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The Charles Allis Art Museum will be closed Dec. 21 - Jan. 2.
About Charles Allis Art Museum
The Charles Allis Art Museum is a historic home and art museum bequeathed to Milwaukee by Sarah Ball Allis. Named for Sarah’s husband, the Museum permanently houses the couple’s vast art collection with works dating from 3000 B.C. through the twentieth century. Today, the Allis enriches Milwaukee’s quality of life by creating opportunities for residents and visitors to experience history, culture, and the arts through contemporary art exhibitions and programming. For information regarding hours, admission and events visit charlesallis.org.
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Past News
For Immediate Release: Feb. 13, 2024
Charles Allis welcomes Artist in Residence Tracey Nickolaus
MILWAUKEE – The Charles Allis Art Museum on Milwaukee’s East Side welcomes visual artist Tracy Nickolaus to the Museum’s Artist-in-Residence program.
Nickolaus —whose current body of work focuses on memory loss and dementia— will be studying the Museum’s global collection of works and creating a solo exhibition of new works during her residency. She is the first painter in the new residency program.
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For Immediate Release: Jan. 25, 2023
New exhibition at the Charles Allis Art Museum critiques photography and video art in the Internet Age
MILWAUKEE – Featuring artists from across the globe including William Kentridge, Otobong Nkanga and Marilyn Minter, Charles Allis Art Museum’s newest exhibition “Screen Time: Video Art and Photography in the Age of the Internet” explores and critiques still photography and video media in the age of TikTok and memes. The exhibition opens Feb. 8 with a free guided tour after hours.
“Almost everyone has a smartphone these days,” says Senior Curator Phoenix Brown. “We are constantly consuming media and art in the palm of our hands when we scroll through social media. ‘Screen Time’ critiques this mass consumption and explores the influence of online culture from its effects on artistic practice to social conditions.”
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For Immediate Release: Nov. 18, 2023
The Charles Allis Art Museum celebrates the 50th anniversary of hip hop
MILWAUKEE – The Charles Allis Art Museum on Milwaukee’s East side is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of hip hop music and its legacy in the Milwaukee community with a panel discussion featuring local experts and a performance by DJ No Request on Saturday, Dec. 2.
The Allis invites the community and music lovers to learn more about hip hop, from its origins to its global influence with the panel discussion at 7 p.m. The speakers are yet to be announced. DJ No Request will take the floor at 8 p.m.
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For Immediate Release: Oct. 6, 2023
Autumn at the Allis returns to Milwaukee’s east side with Wandering Nerve, Treccy MT, Caley Conway and Jorge Vallentine
MILWAUKEE – The Charles Allis Art Museum welcomed Milwaukee’s east side back for its free concert series, Autumn at the Allis with an opening night performance by Wandering Nerve and the opening of Allis Artist-in-Residence Michael Lagerman’s “Not Pictured” on Thursday night.
Guests were free to explore the new exhibition and the Museum before and after Wandering Nerve’s performance in the Museum’s courtyard. Mobile dessert bar Sweetly Baked was also on site with CBD-infused treats.
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For Immediate Release: July 11, 2023
Charles Allis Art Museum presents “Talk Back: Estate” featuring work by T.J. Dedeaux-Norris
The Museum and Dedeaux-Norris explore personal and institutional histories.
MILWAUKEE — The Charles Allis Art Museum on Milwaukee’s East Side reflects on its institutional history in conversation with contemporary works by mixed-media artist T.J. Dedeaux-Norris in its new exhibition “Talk Back: Chapter One: Estate,” opening July 20.
“Talk Back” is a three-part exhibition series which brings contemporary artists and their practices into conversation with the Museum's history and collection. In this first “chapter,” work by Dedeaux-Norris exploring the artist’s identity and personal history “talks back” to the Museum’s historic roles and identities in the community.
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For Immediate Release: June 28, 2023
Charles Allis Art Museum welcomes Artist in Residence Michael Lagerman
Artist to create exhibition of cameraless photography
MILWAUKEE — The Charles Allis Art Museum on Milwaukee’s East Side welcomes photographer Michael Lagerman to its residency program where the artist will expand upon his studies of cameraless prints.
Lagerman’s practice “blends queer and emotional prose” with the “processes and materials of image-making.” His recent practice has focused further on the material of photography.
“I’m looking forward to my residency to work on and experiment with cameraless techniques to make lumen prints and chemograms,” says Lagerman.
The photographer will be studying the Museum’s global collection of works and creating a solo exhibition in conversation with the historic home and collection.
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For Immediate Release: June 8, 2023
Charles Allis Art Museum presents "On the Grounds Of"
Siara Berry's solo exhibition opens June 22
MILWAUKEE — The Charles Allis Art Museum presents “On the Grounds Of,” a solo exhibition by Milwaukee sculptor and Allis Artist in Residence Siara Berry, which reimagines the function of the American lawn and housing ideals in the United States.
The exhibition features new work by Berry, created during her residency. The Allis Artist Residency program recommends artists to study the historic home’s history and global art collection to create an exhibition in conversation with the Museum.
