(Sturgeon Bay, WI)—January 31, 2020—The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay is pleased to announce the first event of the museum’s 2020 Second Thursday Program Series, which kicks off a new year of free public programming; an artist talk by Baileys Harbor textile artist Susan Hoffmann is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, February 13. The event will take place in the main gallery of the museum and is free and open to the public.
Hoffmann’s talk will complement the Museum’s current exhibition, Textile Tableau: An Exploration of Painting with Fiber, which features the work of eight contemporary artists, Hoffmann included, and focuses specifically on artists who are usurping the use of paint by incorporating the methodologies and canons of painting as starting points for a greater exploration into fiber work.
(Sturgeon Bay, WI)—April 3, 2019— The Miller Art Museum is pleased to present a free film screening as part of its Second Thursday Educational Program Series on Thursday, April 11 at 5:45pm. The film, titled “Where Do We Go Now,” is a Lebanese dramatic comedy from 2011 that chronicles a story of women trying to defuse the tensions between Muslims and Christians in their small Lebanese village. It is presented in conjunction with the Museum’s current exhibition, Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me), which opened on March 2, 2019.
“Where Do We Go Now” is set in a remote village in Lebanon, inhabited by both Muslims and Christians, and follows the inhabitants of the village as civil strife begins all around them. The women of the village engage in an elaborate plot to de-escalate the violence and protect their community. Directed by Nadine Labaki, “Where Do We Go Now” won the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award in 2011. Additionally, the film premiered during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival as part of Un Certain Regard and was selected to represent Lebanon for the 84th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.
Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me) features the work of visual artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and of Arabic descent. The contemporary works include painting, photography, and drawing, all working in a narrative frame to tell stories of refuge, displacement, war, and contemporary visual culture. Many of the artists whose work is featured in the exhibition are residents of occupied areas or refugee camps.
“Where Do We Go Now” will be presented in the main gallery of the Miller Art Museum at 5:45pm on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The film screening is free and open to the public.
Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me) will be on view through Monday, April 15, 2019.
(Sturgeon Bay, WI)—February 28, 2019—The Miller Art Museum is excited to present a free exhibition talk on March 14, 2019 by David Coury as part of the museum's Second Thursday Educational Program. The talk, titled "East Meets West: Causes and Consequences of Middle Eastern Immigration" is presented in conjunction with the Museum’s current exhibition, Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me), which opened on March 2, 2019. It will be presented at 6pm in the main gallery of the Miller Art Museum on March 14 and is free and open to the public.
David Coury is a Professor of Humanistic Studies and Global Studies and also Co-Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He has published widely on contemporary German cinema as well as the contemporary novel. More recently he has been studying the intersection of Eastern and 
Western cultures as expressed in European literature and film. He has written extensively on the role globalization has played in shaping conceptions of identity as well as the so-called clash of cultures and civilizations in Europe. Coury is also the director of the Green Bay Film Society and serves on the board of Film Green Bay. “The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over 65 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes around the world,” said Coury, “wars, famine, and climate change have contributed to this displacement, causing some of the greatest humanitarian crises of our times.”
Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me) features the work of visual artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and of Arabic descent. The contemporary works include painting, photography, and drawing, all working in a narrative frame to tell stories of refuge, displacement, war, and contemporary visual culture. Many of the artists whose work is featured in the exhibition are residents of occupied areas or refugee camps.
“Artists, writers and intellectuals have reflected on what immigration means for our world today, both politically and culturally,” said Coury, “as well as the challenges and opportunities that it presents for us all."
Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me) will be on view through Monday, April 15, 2019.
(Sturgeon Bay, WI)—February 21, 2019—The Miller Art Museum is excited to announce the opening of a new exhibition Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me) on Saturday, March 2, 2019. The exhibition features the work of visual artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arabic diaspora. The contemporary works include painting, photography, and drawing, all working in a narrative frame to tell stories of refuge, displacement, war, and contemporary visual culture. The visual arts exhibition will be accompanied by a theater production at Third Avenue Playhouse, drawing inspiration from the artwork.
Habiba Sheikh, a curator and performance artist originally from Lebabon, organized the exhibition. “I hope that through this exhibition, people realize that we all have so much in common,” said Sheikh. The show’s title, Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me), alludes to the idea that “people are more alike than different, that we are all human,” she continued. According to a report done by the UN in June 2018, there are at least 12.2 million children under 18, half of the refugees around the world, who are “cast adrift by political currents and war.” Many of the artists whose work is featured in this exhibition are residents of occupied areas or refugee camps.
The artist’s visual works are presented in a theatrical fashion, with a narrative arc corresponding to “acts” within the show. The works are also seen alongside Sheikh’s poetic texts, using storytelling to express the experiences of those who are often voiceless, or demonized within the American mindset or press. “We are thrilled to partner with Habibah Sheikh in exhibiting these works,” said Elizabeth Shoshany Anderson, curator of exhibitions and collections at the Miller Art Museum. “The vibrant, beautiful pieces tell stories that we don’t often hear. It’s different work than we’re used to seeing, however stories of diaspora, displacement, and migration are relevant to Door County as a tourism-based economy operating on a largely seasonal basis. We have had a history of cultural exchange via shipping routes, as well as transient populations relevant to seasonal tourism and agricultural workers passing through this area for quite some time,” continued Shoshany Anderson.
(Sturgeon Bay, WI)—November 13, 2018—The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce the award winners from the 43d Juried Annual Exhibition. Every year the Miller Art Museum invites artists 18 years of age and older to submit up to two works in two-dimensional media for consideration in this competitive exhibition. Artists from Door County and the surrounding five counties (Sheboygan, Brown, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, and Oconto) are invited to submit works.