April Events at the Lynden Sculpture Garden

The Lynden Sculpture Garden is located at 2145 West Brown Deer Road. Admission is free. All events listed below are free unless otherwise indicated. Memberships, which offer significant discounts on workshops and other events, are available.

HOURS

In April, the Lynden Sculpture Garden is open daily from 10 am-5 pm (closed Thursdays). Free admission is made possible in part through the generosity of the Mangiamele Arts Foundation. For complete information on events, visitor guidelines, and everything that goes on at Lynden, visit www.lyndensculpturegarden.org.

The sculpture garden will be closed for the holiday on Sunday, April 5.

EXHIBITIONS: GALLERY

FAYTHE LEVINE: TIME IS RUNNING OUT

Through May 8, 2026

More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/exhibitions/faythe-levine

In Time is Running Out, artist, curator, and researcher Faythe Levine illuminates the collective lives of Charlotte Partridge (1882-1975) and Miriam Frink (1892-1977), two women who shaped Milwaukee’s cultural landscape in the twentieth century. For over fifty years, their intertwined devotion to each other and to Wisconsin—as co-founders of the Layton School of Art, participants in the Federal Art Project, and as members of numerous civic clubs and organizations—had a profound impact on greater Milwaukee. Their groundbreaking contributions and extensive networks continue to resonate today. Through an act of excavation and reimagination, Levine restores Partridge and Frink to a more prominent place in our narrative of Milwaukee’s past. Using archival materials, objects, and storytelling, Levine engages with lesser-known parts of their history. She explores their legacy through four themes: domesticity, creativity, partnership, and community, and four tropes: The Studio, The Sketchbook, The Metal Object, and The Protégé, each an entry point into an intimate, lifelong collaboration.

WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

WEDNESDAY WORK DAYS

Wednesdays, April 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2026 – 10 am-12 pm

More information and to register:

https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/wednesday-work-days-2026

Wednesday Work Days are a weekly volunteer opportunity to work with Lynden’s land team on the grounds. Whether you are looking for a few hours of volunteer work or want a weekly activity that keeps you outside, you are welcome to join us on Wednesday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon. Projects vary from season to season; for the next few months, you will work alongside land staff to control woody invasive species in our natural areas, as well as help accomplish other projects around the grounds to enhance biodiversity and take care of the native flora and fauna. No experience is necessary, though you are encouraged to bring your favorite gardening gloves and digging tools if you have them. Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.

MUSHROOM LOG WORKSHOP

Saturday, April 4, 2026 – 1-4 pm

Fee: $60/$51 members

More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/MushroomLog

Spend a morning at the Lynden Sculpture Garden working with the land team to inoculate sustainably harvested logs with oyster mushrooms. Learn about the process from tree to mushroom and leave with your very own log to take home. In the first hour, we will go out into the field to learn about the poplars harvested for this workshop and their role in Lynden’s ecosystem. After our walk, we will return to the studio for some inoculation.

KNIT @ LYNDEN WITH SARA CARON

Tuesday, April 7, 2026 – 10:30 am-12 pm

Fee: FREE, but registration highly encouraged.

More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/knit-at-lynden

Join Sara Caron for a morning of multigenerational knitting and good company. Bring your latest project or yarn from your stash to cast on something fresh. We can inspire each other and share our stories while we knit in the beautiful gallery at Lynden. This is not an instructional workshop, but all skill levels are welcome, from washcloth-makers to cabled-sweater-proficients. Children with the concentration to learn to knit (or to keep themselves quietly occupied while others indulge) are welcome.

INNOVATIVE EDUCATORS INSTITUTE SPRING TEACHER DAY

Saturday, April 11, 2026 – 9 am-3 pm

FREE; registration required.

More information and to register: Click here

The Lynden Innovative Educators Institute welcomes K-12 teachers with an interest in developing an interdisciplinary and arts-integrated curriculum that explores the relationship between art, nature, and culture. Join us for a day of networking with fellow educators; artmaking with master artists Rachel Reichert and Alex Gartelmann; interpretive activities in the gallery and garden; and brainstorming art-integrated curriculum processes.

