Milton Public Library Art Show
In most Wisconsin libraries you can probably find a book on a great American painter like Georgia O’Keefe or Jackson Pollock without too much trouble. However, visit the Milton Public Library and you just might discover the work of the next O’Keefe or Pollock on display.
Every March since 1985, the library has turned into a local art museum, displaying up to 500 pieces of art by Milton School District students. The event, which celebrates National Youth Art Month, has proved extremely popular and has also strengthened the library’s ties with the community.
“Our art show is a great way to showcase student talent and get the public excited about viewing art,” says Milton Library Director Patricia Conrad. “It is a very simple idea and a great way to connect with non-library users who come to visit us to see the show.”
The show attracts about 1,000 people to the library during its duration, which is quite a feat in a town of about 5,200 people. Conrad also estimates the library gives out between 10 to 20 new library cards each year during the show as well.
“Because of the art show, I think we have become more attuned to our local student artists,” Conrad says. The library also features art in its display case several times a year, has offered introductory arts and crafts classes on topics like scrapbooking and acrylic painting, and uses arts and crafts in its children’s programs.
And in return, student artists have developed an ongoing relationship with the library that extends far beyond the annual art show. In 2003, honors art students from the Milton High School created a large wall mural in the library that appropriately adapted Georges Seurat’s famous painting, “Sunday Afternoon in the Park.”
“The students used a library and book theme with the people in the painting—people holding books or using a book bag, for example,” Conrad says. Many of the honor art students that worked on the mural went on to study art in college.
The mural is part of the library’s new “park theme,” which
is being further developed in a remodeling project that will continue to involve
students. This summer student artists will again lend their talents, creating
trees out of wall supports and painting the ceiling like a sky. So even if you
miss the actual student art show this March, thanks to the students’ permanent
contributions, you’ll always be able to see great art exhibited at the
Milton Public Library.