Milwaukee Art Museum News

The pride of Milwaukee's artistic community, the Lakefront Festival of Arts (LFOA) presented by Quad/Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine returns for its 47th year June 19–21 on the Milwaukee Art Museum grounds. Thanks in large part to a bevy of new artists, the annual three-day juried art event does not show its age.

"Nearly 100 artists at this year's festival were not participants last year," says Dan Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. "Having so many fresh faces at this year’s Festival brings a whole new energy to the weekend, which continues to be one of the largest outdoor art events in the nation." Valerie Clarke, president of Friends of Art—the volunteer organization that produces the show—added that this year’s festival has "all different price points of art. We have something available for everyone, with items starting under $100."

"We are thrilled to be working with LFOA again this year," said Milwaukee Magazine President and Publisher Betty Quadracci. "We’re proud that more than 30 of the artists in this world-class festival come from Wisconsin. As a supporter of the Milwaukee Art Museum and the local arts scene, we couldn't have chosen a better event to sponsor."

In total, 172 artists will be exhibiting and selling art. Ten winning artists will receive cash prizes of $1,000, as well as a commemorative art piece and an invitation to return to the festival for the next three years.

The talent is top notch and includes many leading artists in various mediums, according to Kenosha sculptor Bruce Niemi. "A lot of the artists in the show are in major collections, galleries and museums throughout the world," said Niemi. This year alone, more than 1,000 artists submitted work for a chance to show at the festival.

This year also features a few changes, most notably to the silent auction. Featuring works donated by participating LFOA artists, the auction is integrated with the Milwaukee Magazine Wine Garden this year, and beginning June 10 art enthusiasts around the world can also make bids for pieces online at www.mam.org/lfoa.

Advance tickets to LFOA are now available in more area locations than ever—including participating Pick 'n Save® stores—and can also be purchased online at www.mam.org. Admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum, featuring the two must-see exhibitions of American Originals through August 23, is fifty percent off with an LFOA ticket. American Originals includes The Eight and American Modernisms—a fresh look at the stylistic complexities of the first generation of early American modernists—and The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs, featuring furniture and objects that the New York Times calls “so primitive yet so new and modern that they excite wonder."

In addition to its displays of original art, the festival presents daily lineups of artist demonstrations, live music, children's art activities, the silent auction, a college art show, a visit from Kohl's Color Wheels and much more. For more information, visit www.mam.org/lfoa.

LFOA FACT SHEET

Lakefront Festival of Arts, Presented by Friends of Art. Image courtesy Milwaukee Magazine.

CO-CHAIRS AND SPONSORS
This year’s co-chairs are Ryan Gray, senior investment consultant at Robert W. Baird, and Laura Lukas, director of quality assurance at Rockwell Automation. The festival is produced by Friends of Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s largest support group.

The 47th Lakefront Festival of Arts is presented by Quad/Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine, and sponsored by Miller Lite, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, State Farm Insurance, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, and Concordia University.

JURORS
The jurors this year are John Garrett, sculptor and fiber artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico; Katie Gingrass, owner of the Katie Gingrass contemporary art and fine craft gallery; and Dean Sobel, director of the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver and the Milwaukee Art Museum’s former chief curator and curator of contemporary art.

FESTIVAL HOURS
Fri, June 19: 12-8 p.m.
Sat, June 20: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sun, June 21: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

TICKETS
General public: $10 at the gate
Kids 16 and under: Free with a paid adult
MAM members: $7 with valid membership card
Advance tickets: $7 when ordered at www.mam.org or at one of several advanced retail locations, listed on www.mam.org/lfoa

PARKING AND FESTIVAL ACCESS
Official parking is available for $7 per car on Lagoon Drive. To park here, follow the signs traveling north on Lincoln Memorial Drive and turn right onto Lagoon. A complimentary shuttle will provide continual transportation to and from the parking area as well as the south Festival entrance. Attendees can park their bikes for free in the Festival’s bike corral located inside the south Festival entrance.

Parking is also available for a fee at O’Donnell Park (enter from Lincoln Memorial Drive). Disabled visitors and their companions may enter the festival through a wheelchair accessible entrance on the West side of Lincoln Memorial Drive (located near the entrance to O’Donnell Park)

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 "Best Design of 2001." For information on the Milwaukee Art Museum, please visit www.mam.org.

ABOUT THE LAKEFRONT FESTIVAL OF ARTS
What originally started more than 50 years ago as an event at a private residence where art was hung on clotheslines has grown to Milwaukee’s Lakefront Festival of Arts, an event that has dazzled art enthusiasts and artists from around the country. LFOA attracts over 20,000 art enthusiasts and festival-goers alike each year during its three-day run thanks to its winning combination of art, entertainment and great food.

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