January 17, 2024—The Miller Art Museum is excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2025 Dome House Al & Mickey Quinlan Artist Residency, a unique opportunity for Midwest visual artists to immerse themselves in the creative landscape of Door County, Wisconsin. The deadline to apply is Monday, April 7, 2025.
Launched in 2021 in partnership with the Quinlan/Wagner family, the Dome House Residency Program has emerged as a vibrant and vital creative space, offering resources and opportunities for visual artists to develop their practice while promoting dialogue and interaction with the community. The Miller Art Museum remains committed to fostering the growth of the Peninsula’s creative community and the program fits seamlessly within the museum’s mission to connect artists and community with opportunities to explore, celebrate, and advance the visual arts.
"We celebrate our fifth anniversary of the residency and the 50th anniversary of the organization in 2025," said Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, Executive Director of the Miller Art Museum. "This is a great milestone and the perfect moment to reflect on the development of the program over the past five years. Looking back, we are reminded of how deeply our founder, Gerhard Miller, was committed to making the visual arts accessible to all, serving as a mentor to artists of all levels and abilities, and fostering a broader community of art appreciators. His life’s work continues to inspire us as we shape a future where art is not just something to be admired from a distance, but a powerful tool for education, dialogue, and change,” Gigstead said. “The program gives contemporary context to the legacies of Al and Gerhard, embodying the spirits and aspirations of the two visionaries.”
January 17, 2025—The Miller Art Museum has announced an exciting step in its continued journey toward growth and transformation: a temporary pivot for its satellite education facility, M3, as the organization focuses on facility planning and organizational development. This decision aligns with the museum’s strategic vision to enhance its ability to serve the community and deliver dynamic exhibitions while honoring its commitment to fostering artistic engagement and education.
This strategic pause for M3 comes on the heels of the organization finalizing an exit agreement with the County of Door at the end of August, a move that reflects the natural progression of the outlined 5-year exit from its 50-year home in the Sturgeon Bay Branch of the Door County Library. Over the past several years, M3 has been a valuable resource for creative exploration and community programming, bringing together artists, educators, and students in meaningful ways. While operations at M3 will pause, the vision for its future is bigger and brighter than ever, as the art museum plans to incorporate an even greater educational presence within its envisioned new facility.
“We are incredibly proud of what M3 has represented for the community—an accessible and vibrant space for education, exploration, and collaboration,” said Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, executive director of the Miller Art Museum. “This decision, while reflective of careful planning, is an exciting step toward ensuring that the programs and opportunities offered at M3 are not only preserved but elevated in the new facility we are building toward.”
November 1, 2024 – The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce the opening of its final exhibition of 2024, The Mavericks: John Colt, Kenn Kwint, and Theodore Czebotar in the Permanent Collection. The exhibit will open to the public with a free reception on Friday, November 15 from 4 - 6 pm. The exhibit will be on display at the art museum, located in the Door County Library downtown, through December 30.
This exhibition showcases a selection of 41 artworks and sketchbooks, gifted by the Kohler Foundation, Inc. in 2019, from Celebrated Wisconsin artists John N. Colt (1925–1998), Kenn Kwint (1937–2020), and Theodore Czebotar (1915–1996). Each piece invites the viewer to explore the unique vision and approaches that define the artists’ careers. Through Colt’s abstract compositions, Kwint’s bold expressionism, and Czebotar’s evocative landscapes, the exhibit highlights the diverse techniques and artistic depth of these figures, celebrating their contributions to modern American art and the Wisconsin art community.
Born in Madison, WI, John N. Colt was a pioneering figure in the Wisconsin art landscape––a master colorist in both painting and print. He was the son of art educator Arthur Colt, who taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following in his father’s footsteps, Colt worked as a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1957 until his retirement in 1990, where he influenced generations of artists, emphasizing a disciplined yet experimental approach to art. His work often explored organic forms and intricate textures, reflecting a deeply personal connection to both natural and constructed environments. Colt’s legacy endures in Wisconsin as a maverick who expanded the boundaries of modern art.
October 4, 2024—Each year, the Miller Art Museum’s Juried Annual brings an opportunity to Northeast Wisconsin for the public to see a survey of contemporary work by Wisconsin visual artists. Shan Bryan-Hanson, a visual artist, professor, and curator, will examine and discuss the museum’s 49th Juried Annual. The program will take place on Thursday, October 17 at 5:30 pm at the museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay; it is free and open to the public.
Bryan-Hanson, a visual artist creating vivid, colorful paintings and intricate mixed-media work lives and works in Sturgeon Bay. She creates layered, intricate works that celebrate fragile and beautiful species through a mixed-media practice grounded in painting. Each piece stems from a specific experience: an encounter with a barred owl at a bird sanctuary, the sight of a starling murmuration in Italy, standing amidst her backyard bees as they swarm. From there, she layers references to art history, the natural world, architectural elements, and geometry. Much of the imagery used in the work is both a direct representation of the subject as well a metaphor. Flying insects and birds act as intermediaries between cultivated places and wilderness as well as between material and immaterial worlds. Patterns represent visible and invisible structures as well as the infinite possibilities that result from replication. Bryan-Hanson holds an M.F.A. from the University of Montana and has worked as an art professor and curator at several institutions, most recently as the director and curator of the Art Galleries at St. Norbert Galleries. Her art is held in both private and public collections and has been exhibited in regional and national exhibitions.
The 49th Juried Annual features 69 works spanning both levels of the museum and includes paintings, photographs, mixed-media works, and prints on paper. The exhibit is scheduled to be on display through Saturday, November 9, 2024.
October 3, 2024—On September 27, the Miller Art Museum unveiled its 49th Juried Annual—a survey and celebration of contemporary work by Wisconsin visual artists—with a public reception. Eight regional visual artists were recognized with awards for exemplary work. Awards presented included the Gerhard CF Miller Award of Excellence, a $500 cash award, the Bonnie Hartmann Award for Outstanding Creativity, a $100 cash award, and Juror’s Choice (3) and Special Merit (3) awards, $250 and $200 cash awards.
Jurors Hector Acuna, plein air artist and educator from Grafton, Laura Bickford, curator at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, and Rebecca Carlton, an accomplished artist and co-owner of Juddville Contemporary Studio Gallery in Fish Creek, carefully evaluated submissions. While the nature of the process is ultimately subjective, general principles guiding the selection process are technical proficiency and artistic voice.
“Jurying for open calls, like this one facilitated by the Miller Art Museum, are exhilarating reminders of the exciting breadth and depth of the artistic expression taking place across our state,” says Laura Bickford. “The final choices were the result of a long, engaged, and engaging conversation between me, Hector, and Rebecca.”
This year’s award winners are: