Every fall residents of the Milwaukee area can look forward to the Hidden River Art Festival at Brookfield’s Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (SLWC). This fifth-annual art event takes place Sept. 17-19 and represents the organization’s mission statement “to be the catalyst for lifelong discovery and exploration of the arts.”
That mission continues with this year’s installation of an outdoor public sculpture. SLWC instructor Brock Rumohr placed a welded steel frame on an 8-by-8-foot concrete foundation and is inviting community members to weave wooden laths and native plant life through the structure to create an art installation. When the event ends, the sculpture will remain on view for the public and students participating in SLWC’s art classes. Rumohr’s ephemeral, environmentally conscious installation will slowly disintegrate and be removed before the 2011 art event.
Artists’ booths are set up throughout the grounds, and visitors are free to peruse the work, ask questions and purchase pieces. The festival exclusively showcases Wisconsin artwork, and Milwaukee artists feature prominently in the event. Inside the Wilson Center, the Emerging Artist Gallery provides an innovative look at Wisconsin’s art future. This year the exhibit “Object” presents five UW-Milwaukee artists working in a variety of media to create jewelry and sculptural pieces.
Last year’s Best In Show winner, Emily Belknap, exhibits in the Ploch Art Gallery with three-dimensional work and an installation created for the festival. Belknap’s exhibition continues through Oct. 28, with an official artist’s reception Oct. 1 at 6 p.m.
Attendees can enjoy this creative outdoor experience while discovering Wisconsin artists such as Bruce Erdman, Linda Gaalaas, Karin Haas, Charlotte Fung Miller, Monica McFarland, Will Schueler and Ken Swanson.
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The Hidden River Art Festival runs 1-7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission costs $5 in advance, $7 at the door.
‘Drink and Draw’
BYO Studio Lounge and Gallery
2246 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
The back-to-school edition of BYO Studio’s “Drink and Draw” social club offers an opportunity to socialize and improve your drawing skills. While at the free event on Friday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m., enjoy the current BYO exhibition “Diverse Abstractions.”
‘Inspired Design’
Mount Mary College
2900 N. Menomonee River Parkway
Bazyli Studio showcases the nationally acclaimed fiber art and high-fashion designs of Door County husband-and-wife team Skye and Peter Ciesla. Their imaginative artwork will be on display in the Marian Art Gallery beginning with an opening reception on Sunday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m.
Niemi Sculpture Gallery & Garden
13300 S. 116th St., Kenosha
Bruce and Suzi Niemi display the work of more than 30 artists in this Kenosha gallery, which holds a “Fall Sculpture Walk” 2-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19.
