December 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
The Lynden Sculpture Garden is open daily from 10 am-5 pm (closed Thursdays). Thanks to the generosity of our donors, admission is free at this time. We will be closed for the holidays from December 23, 2023, through January 1, 2024. For complete information on events, visitor guidelines, and everything that goes on at Lynden, visit lyndensculpturegarden.org.
EXHIBITIONS: GALLERY
LaNia SPROLES: PRODUCTS OF THE HEART
November 12, 2023-February 25, 2024
Opening reception: Sunday, November 12, 2023, 2-4 pm
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/exhibitions/lania-sproles-products-heart
The portraits in Products of the Heart are recent, finished between 2021 and 2023. They employ various methods of making—painting, drawing, printmaking, collage–and reveal the artist’s fascination with kinship. From the baroque, dimensional frames she incorporates into the earlier portraits to the patterned, nature-inflected backgrounds of the most recent work, Sproles builds vivid environments to establish each subject’s emotional complexity. What she describes as “displays of sentiments” transform her subjects into “monumental emblems”; portraits that stretch across the surface of the wall can also operate like landscapes. These portraits are acts of reclamation, an answer to our imprinted faith that marginalized bodies are not sites of credence and power. Of her subjects, Sproles writes: “Their direct qualm gazes remind the viewer to spectate diligently and for the subjects to secure refuge in their dreamscapes. The nostalgic overtone entwined with fantastical elements solidify the playful adoration vital for these relationships of mine to thrive. Collectively, these figures pay homage to the importance of preserving one’s humanity through carefully maintained curiosity.”
WORKSHOPS & EVENTS
HOME BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Thursday, December 21, 2023 – 7-8:30pm
VIRTUAL
FREE.
More information and to register:
https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/home-book-discussion-group-2023
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. Where stories of persecution, historical trauma, and loss of livelihood are effortlessly conveyed by storytellers, journalists, and humanitarians who search out or stumble upon the lives of refugees, we seek out the words of those to whom these stories belong: the narrators who are the closest to their own stories, and the stories of their people, friends, family and, of course, refugees. In December we are finishing up Beth Nguyen’s Owner of a Lonely Heart: A Memoir. Newcomers welcome!
DOG DAYS AT LYNDEN
Saturday, December 16, 2023 – 10 am-4 pm
FREE.
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/dog-days-2023
Bring your canine friends for a wintery walk. Dogs must be leashed and considerate of other visitors, canine and human.
FALL PROGRAMS FOR THE YOUNG AND VERY YOUNG
TUESDAYS IN THE GARDEN FOR PARENTS & VERY SMALL CHILDREN
Tuesdays, December 5 & 19, 2023 – 10:30 am-11:30 am
Sessions meet outdoors.
Fee: $16/$12 members for one adult and one child.
More information and to register:
https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/tuesdays
Join art educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr for hands-on art making and all-senses-engaged exploration of the outdoor world at Lynden. Tuesdays in the Garden, designed for children aged 1-3, provides a nurturing environment where children’s curiosity and wonder are extended through play and exploration, and children and their caregivers learn and discover side-by-side. We’ll consider different themes, each designed to connect Lynden’s environment with children’s interests. We will encourage experimentation and the manipulation of art and natural materials to tell stories, solve problems, and develop relationships. The themes for December include Signs of Winter and Gingerbread Fun.
HOME: MULTILINGUAL STORY TIME
Wednesday, December 20, 2023– 10:30-11 am
VIRTUAL
Ages 4-8
FREE
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/home-multilingual-story-time-2023
In December we feature an archival edition of HOME Multilingual Story Time. Samaher Aldaye (Arabic) and Claudia Orjuela (English) read Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey, written by Margriet Ruurs with artwork by Nizar Ali Badr. HOME Story Time is a collaboration with the Milwaukee Public Library, the Islamic Resource Center, Hanan Refugee Relief Group, Alliance Française de Milwaukee, and Milwaukee African Women’s Association.
STARTING IN JANUARY
LYNDEN ART CLUB
Wednesdays, January 10-May 1, 2024 – 3:30-5:30 pm (late registrations accepted)
Ages 12 and up
Fee: $352/$256 members per 16-week session
More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/lynden-art-club-2024
Art club is a community of young artists who are independent in their art practice but value a place to exchange ideas and support, and to learn from one another. Students will design a long-term independent art project at the beginning of the session and meet for in-progress reviews, take part in creative art challenges, have conversations about contemporary artists, and discuss their work with Lynden educators and their peers. Students will present their work at our final art club meeting.
ART + NATURE LAB
Thursdays, January 11-February 29, 2024 – 3:30-5:30 pm
Ages 7-11
Fee: $176/$128 members per 8-week session
More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/art-nature-lab-ages-7-11
Lynden’s Art + Nature Lab engages participants aged 7-11 in inquiry-based art and nature learning, problem solving, and creative making. Over the course of each seven-week session, art educator Jeremy Stepien will take you on a series of art challenges and studio projects. Art + Nature Lab will meet indoors in the studio at Lynden with occasional excursions in the garden.
NOHL FELLOWSHIP EVENTS
Supporting artists is a significant part of the Lynden’s mission. One of the ways that we support artists is by administering the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists program.
UWM UNION CINEMA: NOHL FELLOWSHIP SCREENING
INNA DMITRIEVA
Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 7-8:30 pm
For information: https://uwm.edu/studentinvolvement/event/mary-nohl-screening-inna-dmitrieva/
In conjunction with her 2022 Nohl Fellowship, Inna Dmitrieva presents In Retrospect: A compilation of short films that look back, be it at stages of life or periods of history, as a way to come to grips with change and loss. Archival images, familial mementos, plasticine figures, and pencil drawings bring back to life childhood memories and stories of people long gone.
Sponsored by the Mary L. Nohl Fund Individual Artist Fellowship Program
COMING UP IN JANUARY
The sculpture garden reopens on January 2, 2024.
In January we will announce the five recipients of the 2024 Mary L. Nohl Fellowships for Individual Artists. Art + Nature Lab and Art Club, our after-school programs for children aged 7-11 and 12+, respectively, begin new sessions, and Tuesdays in the Garden meets twice. We will re-broadcast an archival episode of HOME Multilingual Story Time, and the HOME Book Discussion Group will take up a new book. Most importantly, we close out the month with our 12th annual Winter Carnival on January 27. Get ready for a day of outdoor art-making, scavenger hunts, tours and tree-walks, and whatever other winter activities–ice skating, painting the pond, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing–the weather permits. Orchestrated by Some Fools, our highly participatory, artist-driven carnival offers something for everybody.
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.
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