It’s a special yearlong celebration for a Manitowoc museum.
The Rahr-West Art Museum is celebrating its 75th anniversary throughout 2025.
Executive Director Greg Vadney says in 1950, a board of directors was formed to run the museum, although it was part of Manitowoc County history since the 1940s.
There will be plenty of events held to celebrate the special year, including one this Saturday (February 8th from 11:00 to 4:00 pm.
Vadney says the Rahr-West is hosting an open house to mark the reopening of Vilas-Rahr Mansion.
“All the exhibits are kind of interconnected with the overarching theme being our 75th anniversary,” he explained. “They all have historic connections to what the museum has been.”
The event includes a tour with Vadney as well as an Art of Conversation class with Laura Bickford.
From 2:00 to 3:00 pm, those interested can get an accordion sketchbook to be able to draw.
While the 75th anniversary is going on, the official day of celebration will be September 19th, when the board was officially created.
The purpose of the board was to hire an executive director. Vadney is the ninth curator of the museum.
He also spoke about how the museum is now thriving.
“In 2024, we had one of our best-attended years ever at the Rahr-West Art Museum, and that’s a rarity, especially in the post-Covid museum world,”he stated. “Most museums have not even returned to their pre-Covid numbers. We’ve far exceeded them.”
Improvements have also been made to the museum and home itself.
That included a roof project last year.
“It has allowed us to really better modulate our environment,” he described. “And that’s really key when it comes to art and artifacts is making sure that you got the right temperature and humidity for stuff.”
Vadney says other events like Sputnikfest and other exhibits will have the overarching theme of 75 years as well.
The museum also has some late nights until May when it will stay open until 8:00 pm.
More information can be found online at Manitowoc.org.
