Dates: May 14 – 20, 2024
Tuition and Lodging: $4200
Class Limit: 12 People

Join Erin Zona and Faythe Levine for an inspiring 6-day trip to Wisconsin to experience some genuine Midwestern Nice. Home to internationally acclaimed museums and residency programs, the rich legacy of art and culture in Wisconsin is not to be missed! As you travel along the picturesque shores of Lake Michigan, experience unprecedented access and insight into the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) and Art Preserve, participate in a private 2-day moveable type letterpress workshop at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, and more. Reserve your space now, or keep reading to learn more about this unforgettable art adventure!

Meet Your Guides

Faythe Levine Hauser & Wirth Institute Archivist for Women’s Studio Workshop
Levine has been in service to the arts for over twenty years and before relocating to upstate New York in 2020, Levine spent the majority of her adult life living in Wisconsin and exploring its many unique places. In Milwaukee she was committed to the local creative community as the founder of the first contemporary makers market in the city Art vs. Craft (2005-2014), a gallery owner, working artist, administrator and most recently was the Director of Arts/Industry program at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan. Among other projects, she directed and authored two feature length documentaries with accompanying books published by Princeton Architectural Press, Sign Painters (2013) and Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft and Design (2009).

Erin Zona Co-Executive Director: Arts & Strategic Advancement
Erin is a practicing artist with a special interest in research-based projects that utilize archives and special collections. Erin is responsible for the artistic integrity of all programs and projects; including WSW’s artist’s book publishing program, coordination of all exhibitions on and off-site, and panel selection for all competitive programs. Zona has led and managed many experienced-based art tours, including a fieldwork course of special collections housed in private homes and public institutions across Kansas City, Missouri and WSW’s Mokuhanga workshop at Mi-Lab in Japan.

About The Experience

This travel experience has been curated to visit the most unique and inspiring places in the area. The adventure will kick off with waking up at the beautiful Saint Kate Arts Hotel and heading to the Mitchell Park Domes for a tour through the three beehive-shaped glass domes. These unique structures house three distinct climates thematically divided into; desert, tropical and floral.

Sarah Zapata: a resilience of things not seen installation view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2022. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Image courtesy of Mitchell Park Domes

The Art Preserve visible storage facility, Sheboygan, WI. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

From Milwaukee we will make our way North up the coast of Lake Michigan to Kohler, WI. Designed by The Olmsted Brothers in 1917, Kohler Village is the home of the flagship Kohler Co. Factory where the famous John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry residency is hosted in the Pottery and Foundry buildings. We will have a special tour with the director of the program who will take our group through the artist-in-residence studios located on the Kohler Factory floor. We will have the opportunity to ask questions about process, materials and learn about the history of the residency that will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. The next day will start with a curatorial tour of the Art Preserve, a one-of-a-kind award winning visible storage facility which opened to the public in 2021. Designed by award winning architectural team Tres Birds, the Art Preserve is a satellite campus of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC). The 56,000-sq.-ft., three-level building holds more than 25,000 works from the nearby JMKAC’s world-renowned collection, one-of-a-kind artist-designed washrooms and complete and partial environments by more than thirty vernacular, self-taught, and academically trained artists. Visitors experience unprecedented access and insight into the display, preservation, conservation, and interpretation of the JMKAC’s premier collection through tableaux as well as a unique system of curated, visible storage of the works of art.

Emery Blagdon’s “The Healing Machine” at the Art Preserve. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

The John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Arts/Industry artist-in-residence Sarah Blood in the Kohler Co. Pottery, 2023. Photo: Kohler Co., courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Arts/Industry artist-in-residence Kate Klingbeil in the Kohler Co. Foundry, 2020. Photo: Kohler Co., courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Arts/Industry artist-in-residence Michelle Grabner casting tiles with assistant Emily Duke for an Art Preserve Washroom installation. Photo: Kohler Co., courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Later that day the group will venture three-miles closer to Lake Michigan to explore the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, known for promoting the understanding and appreciation of the work of self-taught and contemporary artists through exhibitions and commissioned works of art. Founded in 1967, JMKAC has preserved, studied, and exhibited artist-built environments, earning a worldwide reputation. Art environments involve an individual significantly transforming their surroundings into an exceptional, multifaceted work of art. The Arts Center’s downtown Sheboygan facility includes eight galleries, two performance spaces, a café, a museum shop, and a drop-in art-making studio. While in Sheboygan we will also have the opportunity to wander around the Tellen Sculpture Garden, an artist built environment constructed by James A. Tellen between 1942 and 1957. Tellen created over 30 historic, religious and mythic figures within the woods surrounding his family’s summer cottage. This will be in direct conversation with the work we are viewing at the Art Preserve and JMKAC and give a better understanding about different ways artists turn their environments into artistic spaces.

Image courtesy of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Image courtesy of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Image courtesy of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Image courtesy of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Image courtesy of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Image courtesy of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Image courtesy of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Our adventure then takes us another hour north along gorgeous Lake Michigan to our next destination, Two Rivers, WI. Here the group will participate in a private 2-day moveable type letterpress workshop at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. Hamilton Manufacturing was America’s largest and longest wood type maker and has the world’s greatest collection of type and the tools to use it. No experience is needed and everything you need will be provided, including instruction, tools, and materials. The workshop will kick off with a tour of the facilities and a behind-the-scenes look at our collections. From 9-4 each day students will have access to the pressroom with nine cabinets of wood type. With direction from workshop leaders, everyone will work on their own press for both days and can expect to design 3 layouts and take home approximately 50-prints. In Two Rivers we will experience a true midwestern Friday night Fish-fry, mini-bowling and enjoy staying right on the beautiful coast of Lake Michigan. Workshop participants will leave Wisconsin with new skills, prints, inspiration, and friendships. Participants will gain the basic skills in this letterpress technique and have access to wood type from Hamilton that will inspire their studio work long after we depart.

