Galleries Reimagined
The futuristic exterior of its Quadricci Pavilion has become a signature of the Milwaukee Art Museum and a hallmark of the city. But the biggest news from this museum comes from the gallery spaces below the famous wings.
The museum reopened its Collections Galleries in November after a 14-month, $34 million renovation. Crews expanded areas such as the 1957 War Memorial Center and added 25,000 square feet of new exhibit space, allowing the museum to display an additional 1,000 works from its collection.
The renovation expanded galleries dedicated to antiquities, European art, American art, modern art and folk art. It also created room for two new galleries: the Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Art, which showcases photos, film, video installations and other media, and the 20th- and 21st-Century Design Galleries, which focus on housewares, jewelry, furniture, textiles and other decorative arts.
Wetlands Explored
Wildlife lovers have long known Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin as the country’s largest freshwater cattail marsh and a birding hot spot, and airboat rides there are a popular way of seeing the flora and fauna of the area. The education and visitors center at the site now has a new “explorium” that gives groups a deeper look into the natural history of the area.
Exhibits inside the explorium focus on the life of the marsh thousands of years before it was discovered by European settlers. Visitors learn about the glaciers that carved the wetlands and see exhibits such as a wooly mammoth replica that depict the area during the Ice Age. Other artifacts include hunting and trapping equipment, as well as items from the age of European exploration.
The explorium features a number of video and interactive displays, including a full-scale video airboat simulator.
Steamboat Restored
The Julia Belle Swain began its life as a steam stern-wheeler in Peoria in 1971 and operated in various places around the Midwest before being anchored in 2008. It was purchased in 2013 by a nonprofit group that has been working to painstakingly restore it and put it back into service in La Crosse, where it will be one of only five authentic operating steam riverboats in the United States and the only one operating on the upper Mississippi River.
The vessel, which is powered by century-old steam engines thought to have logged more than a million nautical miles, is nearing the end of its $2 million restoration and is expected to be on the water in Wisconsin this spring. Instead of operating as an excursion boat with scheduled sightseeing trips, the owners plan to use it for private charters and special events, which can include catered meals.