VEGETABLE GARDENS FOR BEGINNERS WITH ALYX CHRISTENSEN

Saturday, April 11, 2026 – 10-11:30 am

Fee: $20/$17 members

More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/vegetable-gardens-beginners-2026

It’s time to start planning your vegetable garden for three seasons of harvesting. In this workshop, you will be introduced to techniques such as companion planting, intercropping, and vertical growing, as well as sustainable maintenance practices, starting seeds from scratch, and how to incorporate established plants from greenhouses. Using this information, you will design a master plan for a 4 x 4-foot garden bed that can be scaled up for larger spaces or shrunk to the size of a planter. Bring your questions and ideas; garden planning materials will be provided.

THE ART OF BIRDING WITH CHUCK STEBELTON

Sunday, April 12, 2026 – 10-11:30 am

Fee: $10/$5 members.

More information and to register:

https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/birding-2026

Birding is back! Join poet and Wisconsin Master Naturalist volunteer Chuck Stebelton on the second Sunday of each month to bird by eye and ear with a focus on the life histories of wild birds. We’ll watch for seasonal migrants and resident bird species and seek out the best bird habitats to identify as many species as we can. This is our last walk for the season. Please dress for the weather and plan to walk in varied terrain. Bring your binoculars and field guides if you have them; no previous birding experience required.

DOG DAYS AT LYNDEN

Saturday, April 18, 2026 – 10 am-4 pm

FREE.

More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/dog-days-2026

Bring your canine friends for a spring walk. Dogs must be leashed and considerate of other visitors, canine and human.

HOME: JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY WORKSHOP WITH SAE IINO

Saturday, April 18, 2026 – 2-4 pm

FREE but registration required.

More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/TeaCeremony_SaeLino

Discover the essence of the Japanese tea ceremony (sado) through an introduction to its cultural background and philosophy. Participants will learn about the concept of tranquility and mindfulness in Japanese culture, observe a demonstration, and take part in a hands-on experience of making their own matcha. We will also taste traditional Japanese sweets, learning about their flavors and textures. This workshop offers a calm and immersive cultural experience.

GARDEN WORK DAY

Thursday, April 23, 2025 – 10 am-12 pm

More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/2026-garden-work-days

Join us for the first formal gardens work day of 2026. Aside from the cheerfully blooming bulbs and budding trees, there is not yet much color in the gardens. However, this is a critical time of year for gardening. On this work day, we will enjoy some fresh spring air while clearing away last year’s stems and fallen leaves that served as shelter and protection for sleeping insects, critters, and soil microorganisms over the winter. We will prep the gardens for fresh plantings and give re-emerging plants the sunlight and space they need to grow. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their favorite gardening gloves and digging tools (if you have them)! Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.

HOME BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Thursday, April 23, 2026 – 7-8 pm ***VIRTUAL***

FREE.

More information and to register:

https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/home-book-discussion-group-2026

The Lynden/HOME Refugee Steering Committee book discussion group, moderated by Lynden’s Kim Khaira, is for those interested in firsthand accounts of displacement. We consider works of non-fiction and fiction, including autobiographical and semi-autobiographical works, by writers who have faced or are facing forced displacement as refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. In April, we begin Black Butterflies, by Priscilla Morris, a debut novel inspired by Morris’s part-Bosnian heritage, including childhood summers spent in Sarajevo. Black Butterflies is about Zora, an artist who experiences love and loss as she navigates the devastating landscape during the Siege of Sarajevo. Newcomers welcome!

KITES OVER LYNDEN

Saturday, April 25, 2026 – 12-4 pm

FREE

More information and schedule: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/kites

Lynden will mark the transition from winter to spring on April 25 when International Sculpture Day coincides with Earth Week. We’ll celebrate International Sculpture Day by making our own small 3D objects and launching them into the sky (Kites Over Lynden) or joining Sae Iino in the “1,000 Cranes Challenge” by participating in the Japanese tradition of folding origami cranes as a symbol of hope and healing. Milwaukee Vision Zero will be on hand with another moving sculpture, Sarah Davitt’s Moving City. You will also find artist-in-residence Yevgeniya Kaganovich on the grounds working on her durational project, Slow Growing in the Time of Trees. There will be a tree walk, tree planting, and a new pop-up sculpture from Gary John Gresl, Second Elegy for Ray Bradbury & “The Scythe” (Interregnum).

SPRING CLASSES FOR THE YOUNG, THE VERY YOUNG, AND FAMILIES

WEDNESDAYS IN THE GARDEN FOR PARENTS & VERY SMALL CHILDREN

April 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2026 – 10-11 am

Fee: $20/$16 members for one adult and one child. Add an additional child for $8.

