John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC)

Overall, the 2023 programming focused on the Arts Center theme "considering kin," in which we look at kinship as an intentional process, a mindful act of nurturing feelings of belonging as we move through the world. A big moment reflecting this was the Arts Center's gala, in which was overall a community arts-based project, part performance, part costume party, and all about activating kinship to lift each other up. The great gala runway project featured a partnership with rcs empowers, Inc. (rcs), an organization in sheboygan that works to empower individuals with disabilities. Throughout the first 5 months of 2023, Arts Center programming engaged with visiting artists, rcs participants, and community members in a workshop studio space to create fashion pieces worn by rcs participants at the show. Between the workshops and event, hundreds of participants were reached.also, the Arts Center hosted its midsummer festival of the Arts reaching about 13,000 people over the third weekend in july. Additionally, the chair city event reached about 200 visitors. Visual Arts: the John Michael Kohler Arts Center staff annually originates 15-20 curated exhibitions that emphasize installation works, new genres, craft-related forms, communally transmitted traditions, and the work of self-taught artists. To enhance the impact of this work, exhibitions and related programs are always developed around annual themes, thus creating multiple entry points and a ripple effect of understanding and engagement for our audiences. The theme for 2023 was "considering kin," in which several exhibitions explored how we are in kinship with each other and with the natural world. Selected exhibitions include: "sharing the same breath." The exhibition brings together nine artists who consider the world's complex web of relations through artworks that emphasize human, nonhuman, and interspecies forms of kinship and connectivity. These relationships are explored through a wide range of media including sculpture, photography, drawing, video, film, and installation. "certain aliens." In a newly commissioned multimedia installation, artist sunny leerasanthanah used invasive species as a lens to look at human immigration and xenophobia in the united states.cloth as land: hmong indigeneity." Hmong indigeneity lives in textiles: vibrant, breathing pieces of cloth shaped by hmong hands to illustrate ancestral landmarks and homelands. This exhibition brought the work of three contemporary hmong-american artists together with traditional hmong textiles. Through each artist's individual perspective, hmong aesthetics become reimagined, disrupting traditional expectations and uncovering new sites for hmong indigeneity to be claimed.artists-in-residence: another powerful manifestation of the considering kin theme were three community engagement projects presented in conjunction with the exhibition, "cloth as land: hmong indigeneity." Tshab her (one of the commissioned artists in cloth as land), worked in the main gallery with visitors to create beaded tassels used to adorn clothing. Spoken word artist tou saiko lee led an intergenerational storytelling project. Ka oskar ly introduced the community to moob batik, a traditional hmong textile process. 520 participant across the three residencies. The art preserve: the Arts Center is world-renowned for its collection of over 25,000 works within the genre known as artist-built environments, housed at the art preserve, a facility that opened to the public in 2021. These exceptional and multifaceted works of art result from individuals who significantly transform their surroundings over time with readily available materials. The Arts Center is a leader in preservation and presentation of such environments, whether the work is in situ or maintained within institutional collections. The art preserve provides opportunities for exploration, stewardship, and storytelling. We have begun to intentionally create more opportunities for responses toand interaction withthe collection and the grounds surrounding the art preserve. "regional responses to the art preserve." The Arts Center invited wisconsin-based artists and Arts Center members to submit proposals for work in any medium that made tangible the feelings of wonder, curiosity, and exploration awakened by the collection of artist-built environments on the first floor of the art preserve."counterculture." Seven cast-concrete figures from rose b. simpson's monumental work were installed on the grounds of the art preserve as part of the "considering kin" theme. The large-scale sculptures stand in the prairie to the east of the art preserve as witnessesreminders that the natural world is continuously watching humanity.

Arts/industry: the Arts Center hosts numerous artist residencies including a special partnership with Kohler company that began in 1974 called arts/industry. This highly competitive program gives artists the opportunity to work in the industrial foundry and pottery and to use the tools and processes to create new work. In 2023, the Arts Center welcomed 12 artists (3 cohorts of 4, staying for 3 months each.)

Education:in 2023, the Arts Center provided participatory field trips to 3,500 children. The social studio was activated by 6,000 individuals who learned and tried their hands at various processes inspired by the exhibitions. Art club, in which the Arts Center partners with rcs participants, served 25 people a month; spark! Reached 30 people a month. Additionally, there were 7 camps and classes offered throughout the year reaching 140 participants. Youth art month focused on 250 students throughout the county. The Arts Center's arts-based preschool reached 180 students over 2023; an average of 45 students daily.