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For Immediate Release: Jan. 10, 2023
Milwaukee Museum Changing Name to Celebrate Women and Nonbinary People in Art
Small Museum Tackles Major Gender Inequalities with New Exhibition
MILWAUKEE – The Charles Allis Art Museum on Milwaukee’s East Side is temporarily changing its name. From Jan. 26 through June 11th, 2023, the museum will be known as the Sarah Ball Allis Art Museum, honoring the Wisconsin socialite and art collector who gifted her home and vast art collection to Milwaukee upon her death.
The name change comes as part of its new, homonymous exhibition, crafted by Milwaukee-based artist and guest curator Kate Schaffer who collaborated with the museum to rename the institution for the exhibition.
“Women and nonbinary people have historically been disadvantaged, their narratives written by others,” notes Schaffer, who identifies as nonbinary and uses she/her pronouns for political purposes. “By renaming the Allis, we’re repairing the history of the home, the collection and Sarah herself and we’re taking a small but significant step to amend the historical silencing of women and nonbinary persons, particularly in the art world. ”
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For Immediate Release: Oct. 24, 2022
Charles Allis Welcomes New Artist in Residence
Milwaukee Sculptor Siara Berry Joins the Museum
MILWAUKEE – The Charles Allis Art Museum has launched a new artist in residence program for Milwaukee-based artists and is proud to welcome its first artist for the program: local sculptor Siara Berry.
Berry, whose work is “an overarching critique of American housing systems and ideals,” began her residency at the museum in late September, drawn by the opportunity to create and exhibit work in the historic home.
“The Charles Allis is a historical home situated in Milwaukee’s ever-changing, developing East Side. The dynamics of space as it relates to the work is something I hope to capitalize on, and will give the work an entirely new sense of place,” says Berry.
The sculptor is creating an installation piece for the museum’s courtyard featuring several large-scale sculptures.
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For Immediate Release: Oct. 24, 2022
The Charles Allis Opens New Contemporary Galleries
First Exhibition Features Regional Artists
MILWAUKEE – The Charles Allis Art Museum is opening three new spaces for experimental and contemporary works Oct. 27 and quietly celebrating the new additions with the final concert of Autumn at the Allis.
Called the Connecting Galleries, the three spaces take advantage of unique points in the museum: the elevator, the Queen-Anne style dining room table and a small room that once functioned as Sarah Allis’ private entrance.
“When you have an art museum in a historic space you need to think differently,” says Senior Curator Phoenix Brown. “We asked artists to consider these spaces beyond their dimensions, when we accepted proposals. We wanted them to think about the history, the use and the perceptions of these domestic spaces in society.”
The Connecting Galleries, respectively known as The Lift, The Table and Passage End, will feature rotating exhibitions of works by different artists. Chicago-based Ruby Que and Millicent Kennedy, along with Milwaukee-native Rachel Sanders will be the first artists to feature in the new galleries.
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For Immediate Release: Sept. 27, 2022
Autumn at the Allis Returns
Charles Allis Art Museum Welcomes Locals and Local Music this October
MILWAUKEE – The Charles Allis Art Museum is excited to welcome Milwaukee back for its free concert series, Autumn at the Allis. Visitors are invited to listen to local music artists and enjoy local eats alongside the Allis’ art collection every Thursday this October.
“Autumn at the Allis is a great, family-friendly community event. This year’s should be even better than last’s. We’ve got great food and a great line-up. There’s something for everyone,” says Membership and Development Director Matt Pappas.
This year features local favorites Johnathon Mayer with Liam Hayes, Steph Lippert, Derek Pritzl and Ellie Jackson, capturing music from psychedelic pop to R&B and country.
2022 Autumn at the Allis Series:
Oct. 6: Johnathon Mayer with Liam Hayes at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 13: Steph Lippert at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 20: Derek Pritzl at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 27: Ellie Jackson at 8:30 p.m.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 through Oct. 20 and 8 p.m. Oct. 27, allowing visitors to explore the museum prior to performances. Rich Frishman’s photography exhibition “Ghosts of Segregation: America’s Continuing Struggle” is currently on display.
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For Immediate Release: Aug. 31, 2022
Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Art Museums Announce Access Program for Low-Income Families
The Allis joins the Villa Terrace in Increasing Art and Museum Accessibility in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE – Today the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Art Museums announced that they have joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits.
The program supports those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits visiting the museums. They will now receive free admission for up to four people to the Allis and the Terrace, with presentation of a SNAP electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card.
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For Immediate Release: July 25, 2022
Charles Allis Art Museum Guests Invited to Confront “Ghosts of Segregation” in New Exhibition
Museum Welcomes Exhibition with New Executive Director and Senior Curator
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee’s Charles Allis Art Museum will host “Ghosts of Segregation: America’s Continuing Struggle” a traveling photography exhibition that explores the lingering presence of segregation, slavery and institutional racism hidden in everyday American architecture.
Through his work, Washington state-based photographer Richard Allen Frishman demonstrates how our surroundings bear witness to history. From the New Orleans Slave Exchange to the abandoned Negro Nursing School in Houston, the shocking nature of Frishman's images reveals insidious evidence of segregation and historic racism.
“Jim Crow not only extended across America, but it also became part of everyday life in communities across the country. The built environment is society's autobiography writ large,” writes Frishman. The artist’s photography shows viewers where we have been and where we are now as a society, asking “Where do we go from here?”