More information and to register:

https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/WIG-2026

Wednesdays in the Garden offers a nurturing and joyful space for our youngest learners to explore, play, and grow. Together with their caregivers, children will discover the wonders of the natural world and Lynden’s unique sculpture collection through hands-on experiences that spark curiosity, wonder, and creativity. Early childhood educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr will guide families through sensory-rich activities, outdoor adventures, and open-ended artmaking. Each week highlights a new theme, connecting children’s natural interests with the world around them. In April, the themes include Colorful Eggs, Let’s Play with Clay, Earth Day, and Rain and Clouds.

CREATIVE TIME FOR FAMILIES: SEED PAPER

Sunday, April 12, 2026 – 12:30-2:30 pm

Fee: $15/$10 member per family (all materials included). All ages are welcome; children younger than 12 should attend with an adult.

More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/creative-time

Creative Time is a monthly drop-in workshop for families. Stop by for engaging, hands-on activities that bring art and nature to life. Whether you make a quick visit or stay the entire two hours, count on spending some quality creative time with family and friends. In April, we get ready for Earth Day with a seed-paper workshop.

LET’S MAKE TOGETHER! FOR PARENTS & SMALL CHILDREN

Tuesday, April 14, 2026 – 10-11 am

Fee: $20/$16 members for one adult and one child, all materials included.

For more information and to register:

https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/lets-make-together

Let’s Make Together! is designed for children aged 3 -5 and their adults. Katie Hobday brings together her nature, craft, and parenting skills for a series of hands-on, age-appropriate making workshops. Art-making can be messy, and the group will spend time outdoors whenever possible, so please dress appropriately. In April, We will look closely at signs of spring and use natural textures to make rubbings and marks on paper.

SUMMER CAMPS AT THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND NATURE—REGISTRATION OPEN

Lynden’s art and nature camps for children aged 4 to 15 years integrate our collection of monumental outdoor sculpture and temporary installations with the natural ecology of our hidden landscapes and unique habitats. Led by artists, naturalists, and art educators, the camps explore the intersection of art and nature through collaborative inquiry and hands-on artmaking, using all of Lynden’s 40 acres to create a joyful, all-senses-engaged outdoor experience.

NOHL FELLOWSHIP EVENTS

Supporting artists is at the core of Lynden’s mission. One of the ways that we support artists is by administering a range of grant programs for artists: the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists, the Suitcase Export Fund, and the Ruth Arts Mary L Nohl Alumni Awards. In April, the third cohort of Ruth Arts Mary L. Nohl Alumni Awardees, a program open to past Nohl Fellows, prepare for their first round of collective studio visits while the second cohort continues to plan their mutual aid projects. The 2025 Nohl Fellows are working toward the opening of their exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art in June, and the 2026 Nohl Fellows prepare for a second round of studio visits.

COMING UP IN MAY

We start the month with Knit@Lynden (May 5) and end with a visit from the Milwaukee Bonsai Foundation artistic director (May 30-31). In between we have our weekly Wednesday Work Days and our monthly Garden Work Days (May 21: we’ll be tending to the berms). There will be four sessions of Wednesdays in the Garden for parents and young children and one session of Let’s Make Together (May 12: we’ll be making moving sculptures). On May 9 we’ll be celebrating World Bonsai Day and the reopening of the Bonsai Exhibit, and we’ll offer a Mushroom Log Inoculation Workshop in the afternoon. Art of Birding meets on May 10and May 16 is both Dog Day and a Greenwood Gathering. The HOME program hosts its monthly (virtual) Book Discussion Group on May 21 (we’re reading Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris) and celebrates the third cohort of Be the Change participants on May 30. Lynden is open on Memorial Day.

ABOUT THE LYNDEN

The Lynden operates as a laboratory at the intersection of art, nature, and culture. Since opening to the public in 2010, we have worked with artists, educators, students, and our community to create, support, and share experiences that integrate our collection of more than 50 monumental sculptures and temporary installations, Lynden’s community of artists, and the natural ecology of our 40-acre site. The sculpture garden is open to art and nature lovers of all ages daily, 10 am-5 pm; closed Thursdays. Admission is free. Learn more about visitor guidelines here: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/visit.

Annual memberships are also available.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.