June 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
EXHIBITIONS: GALLERY
ASHER IMTIAZ: THANK GOD FOR IMMIGRANTS
June 8- August 10, 2025
June 28, 2025, 2-5 pm: Artist reception. At 3 pm: The Love Ethics of Seeing, a panel discussion with the artist, Aisha Sarwari, and Malaika Franks.
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/exhibitions/asher-imtiaz
Thank God for Immigrants is a photographic meditation on presence, proximity, and dignity. In contrast to fear-driven narratives, these images invite viewers to see immigrants not as strangers, but as neighbors—rooted, resilient, and fully human. The exhibition challenges us to confront how we see and what we choose to ignore. It is a declaration of gratitude, a quiet resistance to dehumanization, and an invitation to stand closer. Born and raised in Pakistan, Imtiaz moved to the United States in 2012 for graduate studies. He is a portrait and documentary photographer currently based in the Midwest. Initially, he focused on documenting religious minority groups in Pakistan. In recent years, his work has centered on photographing immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, as they resettle in the United States. This is a HOME exhibition.
EXHIBITIONS: OUTDOORS
THE BONSAI EXHIBIT AT LYNDEN
The exhibition is open Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm, or by appointment.
More information: http://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/Bonsai
Located beside Big Lake, the Bonsai Exhibit at Lynden—a collaboration with the Milwaukee Bonsai Society and the Milwaukee Bonsai Foundation–includes a display area for bonsai, waterside teaching patio, and pollinator garden.
EXHIBITIONS: OFFSITE
Walking Together, Weaving the World
June 11- 20, 2025
Milwaukee City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.
FREE
More information:https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/home-2025-world-refugee-day-milwaukee-city-hall
Walking Together, Weaving the World, an exhibition of work by local refugee children and youth, is on display in the Milwaukee City Hall Rotunda in conjunction with our World Refugee Day Celebration at City Hall. Participating schools include Hmong American Peace Academy, the International Newcomer Center at Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language, and Clement J. Zablocki School.
2024 NOHL FELLOWS EXHIBITION
June 12-August 2, 2025
Haggerty Museum of Art, 1234 West Tory Hill Street on the Marquette University Campus
Open M-Sa 10 am-4:30 pm, admission free.
(The museum will be closed June 30-July 5, 2025).
Opening reception: Saturday, June 14, 4-6 pm
More information: https://www.marquette.edu/haggerty-museum/exhibitions.php
The exhibition brings together work by Nina (Afkhamian) Ghanbarzadeh and Roy F. Staab in the Established category; and three artists in the Emerging category: Justin Goodrum, Jovanny Hernandez Caballero, and Nicholas Perry. The 2024 Nohl Fellows were chosen in late 2023 from a field of 147 applicants by a panel of three jurors: Allison Glenn, independent curator and writer, New York, New York; Misa Jeffereis, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; and Anisa Olufemi, independent curator and Fellowship Manager, Hamiltonian Artists, Washington, DC
CALL & RESPONSE
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/callandresponse2025
Since 2015, Call & Response–a cumulative, cross-disciplinary, community-focused, artist-driven initiative–has brought together artists, scholars, educators, and community members to construct a space for artists of color to celebrate the radical Black imagination as a means to re-examine the past and imagine a better future. This summer Arielle Julia Brown, Folayemi Wilson, Reggie Wilson, and Arianne King Comer will be in residence.
HOME 2025: THE 7TH ANNUAL WORLD REFUGEE DAY CELEBRATIONS
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/home-2025
We begin our World Refugee Day celebration on June 20 at Milwaukee City Hall. The HOME Refugee Steering Committee at the Lynden Sculpture Garden then invites you to observe World Refugee Day in a series of outdoor events and programs at Lynden that celebrate Milwaukee’s refugee communities through art, food, fashion, and performance: World Refugee Day (June 22), HOME Family Workshop Day and Bombazo (July 19), and HOME Citizenship Celebration (August 9).
WORKSHOPS & EVENTS
WEDNESDAY WORK DAYS
Wednesdays, June 4, 11,18,25, 2025 – 10 am-12 pm
More information and to register:
https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/wednesday-work-days
The Lynden land team is kicking off 2025 by launching a new series of Wednesday Work Days, a weekly volunteer opportunity 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 pull herbaceous 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.
THE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF INVASIVE SPECIES
Saturday, June 7, 2025 – 1-3 pm
FREE. Registration is required.
