curator of prints and drawings for the Milwaukee Art Museum. “This aggregate collection representing the whole of his career is invaluable.”

Following an accident and illness requiring years of hospitalization, Francis began painting for distraction in 1945. He subsequently left his medical studies to pursue an arts career, which took him from his native California all over the world. Unlike many of his fellow Abstract Expressionists, who only occasionally made prints, Francis was a committed and innovative printmaker throughout his career.  He explored dreams and memories, Jungian archetypes, sensations of light, color, and sound, Eastern religion, and philosophy in his paintings, etchings, lithographs, screenprints, monotypes, drawings, and illustrated books.

Francis was instrumental in encouraging fellow artists to explore printmaking, and he invited artists to produce prints and artists’ books at his two presses, The Litho Shop (founded 1970) , and Lapis Press, which was begun in 1984. The gift from the Sam Francis Foundation also includes twenty-four works by other internationally known artists (Anish Kapoor, Niki de St. Phalle, and Christopher Wool, among others) that were published by Francis’s Lapis Press.

“The Museum is honored to be a repository for the work of Sam Francis,” said Dan Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “This generous gift has expanded our Herzfeld Foundation Print, Drawing, and Photography Study Center and the opportunities it presents the Museum to showcase works of art on paper.”

Debra Burchett-Lere, director of the Sam Francis Foundation in southern California, cites the Museum’s commitment to prints, its dedicated staff, and impressive collection of modern art as some of determining factors in awarding this gift.

“We are honored to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum to bring Francis’s dynamic prints to the Midwest. This collection offers a unique opportunity to study Francis’s prints in one location, the only public museum facility currently with this distinction in the world. The mission of the foundation is to research, document, protect, and perpetuate the creative legacy of the artist Sam Francis so working with the Milwaukee Art Museum in this donation of art fulfills our goal to promote public awareness and knowledge about the art of Sam Francis,” said Burchett-Lere.

The gift entered the collection in 2009. An exhibition of highlights of the collection is planned for 2012.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

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Vicki Scharfberg 
414/224-3243
vicki.scharfberg@mam.org

Museum hosts three major events for Gallery Day, July 24
Quilt Auction, Trunk Show, Artist Marketplace to fill Museum grounds

Milwaukee, Wis. – July 19, 2010 – The Milwaukee Art Museum is participating in Gallery Day on Saturday, July 24, with three major events: an Amish Quilt Auction, Artists Trunk Show: Quilts, and the 6th Annual Milwaukee Artist Marketplace.

In addition to the Museum’s featured exhibition, American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur Collection, the Museum will also hold an Amish Quilt Auction from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m in Windhover Hall, with registration beginning at 8 a.m. The auction will be conducted by Mader & Mader Auction Services (Wis. Reg. License #892), and is free with Museum admission. Over 100 handmade Amish quilts and wall hangings will be up for bid.

The Museum will also host a Quilts-themed Artists Trunk Show featuring the work of Bruce Seeds and Dianne Gleixner, with local quilt expert Maggi Gordon on hand for a book signing. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Baumgartner Galleria and is free with Museum admission.

The 6th Annual Milwaukee Artist Marketplace features the work of over 80 established and emerging local artists. One-of-a-kind paintings, drawings, jewelry, prints, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and wearable artwork will be available for purchase. This outdoor event is free and will be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, July 24 – Gallery Day at the Museum
Amish Quilt Auction
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Registration at 8 a.m.

Artists Trunk Show: Quilts
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

6th Annual Milwaukee Artist Marketplace
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

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Target Communications
612-696-3400

Visit the Target Pressroom: Target.com/pressroom

Milwaukee Art Museum to Participate in Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Event July 18
Target Provides Families With Free Admission to More Than 80 Museums, Galleries and Art Institutions in 30 Cities

MILWAUKEE (July 6, 2010) – As part of its long-standing commitment to inspiring parents and caring adults to nurture a child’s love of learning, Target has partnered with more than 80 cultural and art institutions in 30 cities across the country to launch the Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Event. From July 16 to 18, 2010, museums, galleries and other institutions from coast to coast will offer friends and families the opportunity to explore and learn about art together in an engaging and playful atmosphere – for free.

On Sunday, July 18, 2010 from 10:00am to 4:00pm, Milwaukee Art Museum will participate in the weekend event, providing all visitors free access to the Museum to enjoy a Caribbean Festival, full of music, hands-on art, stories, and a greater appreciation of the Museum’s colorful and extensive Haitian Art collection. All participating institutions across the country, courtesy of Target, will also offer a wide range of fun hands-on activities, including a mosaic painting of Target’s very own Bullseye, dance classes, educational workshops and more.

“At Target, we believe that arts have the power to engage and enrich our children’s academic achievement, both inside and outside of the classroom setting,” said Laysha Ward, president, Community Relations, Target. “Together with our partners, Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Event will further promote the integral role of the arts in shaping our children’s academic success and everyday lives.”

Target supports the arts year-round by sponsoring 2,200 free events and reduced-price performances at more than 120 museums and cultural organizations across the country.  To see a complete listing of cities and institutions participating in Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Event, visit Target.com/arts.

