Manitowoc art museum will display Wisconsin prison art this summer. Here's what to know about the exhibit in your weekly dose.
MANITOWOC - Manitowoc’s Rahr-West Art Museum will host “Art Against the Odds: Wisconsin Prison Art” June 4-Aug. 6 featuring more than 60 artists who turned to creative production to mitigate the de-humanizing conditions of incarceration.
An opening reception with remarks by exhibit curators Debra Brehmer and Paul Salsieder will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. June 4.
The museum will offer free guided tours of the exhibit each Saturday at 1 p.m. with museum staff or special guest tour guides.
The programs are free and open to the public.
Under development for two years by Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art in Milwaukee, the exhibition gives voice and visibility to individuals held in the state’s carceral system as well as illustrates the potential healing properties of an art practice.
With few instructional art programs offered in the prison system, these individuals teach themselves through various means, often working with limited materials.
The exhibition explores how art becomes a vehicle to develop self-esteem, self-awareness, regulate emotions and explore multi-faceted aspects of identity.
The exhibition underscores the humanity of incarcerated individuals and their potential beyond criminal records.
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One artist creates postage-sized abstract landscapes of places he imagines visiting.
Another, who died of cancer in prison in 2021, produced a “Mug Shot” series using collaged junk food wrappers.
Yet another artist created 150 paintings of Bible verses while incarcerated as a way to reconnect to his faith.
Learning to paint by watching 1980s-1990s Bob Ross videos, several artists have produced detailed, idealized landscapes as antidotes to the conditions of the prison environment.
A formerly incarcerated artist found that repetitive mark making soothed his anxiety as he ritualistically made layered graphite and pen drawings.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Currently, there are 2.3 million individuals in the criminal justice system. In Wisconsin, there are 24,000 adults in state prisons, 2,200 in federal prisons, 13,000 in local jails, 20,000 on parole and 44,000 on probation — a total of 103,200 individuals. There are 36 adult correctional facilities in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has the nation’s highest national rate of incarceration among its Black population, more than double the national average.
For more about the exhibit and the museum, go to rahrwestartmuseum.org or call 920-686-3090.
The Rahr-West Art Museum, 610 N. Eighth St., is a department of the City of Manitowoc.
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Here is more news from throughout Manitowoc County in your weekly dose.
▶ Maritime Museum presentation to explore ‘Japanese Internment, Racism, and Americanism’: Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s next “Think & Drink” series presentation, at 6:30 p.m. May 4, will be “125,284 — Japanese Internment, Racism, and Americanism” with in-person guest speaker University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Joy Block.
According to a news release, Block will talk about Japanese internment, the anti-Japanese sentiment during wartime that swept across the U.S., and what proving American allegiance meant for Japanese Americans, especially second-generation immigrants.
Learn about Wisconsin’s role during this period of persecution and the Japanese Americans who lived and worked in the state as well as those who trained at Fort McCoy.
The featured drink of the night will be a Matcha Mint Julep. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase at the limited bar.
Doors and bar open at 6 p.m. The talk and live stream portion begin at 6:30 p.m. To access the live stream, register at https://forms.gle/VRxvKcy9SFAZysNt8.
Admission is free both in person and virtually. For more details, go to wisconsinmaritime.org or call 920-684-0218. The museum is at 75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc.
▶ Spring Fiber Extravaganza coming up May 5-7: Three fiber farms in Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties will host a free-admission Spring Fiber Extravaganza May 5-7 featuring a chance to visit each farm between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The following farms are participating:
Velvet Sheep Farms, W1681 Garton Road, Sheboygan. Peruse yarns, cat toys and dryer balls, all made out of wool.
LondonDairy Alpaca Ranch, 6827 State 147, Two Rivers. Interact and take selfies with 45-plus alpacas with their full fiber prior to shearing. Feed alpacas for $1. The farm store offers ultra-soft, hypoallergenic, thermal products made from alapaca.
Black Frog Farm, 10908 W. Belmar Ave., Maribel. A family-friendly farm focused on llamas and poultry. Stroll the gardens and check out the shop for goods made from sheep and llama fiber, fresh aggs and more.
▶ CASA fundraiser will bring award-winning play to Manitowoc: GoodCapp Arts, an award-winning New York City arts program that develops theater projects addressing the challenges facing young people worldwide, is coming to Manitowoc.
From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 19, the one-act play “Where Do We Go From Here?,” written by GoodCapp Arts founder Katie Cappiello, will be performed at The Venue, 702 York St., Manitowoc, to benefit CASA of East Central Wisconsin.
The play will be the featured highlight of CASA’s “Break the Cycle” event to raise awareness and funds for advocacy for children who have experienced abuse or neglect in the community. CASA’s community partners will also be honored at the event.
“We are so fortunate to be able to have this group and this play come to our area,” said Julie Ribley, executive director of CASA of East Central Wisconsin, in a news release. “The play will really open your eyes to the challenges faced by our CASA children and teens. This one-act play will bring to life the stories of young people touched by the foster care system who are determined to thrive.”
The play, directed by Cappiello and Charlotte Arnoux, explores the questions at the center of teenage life: What’s next? Where do I go from here? Who am I? Who will I be? For youngsters in the foster care system, the answers are often complicated.
Tickets for the Break the Cycle event are $25 per person. Corporate tables are also available. To learn more or to purchase tickets, go to https://casaecw.networkforgood.com/events/56280-break-the-cycle. The event is a fundraiser for CASA of East Central Wisconsin, so donations will be requested at the event.
CASA of East Central Wisconsin recruits, screens and trains volunteers from Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties to be the voice of abused and neglected children in the courtroom, seeking to ensure them a safe and permanent home.
▶ Bird Breakfast returns at Woodland Dunes May 20: Woodland Dunes, 3000 Hawthorne Ave., Two Rivers, will again host its annual spring tradition, Bird Breakfast, from 8 until 11 a.m. May 20 at its Nature Center.
Tickets are $6 each and kids younger than 4 are admitted free.
“Bird Breakfast is an annual tradition in Manitowoc County as well as a celebration of International Migratory Bird Day,” said Jessica Johnsrud, coordinator of the program, in a news release. “We are so fortunate to be located near Lake Michigan, a major flyway for migratory birds.”
The event kicks off with a pancake and ham breakfast with fruit compote and breakfast beverages.
The 81-year tradition is recognized statewide by bird lovers and is offered as a unique way to encourage folks and families to get out in spring, walk trails and listen to the new sounds of the season.
Guided bird hikes will be held during the event, and registration is required. The hikes will be at 7 a.m. on the trail at the end of Goodwin Road; at 8 a.m. on Willow Trail near the sky shed; at 9 a.m. on the Cattail Trail into the marsh; and at 10 a.m. on Willow Trail near the sky shed.
For details or to register, visit http://www.woodlanddunes.org/bird-breakfast/ or call 920-793-4007.
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Treatment facility: This Manitowoc drug treatment center is opening a new 20-bed men’s facility. Here’s what to know about the expansion.
Heart-A-Rama: The fundraiser comedy show is back for its 51st year in Two Rivers
Metro Jam: Manitowoc summer music festival unveils full slate of performers
Manitowoc County history: These German-born cousins ran Pfister & Vogel Company tannery in Two Creeks from 1861 to 1877. Today, their early settlement is a town park.
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This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Wisconsin prison art coming to Manitowoc art museum Rahr-West in 2023
