(WEST BEND, WISCONSIN) – Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) announces the recipients of the 2026 Wisconsin Visual Art Achievement Award (WVAAA). Recognizing significant contributions to the visual arts of the state, the Achievement Awards are presented biennially to individuals and organizations. The awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 31, from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend.
The three founding organizations—the Museum of Wisconsin Art, the Wisconsin Visual Artists, and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters—collaborate biennially to recognize exceptional educators, writers, visual artists, exhibitions, and advocates in our creative communities. A nine-person nominations committee convenes to review open nominations and select the recipients in seven categories.
2026 Award Categories and the Honorees:
Legacy Awards
Bruce Crownover and Betsy Ritz Friebert
Educator Award (K–12)
Kelly Frederick Mizer and Erin LaBonte
Educator Awards (College/University)
Leslie Fedorchuk
Arts Writing Award
Rachel Hausmann Schall
Exhibition Awards
Trout Museum of Art for A Creative Place: Art from Northeastern Wisconsin 1940 to the Present (2025), curated by Annemarie Sawkins.
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts for Word Wall / Pared Palabras (2025), curated by Ck Ledesma Borrero with a team of seven co-curators.
Community Arts Advocate Award
Brandon Minga
Emerging Artist Award
Chad Alexander Matha
The 2026 nominations committee included Jody Clowes, Pat Frederick, Shannon Kupfer, Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, Amy Moorefield, Rafael Salas, Christine Styles, Della Wells, and Laurie Winters.