Nationally and locally, October is recognized as Arts & Humanities month!
Wisconsin's 2022 proclamation from Governor Evers states, among other things, that the arts and humanities build connections and understanding between diverse groups of people within our communities and enrich the lives of all Wisconsinites. We have been doing this work for 50 years, so we completely agree! But we wanted to hear what others around the state think.
We reached out to some of our grant recipients and asked them to share why the arts and humanities are so important in their communities.
Laurie Winters is the Executive Director of the Museum of Wisconsin Art, located in West Bend. The MOWA collection and exhibitions are dedicated to telling stories of Wisconsin artists. Along with her curatorial and program staff, she creates a welcoming space with exhibits that engage visitors' passion for where they live.
Wisconsin Humanities grants have supported many of their programs over the years, like an examination of the Wisconsin Dells' 160-year history as a tourist destination that featured the art and photography of everything from the natural features to the waterparks that keep people coming today. Looking more deeply into the art, signs, and slogans that made Wisconsin's brewing industry successful nationwide, another exhibit contextualized advertising culture from an earlier century.
Early this fall, Wisconsin Humanities staff visited MOWA to talk with Winters and to tour the exhibition Tom Jones: Here We Stand. As a prolific Ho-Chunk artist, Jones continues to explore contemporary questions of his home state. MOWA received a grant from Wisconsin Humanities to support the project.
WH: What impact do you think arts and humanities programs, like Tom Jones: Here We Stand, can have on your community?
Winters: In 2020, the Wisconsin Humanities funded an exhibition organized by MOWA on the history of comics in the state called Wisconsin Funnies. The exhibition and the accompanying catalog were an outstanding success at a time when people just needed to laugh a little. Not only did the exhibition add cheer to our daily lives but it did what all good comics do: they drew attention to the human experience—to the folly of politicians, the bleakness of the Great Depression, the dysfunction of family strife, and the social challenges of living as a non-binary artist. As a result of this exhibition, MOWA is committed to regularly showcasing Wisconsin’s comic artists and their rich and ongoing history.
The Museum’s current exhibition, Tom Jones: Here We Stand, is a major retrospective of the photographer that tells the personal story of the artist and his work as well as the history of the Ho-Chunk nation in Wisconsin. We are proud to have published one of the catalog essays both in English and in Ho-Chunk. The exhibition will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2023 and to a third museum in the southwest in early 2024.
WH: For organizations that may not know of Wisconsin Humanities, how would you describe 'the humanities' to them?
Winters: The humanities are the lens to the human experience—to what makes us creative, thoughtful, reflective, compassionate, and kind.
WH: What role do you think the arts and humanities play in 2022, in facing current issues and concerns?
Winters: The humanities are more important today than ever before. As the fine arts, music, history, world culture, and philosophy are increasingly slashed from K-12 programming, opportunities to understand and embrace the richness and diversity of the human experience are now also threatened. As the director of the Museum of Wisconsin Art, I believe that we have a responsibility to do whatever we can to promote understanding and critical thinking through the arts.
We are celebrating our 50-year history as part of the vibrant cultural life of this state.
Whereas; the arts and humanities build connections and understanding between diverse groups of people within our communities, enriching the lives of all Wisconsinites...
NOW, THEREFORE, October 2022 is Arts and Humanities month!
→ Read the Governor's Proclamation!
