04 - 31
November - December
2022
MOWA Shop | Annual Book Sale
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
Art Museum in Wisconsin
American art through the lens of a single state
At the Museum of Wisconsin Art, we believe that where we live is important and we are passionate about everything Wisconsin.
We also believe enjoying art should be easy and welcoming, not an exclusive privilege. That’s why instead of single-day admission, your entrance fee is an affordable membership providing unlimited museum access for an entire year. Learn more
Exhibitions On View
Magic Wilderness
Dreamscapes of the Forest
October 22, 2022–January 15, 2023
MOWA | West Bend
Magic Wilderness: Dreamscapes of the Forest features work by sixteen artists that present the Wisconsin wilderness in all its rebellious, bewitching glory. The exhibition celebrates nature’s bounty and those artists who can’t live without it.
Exhibitions On View
Rural Life
October 15–December 4, 2022
MOWA | West Bend
Explore works from the post-Depression era by self-taught artists with a deep connection to their subject matter: Winter scenes, sleigh rides, barn dances, crop planting, timber hauling, fruit picking, and a country notion of what a big city looks like all feature in paintings that are as delightful as they are sincere. These views of a long-lost world still elicit tremendous, and warranted, nostalgia.
Exhibitions On View
Strange Lands
The work of Tom Antell, Chris T. Cornelius, and Sky Hopinka
October 7, 2022–January 8, 2023
MOWA | DTN located inside Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel
On view at the museum’s downtown Milwaukee satellite gallery, MOWA | DTN, artists Tom Antell, Chris T. Cornelius, and Sky Hopinka interrogate essential conflicts surrounding Native American identity in the exhibition Strange Lands.
Exhibitions On View
Shelley Smith
Hidden in Plain Sight
November 10, 2022–February 19, 2023
MOWA on the Lake inside Saint John's On The Lake
Shelley Smith’s paintings are distinctive with crisp, clean lines and subtle palette, but are also inspired by sources not commonly found in a painter: her passion for math, micro-economics and logic manifested in her meticulous compositions.
Exhibitions On View
Jennifer Angus
Still Lives
On View Now
MOWA | West Bend, Surreal Gallery
Jennifer Angus created this installation of cicadas and beetles in the MOWA gallery dedicated to the surreal in Wisconsin. Angus’s wall-pinned insects create an otherworldly atmosphere, while a table laden with bell jars presents whimsical kingdoms wherein dried beetles mimic everyday human activities.
Exhibitions On View
Permanent Collection
On view year round
MOWA | West Bend
Only a fraction of the more than five thousand works in the museum’s collection is on view at any given time. The selection includes perennial favorites, as well as art historically significant works.
Upcoming Events + Activities
View All Events 
03 - 04
December
2022
Champagne Shopping | Member Shopping Day
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
03
December
2022
Collection Highlights Tour
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
07
December
2022
Art+Wellness | Heartfulness
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
10
December
2022
Second Saturday
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
17
December
2022
Studio Class | Nature Studies
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
17
December
2022
Talk | Aldo Leopold: Natural Soundscapes and the Spirit of a Place
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
21
December
2022
SPARK! A Season of Song
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
28 - 31
December
2022
Winter Week
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
04
January
2023
Art+Wellness | The Art of Zentangle
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
12
January
2023
Behind-the-Scenes | Nature in Film and Form
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
14
January
2023
Second Saturday
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
Winter Week December 28–31
Drop in anytime the last week of the year for art-inspired fun at MOWA. Create together with art-making projects and explore the museum with tours and gallery activities. Each day offers something new to see and do!
Start every morning with a different drop in all ages art-making project and stay for an afternoon talk or tour. Then grab a hot chocolate on us during your visit. It’s our way of saying thank you for your support this year.
Locations
A network of locations and community partners
MOWA can be found around the state with two permanent venues—the West Bend “Mothership” and MOWA | DTN in downtown Milwaukee—and two partnering community organizations that make its programs and collections accessible and free.
Land Acknowledgment Statement
The Museum of Wisconsin Art stands on the ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, and Potawatomi people. We pay respects to their elders past and present and acknowledge the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, and Potawatomi people who have stewarded this land through the generations.
Celebrate the Arts and Culture of Wisconsin
To our members, donors, and community partners—thank you for being an important part of our journey.
Your contribution to the 2022 MOWA Fund will help MOWA continue to fulfill its special role in the arts and culture of our state for generations to come.
04
locations around the state
175+
programs & community events per year
200k
annual visitors