August 20, 2020 – The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay is set to open a new exhibition on Saturday, August 29 featuring contemporary artwork by artists from the Northeast Wisconsin Lakeshore 
region, including Door County. The 45th Juried Annual—on display through October 19 in the main galleries of the museum—highlights work by 45 artists residing in Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Oconto, and Sheboygan counties. This year’s jury panel was comprised of industry professionals Tedd Lott, Artist, Designer (Grand Rapids, MI); Annemarie Sawkins, PhD., Independent Curator (Milwaukee, WI); and Elizabeth Wiza, Preservation Coordinator, Kohler Foundation, Inc. (Sheboygan, WI). Like any good juried exhibition, the 45th Juried Annual is about diversity and quality rather than theme. “Artwork representing a vast range of styles and techniques was selected, illustrating a wide range and mastery of medium,” says Curator of Exhibitions Helen del Guidice. “And, as is expected, the jury panel exhibited great respect and consideration to each submission and offered poignant, independent perspectives on the works.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Sturgeon Bay, WI)—July 17, 2020 – The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay, which has remained closed to the public since March 18, will reopen its doors after a 4-month closure due to COVID-19, with limited hours beginning on Monday, July 27. The reopening, with new safety protocol in place, also marks the debut of new summer exhibitions: The Mavericks: John Colt, Kenn Kwint and Theodore Czebotar in the Permanent Collection in the main gallery and selections from the permanent collection on the second-floor galleries of the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine that highlight central genres traditional in nature, including portraiture, still life and black and white photography. Large-scale watercolor and egg tempera paintings highlight some of founder Gerhard Miller’s preferred subjects, including shorelines, forest floors, maritime and Door County homesteads.
The Mavericks: John Colt, Kenn Kwint and Theodore Czebotar in the Permanent Collection provides visitors the opportunity to see works that have never been displayed publicly by Wisconsin artists John Colt, Kenn Kwint and Theodore Czebotar. The collection consists of nearly 40 works that were gifted in 2019 by the Kohler Foundation Inc. of Sheboygan and offers viewers a meaningful representation of each of the individual artists and their careers.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Sturgeon Bay, WI) – July 17, 2020 – It’s an exceptional opportunity—and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some—for a student to have artwork displayed in an art museum and to be given the opportunity for celebration that is afforded through such a platform. This year, the Miller Art Museum celebrated their 46th year of showcasing the creative talent of Peninsula youth in their annual Salon of Door County High School Art.
The exhibit, which was scheduled to open in May with a reception and accompanying awards ceremony, was canceled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and presented online instead with the help of Curat10n, a London-based firm who built a virtual gallery that replicates the Miller Art museum. Viewers can experience the museum virtually through their computers and personal devices and see nearly 200 works by 103 students from students in grades 9 – 12 from the 2019-20 academic year, pre COVID-19, who attend school at the Peninsula’s five high schools—Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island. The exhibition can be viewed online at https://bit.ly/3fgFlmT.
“This year’s exhibition, by and far, was momentous in that it was not at all like any other student exhibition we have ever presented,” says Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead. “The circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 closure required us to change course swiftly and we couldn’t be more pleased with the end result. I’m thrilled to announce this year’s award winners and recognize all student participants—the final product is something each student should be proud of and use as a means to further their creative pursuits.”
In total, 10 awards will be distributed. Award winners will receive their cash prize and recognition letter through the mail, which has been made possible through the generosity of sponsors John and Kathy Campbell, the Cordon Family Foundation, Dennis and Bonnie Connolly, Miriam Erickson, the Family of Glenn Gerber, Jacksonport Women’s Club, Carl and Ruth Scholz, Michael and Barbara Sweeney, The Townsend Foundation and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts and in-kind support from Third Avenue Playhouse.
Award of Excellence ($100 cash award) recipients are:
- Isabelle Vartanian (Grade 12, Gibraltar High School)
- Sophia Abel (Grade 10, Sevastopol High School)
- Annika LaLuzerne (Grade 12, Southern Door High School)
- Claire Tellstrom (Grade 12, Sturgeon Bay High School)
- Joseph Lux (Grade 9, Washington Island High School)
Honorable Mention ($50 cash award) recipients are:
- Eva Armbruster (Grade 12, Gibraltar High School)
- Jacob Anderson (Grade 10, Sevastopol High School)
- Abigail Neubauer (Grade 12, Southern Door High School)
- Katie Frank (Grade 12, Sturgeon Bay High School)
- Spencer Johnson (Grade 9, Washington Island High School)
Each year since the museum’s inception, many thousands of students in Door County have been given the opportunity to have their talents celebrated and recognized through this annual student exhibit. More information about the exhibit can be found here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Sturgeon Bay, WI)—June 26, 2020 – The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay announced today that it will be accepting donations for its late summer Art & Treasures Sale starting on Wednesday, July 1, 2020. The fundraiser was initially set to take place from August 1 – 15 but due to the rapidly changing circumstances surrounding COVID-19, event organizers are expecting a reduced schedule, which will be announced as more details emerge regarding the status of the pandemic. The museum is closely monitoring and will take all proper precautions to ensure the safety of the community.
“This fundraiser in particular impacts our ability to carry out our mission and our programming,” says Executive Director Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead. “We, like everyone else, are pivoting from our usual mode of operations to ensure we are compliant with all recommended safety guidelines—the biggest will be a change in location from inside the museum to the former Healthy Way building located at 142 S. 3rd Avenue. This will allow us the space needed for social distancing and proper quarantining of donations as they arrive. We’re hopeful for a successful fundraiser in our 15th year this year despite the pandemic. The time has allowed many to clear clutter and organize while the Stay at Home order was in effect; with that, we’re hoping that the community will consider the Miller Art Museum as a home for their items which supports a continued presence for the visual arts in our community here in Sturgeon Bay.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Sturgeon Bay, WI)—June 18, 2020—The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay is pleased to announce a call to artists for its 45th Juried Annual Exhibition, scheduled for August 29 – October 19, 2020. Eight artists will be recognized with a total of $1,950.00 in cash awards; three Special Merit Awards ($250 each), three Juror’s Choice Awards ($200 each), the Gerhard Miller Award of Excellence ($500), and the Bonnie Hartmann Award for Outstanding Creativity ($100) will be awarded. A $25 non-refundable entry fee is required; artists ages 18 years of age or older residing in Door, Kewaunee, Brown, Oconto, Manitowoc or Sheboygan counties are invited to enter up to two works. Applications are accepted online only through ArtCall.org beginning Monday, June 22. The submission deadline is Friday July 31, 2020 at 5pm. Submission information, including the prospectus and link to the online submission portal, is available on the Museum’s website at millerartmuseum.org.
The exhibition, which is open to artists at all career levels from emerging to established professionals, highlights contemporary work by Northeast Wisconsin visual artists who reside in a six-county radius. Artists selected for inclusion in the exhibit will be notified Friday, August 7.