21 Great Places to See Art

Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Strapped for cash but want to beat the cold-weather doldrums and see some great art? The Milwaukee area offers plenty of opportunities to view artwork by local and national artists without spending a dime. Make an afternoon of gallery-hopping in Milwaukee’s art-centric Third Ward or historic Walker’s Point neighborhoods, or check out other galleries throughout the city.

Below are more than 20 free Milwaukee-area galleries (and one art museum) to visit this winter:

1. The Alice Wilds, 900 S. 5th St., Suite 102
2. Ayzha Fine Arts Gallery & Boutique, The Avenue MKE, 275 W. Wisconsin Ave.
3. David Barnett Gallery, 1024 E. State St.
4. Gallery 218, 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 218
5. Gallery 505, 517 E. Silver Spring Dr., Whitefish Bay
6. The Green Gallery, 1500 N. Farwell Ave.
7. The Haggerty Museum of Art, 1234 W. Tory Hill, Milwaukee (Marquette University Campus)
8. The Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, 926 E. Center St.
9. Latino Arts, Inc., 1028 S. 9th St.
10. Lily Pad Gallery West, 215 N. Broadway
11. Portrait Society Gallery, 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 526
12. Real Tinsel Gallery, 1013-1015 W. Historic Mitchell St.
13. Scout Gallery, 1104 W. Historic Mitchell St.
14. MOWA-St. John’s on the Lake, 1840 N. Prospect Ave.
15. Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel, 139 E. Kilbourn Ave.
16. Terry McCormick Contemporary Fine and Folk Art Gallery, 2522 N. 18th St.
17. Tory Folliard Gallery, 233 N. Milwaukee St.
18. UW-Milwaukee Union Art Gallery, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
19. Var West Gallery, 1704, 423 W. Pierce St.
20. The Warehouse, 1635 W. St. Paul Ave.
21. Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, 839 S. 5th St.

Art Events and Gallery Openings

Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.:

Ariel Pate, assistant curator of photography for the Milwaukee Art Museum, will host a gallery talk of the Portrait of Milwaukee exhibit, located in the MAM’s Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts.

Thursday, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.:

An exhibit featuring the photography and paintings of artists Jeff McAvoy, Heidi Koester and Maggie Szpot will open at the Urban Ecology Center in Riverside Park, 1500 E. Park Place.

Friday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.:

Scout’s Honor, a collective exhibition showcasing work by nearly 20 artists, opens with an evening reception at Scout Gallery, 1104 Historic W. Mitchell St.

Friday, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.:

A Party! Paint! Sip event will be held at Vibez Creative Arts Space, located at 3536 W. Fond Du Lac Ave. in the Sherman Phoenix building. Visit https://www.vibezcreativeartsspace.com/ for tickets and more information.

Sunday:

Robert Murray: The Working Models opens at Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W. Brown Deer Rd.

Last Chance: Exhibits Closing

Marc Chagall: Original Color Lithographs, a collection of original lithographs by renowned painter Marc Chagall, closes Saturday at the David Barnett Gallery, 1024 E. State St.

Two exhibits, Tom Uttech: Into the Woods, and On the Water, close Sunday at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA), 205 Veterans Ave., West Bend.