05
April
2023
Art+Wellness | It’s a Poetry Party
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
Ten at Ten
January 28–April 9
MOWA | West Bend
Ten at Ten kicks off the tenth anniversary of MOWA’s modernist mothership. MOWA’s curatorial team selected ten artists in the early stages of their careers whose compelling work represents the next generation of artists to watch.
Exhibitions On View
Social Realism to Surrealism
The James and Karen Hyde Collection
January 28–April 9, 2023
MOWA | West Bend
This exhibition celebrates the extraordinary gift of art made by James and Karen Hyde to the Museum of Wisconsin Art. The Hyde Collection focuses on Wisconsin Social Realism, Regionalism, and Surrealism. Among the highlights are paintings and rare prints and drawings by Aaron Bohrod, Ruth Grotenroth, Edmund Lewandowski, Schomer Lichtner, Dean Meeker, Robert von Neumann, George Raab, Robert Schellin, Gerrit Sinclair, Francesco Spicuzza, John Wilde, and Santos Zingale.
Exhibitions On View
Leslie Vansen
The Topography of Line
January 13–April 2, 2023
MOWA | DTN located inside Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel
The Topography of Line, Leslie Vansen’s first major solo museum exhibition in more than a decade, invites you to meander the multitudinous paths of making embedded in her paintings.
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
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 
08
April
2023
10th Anniversary Birthday Bash
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
08
April
2023
Second Saturday
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
08
April
2023
TENtalks
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
19
April
2023
SPARK! for People with Memory Loss
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
22
April
2023
Exhibition Opening Party | Breaking the Cycle
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
22
April
2023
Exhibition Opening Party | Working on the Bias
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
26
April
2023
Mini Makers
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
03
May
2023
Art+Wellness | Living Well with Dementia
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
06
May
2023
Educator Open House
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
13
May
2023
Second Saturday
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
17
May
2023
SPARK! for People with Memory Loss
MOWA | West Bend
205 Veterans Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095
Ten artists, Ten talks
2023 marks the tenth year since the opening of MOWA’s West Bend facility designed by architect Jim Shields of HGA. Affectionately dubbed the “Mothership” for its modernist design, MOWA has grown into a vital cultural center that represents the art and artists of the entire state.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, MOWA has invited ten of your favorite WIsconsin artists to give a talk—including a special talk on April 8 by Jim Shields as we celebrate the building’s tenth birthday.
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