For information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/invasive-management-2025
Join Lynden’s land team for a workshop that dives into the ecology and management of invasive species. Lynden staff use a variety of tools to manage invasive species including prescribed fire, prescribed browsing by goats, selective herbicide application, hand pulling, and more. The Lynden Invasive Species Management workshops are designed for everyone: from those with no knowledge of invasive species, to the backyard native plant enthusiast, to the professional managing many acres. Each workshop will be specific to the plants which are best controlled at that time of year. Participants will explore the identification and ecology of different invasive species, and the ways they can be managed. After a short presentation on identification and management methods, participants will have an opportunity for hands-on experience with some of the tools we work with here at Lynden.
THE ART OF BIRDING WITH CHUCK STEBELTON
Sunday, June 8, 2025 – 10-11:30 am
Fee: $10/$5 members.
More information and to register:
https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/birding-2025
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. 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.
Thursday, June 12, 2025 – 7-8:30 pm
Fee: $30/$25 members. Pre-registration required.
More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/sagittarius-moon-walk
Join artist-in-residence Jenna Knapp and collaborator Sevan Arabajian-Ries for June’s Full Moon in Sagittarius. This full moon honors curiosity, truth-seeking, and expansion and invites us to release limitations, follow wonder, and reconnect with our inner compass. Under the light of the full moon, take some time out of your week to pause and take notice of all that you’re currently outgrowing, questioning, and longing to explore. Relax into a healing sound bath and sunset candle-lit labyrinth walk.
MILWAUKEE BONSAI SOCIETY 54th ANNUAL EXHIBIT
Saturday, June 14, 2025 ,10 am -5 pm and Sunday, June 15, 2025, 10 am-3 pm
FREE
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/mbs-exhibit-2025
The Milwaukee Bonsai Society returns to Lynden for their 54th annual exhibit—their fourth at Lynden. More than forty trees will be housed under two tents on the main lawn, where they will be judged by visiting experts, including guest artist and former ballerina Jennifer Price. There will be food trucks, beverages, and raffles, as well as vendors selling trees and bonsai supplies. Whether you are a spectator, a beginner, or are already practicing, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn more about the art of bonsai. Join us for a weekend of bonsai entertainment, shopping, and fun.
HOME 2025: WORLD REFUGEE DAY AT MILWAUKEE CITY HALL
Friday, June 20, 2025 – 11:30 am-2 pm
Milwaukee City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.
FREE
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/home-2025-world-refugee-day-milwaukee-city-hall
Join the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families – Bureau of Refugee Programs and Lynden’s HOME Refugee Steering Committee to celebrate World Refugee Day, and our refugee communities, in Milwaukee’s beautiful City Hall. The program will include art, music, dance, and poetry from refugee communities, hands-on art making activities, and food trucks. An exhibition of work by local refugee children and youth will be on display in the City Hall Rotunda from June 11-20.
DOG DAYS AT LYNDEN
Saturday, June 21, 2025 – 10 am-4 pm
FREE.
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/dog-days-2025
Bring your canine friends for a spring walk. Dogs must be leashed and considerate of other visitors, canine and human.
HOME 2025: WORLD REFUGEE DAY COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
Sunday, June 22, 2025 – 11 am-4 pm
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/home-2025-world-refugee-day-community-celebration
World Refugee Day at Lynden, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families – Bureau of Refugee Programs, is organized as both a resource fair and a celebration of many cultures. Our theme for 2025 is Walking Together, Weaving the World. In addition to making art, tasting food, and listening to stories, poems, and music and dance, visitors will be able to gather information on local services for refugees. Bring a picnic and a blanket to enjoy the outdoors with friends, family, and community or “taste the world” by purchasing food and refreshments from refugee chefs. In the gallery, you will find Asher Imtiaz: Thank God for Immigrants, an exhibition of photographs of refugees and immigrants.
GARDEN WORK DAY: FORMAL GARDEN
Thursday, June 26, 2025 – 10 am-12 pm
More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/2025-garden-work-days
Join us for the first formal gardens work day of 2025. 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. In June we’ll be pruning the dried-up lilac buds. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their favorite gardening gloves and digging tools (if you have them)! Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.
STORIES AS WE MOVE: A HOME INTERVIEW SERIES
Thursday, June 26, 2025– 2-3 pm ***VIRTUAL***
FREE.
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/stories-we-move-2025
Stories as We Move launched in 2020 as part of Lynden’s HOME virtual platform. The series pairs individuals who have faced forced displacement in its many forms in a conversational setting. Refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants interview those that have resettled to the United States, including friends and family that are based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as those that remain overseas. These interviews are reflections of relationships and conversations that we continue to have long after resettlement; they explore issues that our refugee friends and family members continue to face as they remain in their country of origin or interim country.
DISCOVERING THE URBAN FOREST
Saturday, June 28, 2025 – 10 am-12 pm
Fee: $10/$5 members.