About Target
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Contact:
Holly Langdon, Cramer-Krasselt, hlangdon@c-k.com, office: 414-227-3414, cell: 262-893-1969
Jonas Wittke, Milwaukee Art Museum, jonas.wittke@mam.org, office: 414-224-3291, cell: 414-350-1372
Jen Johnson, Kohl’s, jen.johnson@kohls.com, office: 262-703-5241, cell: 262-389-9224

Kohl’s Department Stores and Milwaukee Art Museum
Put Art in Motion this Summer with Kohl’s Color Wheels
Popular pop-up art studio for kids, back for its second year, travels to Milwaukee area events
for hands-on creativity and fun

What: Milwaukee is known for its summer festivals, interest in the arts and family-friendly atmosphere. The Kohl’s Color Wheels van combines all three elements into one mobile art experience for families. Once again, appearing at community events throughout the summer, the Kohl’s Color Wheels van unloads to create a pop-up, hands-on art studio for kids. Projects include splatter paintings, animal sculptures, bottle cap art and much more.

Kohl’s Color Wheels is an extension of Kohl’s Art Generation, a youth art education program developed by the Milwaukee Art Museum and Kohl’s Department Stores. The Kohl’s Art Generation Gallery and Studio, two new spaces for kids at the Museum, opened in May of 2009.

When: June 12 Gathering Waters Festival @ Lakeshore State Park
June 18–20 Lakefront Festival of the Arts @ Milwaukee Art Museum
June 24–July 4 Summerfest
July 10 Gathering on the Green in Mequon
July 11 Friends of Bradford Beach Family Day
July 17 Port Washington Fish Day
July 21–25 Waukesha County Fair
Aug 5–15 Wisconsin State Fair
Aug 19–22 Zoo a la Carte
Aug 27–29 Mexican Fiesta

Why: The Kohl’s Art Generation program, now in its second year, is made possible by a
$1 million gift from Kohl’s Department Stores to the Milwaukee Art Museum. The program provides art education and opportunities for creative expression at a time when visual and performing art resources at schools are stretched. Last summer, more than 26,000 individuals participated in Kohl’s Color Wheels activities.

Interview
Opportunities: Interviews with program organizers from the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Visual
Opportunities: Children and families engaging in interactive art projects at Milwaukee’s various summer festivals.

For more information on the Kohl’s Art Generation program and Kohl’s Color Wheels appearances, visit mam.org/artgeneration.

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Kristin Settle
Public Relations Manager
Milwaukee Art Museum
414/224-3246
kristin.settle@mam.org

THE MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES THE 2010 LAKEFRONT FESTIVAL OF ARTS
Quad/Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine present annual arts showcase

Milwaukee, Wis. – June 7, 2010 – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s 2010 Lakefront Festival of Arts (LFOA) will be Friday, June 18, through Sunday, June 20, on the grounds of the Museum along Lake Michigan. The 48th annual LFOA is presented by Quad/Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine.

The family-friendly event is one of the top 25 art festivals in the country, featuring work by more than 180 artists from around the country, food selections by Café Calatrava, live music, a silent auction, a wine garden, a sculpture garden, and children’s activities in the PNC Children’s Experience.

“For nearly 50 years, the Lakefront Festival of Arts has raised funds for the Museum to bring numerous world-class exhibitions to Milwaukee, as well as offered artists the chance to showcase their work,” said Sandi Anderson, director of special events for the Milwaukee Art Museum. “This year’s festival has been expanded and will offer new experiences, as well as the familiar favorites, with something for everyone—from art buyers and Museum supporters to families looking to enjoy the activities on the lakefront.”

For the first time, LFOA artists will also be exhibiting inside the Museum, and the festival will be open until 9 p.m. on Friday. Also, one ticket for the entire event affords festival-goers full access to the Museum to see the exhibitions, including American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur Collection; Warrington Colescott: Cabaret, Comedy & Satire; and The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

This year’s festival poster artist is Shelby Keefe of Milwaukee. Keefe’s work will be featured on apparel and on merchandise, including a poster available in the festival boutique and online.

LFOA admission is $7 in advance, $12 at the gate, or $20 for a three-day pass. Tickets can be purchased online and at participating locations throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. Festival hours are:

• Friday, June 18 — 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Saturday, June 19 — 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Sunday, June 20 — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

About Lakefront Festival of Arts
The Lakefront Festival of Arts (LFOA) is one of the premier art festivals in the country, featuring artists from across the nation with art for sale in a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, jewelry, photography, printmaking, wood, ceramics, fiber, and more. Since 1962, the Lakefront Festival of Arts has been a primary fundraiser for the Milwaukee Art Museum and organized with the help of Friends of Art volunteers. For more information on LFOA, please visit http://lfoa.mam.org/.

About the Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

About Friends of Art
The Friends of Art (FOA) is the primary volunteer support organization of the Milwaukee Art Museum. FOA raises funds in support of the Museum and develops activities to stimulate visual art appreciation and inspire volunteer leadership. Over 1,300 individuals volunteer annually to help organize and operate FOA’s fundraising events. Over $7 million has been generated through FOA events since it was founded in 1957. For more information on FOA, please visit www.mam.org/involved/details/foa.php.
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