The following article was written by Carrie L. Estrella for the Rahr-West Art Forward series.
Sometimes you just need to get on the road and go! Thankfully, this summer there are several temporary art exhibits (meaning “if any of these exhibits sound interesting to you, make sure to schedule time to see them before they leave”) within driving distance of Manitowoc that could be your ticket out of town.
Below are a few highlighted exhibits I plan to visit with my family this summer. For some of them, you will need to plan in advance as social distancing measures and ticketing is still in play. I hope these suggestions get you excited to hit the road this summer too!
- Washed Ashore: Art To Save The Sea
On display at the Green Bay Botanical Garden May 8 – September 26
Washed Ashore is a non-profit organization 501(c)(3) that builds and exhibits aesthetically powerful art to educate a global audience about plastic pollution in the ocean and waterways and spark positive changes in consumer habits.
Washed Ashore was founded by a teacher, consultant and artist of more than 35 years – Angela Haseltine Pozzi. Over the years, Pozzi has taught all grade levels from elementary to college; therefore, in addition to being an artistic experience, this unique display is also a powerful educational encounter for the whole family that is sure to cultivate a renewed sense of environmental responsibility. This is the first time Washed Ashore has ever been exhibited in Wisconsin. The exhibit gives you the opportunity to see eight vibrant, larger-than-life sea animal sculptures built with garbage polluting the waterways of our Earth. As a locally relevant example, a brand-new sculpture – Stanley the Lake Sturgeon – was designed to represent the plastic pollution affecting the Great Lakes ecological system. Enhancing the naturally inherent beauty of the GB Botanical Garden’s landscaping, these sculptures will be found along the many paths you can walk and are included in the regular admission fee. Signs detailing facts about each animal, how plastic affects their environment and wellbeing, and what actions people can take to make a difference will be posted by each sculpture. Information will also be available explaining Washed Ashore’s mission and how the sculptures they build are created from marine debris.
While you’re visiting Green Bay – don’t forget to also head downtown to see another sea animal making its entrance at 112 N. Adams Street. The Salva-Jelly art installation is a sculpture commissioned by Downtown Green Bay, Inc., created by artist Brandon Minga earlier this year.
On display at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL from June 5 – September 6
Originally scheduled for 2020 and then postponed by the pandemic for 1 year, this comprehensive art exhibit shares both the life and the works of the artist Frida Kahlo, including 26 of her original pieces that are on temporary loan from the Dolores Olmedo museum. It is impossible to comprehend and appreciate the complexities of Kahlo’s paintings without insight into the world she was a part of – or as Frida Kahlo termed it, “her reality”. The immersive historical exhibit that accompanies her artwork helps describe for visitors the circumstances, love, pain, politics, cultural and social events that inspired Frida Kahlo to paint her self-portraits and to become one of the most recognized painters of the 20th century.
If you strategically schedule your visit between July 5 – September 6, make sure you also plan to stay into the evening hours and head into downtown Chicago where you can take in the popular video projection series – Art on theMart – on the southside of the Merchandise Mart. First launched in 2018, Frida Kahlo will be the focus of the Art on theMart series’ projections during the second half of the summer. Projections are free to the public and will be shown nightly at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. They are best viewed from the Chicago Riverwalk and Wacker Drive between Wells Street and Franklin Street and will be accompanied by an orchestral score from Mexican composer Arturo Márquez. For more information, check out artonthemart.com.
On display at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee from July 9 – September 19
Have you ever wanted to stand inside a Van Gogh masterpiece and feel yourself become part of the painting as the colors envelope you? In the spirit of pushing the boundaries of art, and enabled through digital art files, projectors and motion detectors, this exhibit makes you feel like you are part of the production. Created by Montreal-based Normal Studios, Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is a walk-through exhibition using cutting-edge projection technology that bathes the walls, ceilings and floors in colors and light seemingly bringing Van Gogh’s artwork to life. The approximately hour-long journey takes visitors through 300 of Van Gogh’s works and uses Van Gogh’s own words to generate a narrative that immerses each visitor into his dreams and his thoughts, both beautiful and haunting…
While in Milwaukee, you can also check out the sculptures erected throughout downtown Milwaukee by Sculpture Milwaukee. Sculpture Milwaukee is in its 5th year of providing an annual exhibition of public sculpture to (in their own words) “serve as a catalyst for community engagement, economic development, and creative placemaking.” This year, the exhibition title, there is this We, will explore contemporary global issues. The title of the exhibition comes from the opening line of the poem An Aspect of Love, Alive in the Ice and Fire by Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black poet to be awarded a Pulitzer prize. Sculptures will be installed in late May. For more information about where to find these sculptures, visit sculpturemilwaukee.com
These are just a few of the exciting art exhibits happening all around us this summer – perhaps one of these exhibits will be calling your name, but if not, just keep your eyes and ears open for more options and remember…
– Life is too short to not go on that spontaneous road trip. – Anonymous