Performing Arts: february 2023 highlighted the return of ladama, an ensemble of 4 musicians, each from a different country in the americas. At a well-attended premiere party of about 100 community members and students, the group introduced "cuido mi raiz,' which translates to "i take care of my roots" in english, which was written based on the band's experiences visiting sheboygan as part of the levitt amp music series in september of 2022. Later in spring of 2023, the video featuring sheboygan community performing to the song premiered and was presented in exclusive showings to sheridan elementary school and etude high school. Once again, the Arts Center hosted the levitt amp sheboygan music series during the summer featuring 10 concerts with attendance overall at 18,300 people. Openers and headliners complemented each other through a diversity of genres and styles in a live third space on the city green. Additionally, the studio tent connected artists and community groups to collaborate on art projects with the public. Many moments continued beyond the concerts. Additionally, with 2 of the bands, we offered pre-concert residencies at lakeland music camp for 40 youth and at the Arts Center's Arts day camp for 35 youth. These experiences created community kinship through art and music. The Arts Center was also able to host 2 residencies (may and october) with white box theatre (philadelphia, pa) focusing on the creation of a multimedia performance focusing on the powerful portrait of art-environment builder kea tawana. May featured an in-progress showing of the work to about 50 people. In october, 3 public performances were attended by 170 attendees, and 3 workshops about process, writing, and performance were attended by rcs, etude high school students, and community members reaching over 65 people.we continued the indie lens pop up (documentary film series by pbs) with 2 screenings for each film both facilitated with community conversations, the senior honor recital in which high school seniors audition to perform a 20-minute set at the recital hosted early may, and get the gig (a battle of the bands event in which musicians gain an opportunity to open for a levitt amp concert).

Connecting Arts programming brings artists to the Arts Center to generate a creative exchange with the community. In 2023, we were able to host 2 residencies connected to the cloth as land exhibitions. Hip-hop artist, tou saiko lee was in residence 3 times in spring working with hmong elders and youth sharing his spicy legacy project, an intergenerational creative process that engages community in a collaborative process ultimately creating songs featuring spoken word and poetry chanting; approximately 30 people were involved in this work. During the summer, ka oskar ly was in residences creating ancestral futures, an exploration of past and present shaping future possibilities through the rich tradition of hmong batik workshops. During their residency, ly focused on workshops with the hmong women's society and youth; overall reaching over 130 participants. Additionally, ly communal tabling workshops at the Arts Center midsummer festival of the Arts, the hmong summer festival, and at rcs reaching about 80 participants. Work created was then placed in the community at 2 local hmong businesses for the community to experience.

Special events 2023: throughout the year, the Arts Center hosts special events and programs. In 2023, the following events were held: may 21: ways of being exhibition celebration - our first in-person exhibition celebration since covid. The evening event explored the launch of a new theme and exhibitions exploring reimagined ways of being in our world. The evening commenced with an artist and member reception followed by music, conversation, food, and libation. The evening's attendance was about 150 people.july 15-16: 53rd midsummer festival of the Arts was held. This weekend featured 104 juried artists selling an array of mediums, free hands-on art making workshops, concerts, and a new addition showcasing progressive studios alongside the creative! Growth! Exhibition. Attendance for the weekend was about 15,000 people.august 7: chair city cookout - due to weather this event had to move indoors at the art preserve. We were able to continue with live music and art making. Attendance was estimated at about 100 people.october 6: member month happy hour - this event happened at the art preserve and included exhibiting artists featuring a signature cocktail they created and followed by a short talk about their work and a brief performance. Attendance was around 80 people.october 16: an open house was held at the james tellen woodland sculpture garden for people to explore the environment and a historian/conservator gave a talk about log cabin history in the recently conserved tellen cabin. Refreshments were also served to an audience over 125 people.october 27: benefactors dinner was for about 80 attendees and include dinner and artist presentation with a focus on creative! Growth!december 4: winter continental was an indoor and outdoor event featuring an ice sculpture, art-making workshops, performances inside and outside, a fire pit, and food stations. Attendance was 705 people.