More information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/urban-forest-2025
Join Lynden’s land managers for a walk around the grounds to discover Lynden’s urban forest in early summer. On this walk, we will discuss many of the tree and shrub species that make up Lynden’s urban forest and their place within Lynden’s ecology and its plant communities. Attendees will learn about the management techniques we use and the tree inventory and plan that guide our management as we stroll throughout the grounds.
GREENWOOD GATHERING: CARVERS’ MEET-UP WITH JEREMY STEPIEN
Saturday, June 28, 2025 – 11 am-4 pm
Fee: $15/$10 members. You are welcome to attend for the entire day, or for a portion, but registration is required.
https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/carvers-2025
Join us for the spring session of Lynden’s Greenwood Gathering, an open-ended carving event where both new and returning participants can bring their current or finished carving projects to share with fellow woodcarvers. Gather around the campfire to carve, exchange ideas, share techniques, and draw inspiration from each other’s work. The gatherings will include occasional themed demonstrations and relevant garden tours. In June we’ll meet outdoors.
ARTIST RECEPTION AND GALLERY CONVERSATION
Asher Imtiaz: Thank God for Immigrants
Saturday, June 28, 2025 – 2-5 pm (panel discussion at 3 pm)
FREE
More information: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/calendar/asher-imtiaz-opening
We celebrate Asher Imtiaz’s exhibition, Thank God for Immigrants, with a reception and panel discussion. The artist will be joined at 3 pm by Aisha Sarwari and Malaika Franks for a conversation on The Love Ethics of Seeing. Invoking bell hooks, Imtiaz, Sarwari, and Franks will discuss the rewards, pitfalls, and ethical responsibilities of working with marginalized subjects. Sarwari is an author, a public speaker, and the co-founder of the NGO Women’s Advancement Hub. She focuses on the gendered aspects of migration, belonging and caregiving. Her third book, Heart Tantrums and Brain Tumors was published in 2023. Franks is a systems designer and researcher whose work blends design and anthropology, drawing on methods such as participatory action research, ethnography, and active listening to support co-creation, systems change, and design thinking.
SPRING PROGRAMS FOR THE YOUNG AND VERY YOUNG
TUESDAYS IN THE GARDEN FOR PARENTS & VERY SMALL CHILDREN
Tuesdays, June 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2025 – 10:30 am-11:30 am
Fee: $16/$12 members for one adult and one child.
More information and to register:
https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/tuesdays-in-the-garden
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. Tuesdays in the Garden meets weekly in June and the themes are Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots; Feathered Friends; Decomposers; and Meet a Tree!
SUMMER CAMPS AT THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND NATURE–REGISTRATION OPEN
June 23-August 20, 2025
For information and to register: https://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org/camps
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.
2024 NOHL FELLOWS EXHIBITION
June 12-August 2, 2025
Haggerty Museum of Art, 1234 West Tory Hill Street on the Marquette University Campus
Open M-Sa 10 am-4:30 pm, admission free. (The museum will be closed June 30-July 5, 2025).
Opening reception: Saturday, June 14, 4-6 pm
More information: https://www.marquette.edu/haggerty-museum/exhibitions.php
The exhibition brings together work by Nina (Afkhamian) Ghanbarzadeh and Roy F. Staab in the Established category; and three artists in the Emerging category: Justin Goodrum, Jovanny Hernandez Caballero, and Nicholas Perry. The 2024 Nohl Fellows were chosen in late 2023 from a field of 147 applicants by a panel of three jurors: Allison Glenn, independent curator and writer, New York, New York; Misa Jeffereis, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; and Anisa Olufemi, independent curator and Fellowship Manager, Hamiltonian Artists, Washington, DC.
COMING UP IN JULY
Our 7th annual HOME Celebrations continue on July 19 with a Family Workshop Day and Bombazo—get ready to try some crafts and then end the day dancing. Arianne King Comer will be in residence and we’ll be posting some drop-in dyeing days. We will have our regular Wednesday Work Days, our monthly Garden Work Day (July 24)—we’ll be sprucing up Waterfall Hill—and at the beginning of the month (July 1-3) we’ll have some bonus volunteer days for those who’d like to help us clean out Little Lake. There’s an outdoor sound bath on July 11 (Full Moon in Capricorn); dog day is July 12; and Chuck Stebelton’s monthly bird walk is July 13. The HOME Book Discussion group resumes on July 24 with its ready of Javier Zamora’s Solito. Tuesdays in the Garden meets weekly in July (five times!) and the themes are Movement and Music in the Garden; Garden Protectors; Frogs; Monarch Butterflies; and Water: Up, Down, and all Around. Summer camps continue through August. Down at the Haggerty Museum of Art, the 2024 Nohl Fellows will be offering a series of workshops, talks, and events on July 12 and July 26.
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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