Milkwaukee Riverfront, image courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee

Milwaukee Art Museum exterior, image courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee

Milwaukee Public Market, Image courtesy of Jeramey Jannene, Urban Milwaukee

Milwaukee Art Museum interior, image courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee

From Two Rivers we will head back down to Milwaukee for the last full day of the trip. We will visit the largest art museum in the state of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Art Museum which houses a Collection of more than 30,000 works, hosts an impressive lineup of internationally regarded exhibitions and is the architectural icon of Milwaukee with the bold Quadracci Pavilion designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The day will wrap up at the Milwaukee Public Market for some regional shopping and snacks before heading back to the Saint Kate Hotel before the goodbye dinner at a local award winning restaurant.

Accommodations

At each location, guests will be staying in single occupancy rooms and responsible for their personal incidentals.  

The trip will start and end in Milwaukee with lodging at the beautiful Saint Kate Art Hotel. A modern luxury experience, the name Saint Kate gives a nod to Saint Catherine—the patron saint of artists and the original champion of the creative process. Every aspect of the hotel is inspired by music, painting, sculpture, and design. Each room features art from local makers, a record player, and views of downtown Milwaukee make this room the perfect place to enjoy a quiet moment before heading out to explore. Saint Kate features two on-site galleries including the satellite space for the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) and the Seed Collection on display throughout the building. Additionally there are numerous on-site restaurants and bars offering various culinary options. 

In Sheboygan, we will stay a single night nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan at the Blue Harbor Resort. The stunning architecture resembles a castle on a bluff and the interior and exterior features of the property maximize its beautiful water views. The guest rooms at Blue Harbor Resort are considered suites as they are larger than typical hotel rooms and include a private balcony or patio and King size beds.

Once in Two Rivers we will stay 3-nights at the Lighthouse Inn also overlooking Lake Michigan. The hotel is conveniently located within walking distance of our workshop at Hamilton and will accommodate our schedule with on-site dining at the Water’s Edge Restaurant, perfect for pre-workshop breakfast and coffee.

Blue Harbor Resort, Sheboygan, WI. Image courtesy of Blue Harbor Resort

Lighthouse Inn, Two Rivers, WI. Image courtesy of Booking.com

Saint Kate Hotel, Milwaukee WI. Image courtesy of Saint Kate Hotel

Saint Kate Hotel, Milwaukee WI. Image courtesy of Saint Kate Hotel

Food

Participants will be responsible for purchasing their own meals with the exception of our first night together for welcome drinks and appetizers, boxed lunches during the Hamilton workshop, and our final dinner. With advance notice, we will do our best to accommodate any dietary requirements or allergies. For vegetarians and vegans, we will be mindful to assure there are options for you. Breakfast will be available for purchase at various locations based on our itinerary. 

Travel

Everyone will arrange their own transportation to and from Wisconsin, arriving on Tuesday, May 14th and departing on Monday, May 20th. Our first hotel is only 15 minutes from the Milwaukee International Airport (MKE), and UBER, LYFT or Taxi are your best options for transportation. Each person will be responsible for checking into the lodging on May 14th before our first group dinner at the hotel at 6pm. We have scheduled activities in Milwaukee May 15th and will drive 1-hour to Kohler, WI in our passenger van as a group that afternoon. May 16-18 will be spent in Two Rivers, WI a 40-minute drive from Kohler. On the morning of May 19th, we will return together to Milwaukee, where we will have a final day of scheduled activities, and the trip will conclude in the morning of May 20th. Please book your flight to leave on May 20th, aloting enough travel time from Saint Kate Hotel to the Milwaukee airport. We also encourage participants to stay longer and explore further on their own, Chicago is only 2 hours South of Milwaukee and there are many other destinations nearby. Any additional nights at Saint Kate  would be at the participants’ own arrangement and expense. Please note the schedule below for more detailed information. 

Accessibility

Please contact info@wsworkshop.org for specific accessibility information. We would like to accommodate all participants’ needs and can gather additional information from various locations by request and also discuss your personal needs. 

Schedule Highlights

Subject to minor changes

Tuesday, May 14: Arrive in Milwaukee

Everyone will check into the Saint Kate Hotel (check in time is 3pm). If you arrive before 3pm, take time to explore the hotel and the front desk can keep your luggage for you.

Wednesday, May 15: Milwaukee/Sheboygan

Thursday, May 16: Sheboygan

Friday, May 17:  Two Rivers

Saturday, May 18:  Two Rivers

Sunday, May 19: Milwaukee 

Monday, May 20: Depart 

Hotel check out by 12:00

Tuition and Cancellation

-Your spot in the workshop is not secure until the $500 nonrefundable deposit is paid, and the remaining balance of $3,700 is due by 2/15/2024.
-If you cancel within 30 days of your workshop there is no refund. However if you test positive for COVID-19 within 10 days of the start of your workshop please contact our office at (845) 658-9133.
-All cancellations must be submitted in writing either via email to [email protected] or mail. Please do not call to cancel your workshop registration.
-If WSW has to cancel a workshop for any reason, your deposit and tuition will be refunded in full, or can be transferred to another workshop. Workshops need to meet a minimum enrollment requirement to run. Participants will be notified by 2/1/2024 if the class has been cancelled due to under-enrollment. WSW is not responsible for non-refundable airline tickets or housing costs.