John Michael Kohler Arts Center

📅 Thursday, May 15, 2025 ⏰ 6:00–7:30 p.m. 📍 JMKAC Theatre 🎟 Free | All ages | Register More than twenty of artist Sam Barsky’s iconic sweaters are on view in Sam Barsky: It’s Not the Same Without You. Join us for an engaging talk where Barsky shares the inspiration, process, and stories behind his unique knitted creations. Don't miss this chance to hear from the artist himself!

Join us in the JMKAC Theatre for an inspiring evening with current Arts/Industry residents iris hu, Margaret Jacobs, Mathew McConnell, and Marie Lorenz as they discuss their creative practices, what led them to the Arts/Industry program, and the work they've been creating in the Kohler Co. factory. After the presentations, continue the conversation over light refreshments in the JMKAC Café. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the artists and gain insight into their unique processes! 📅 Thursday, April 3, 2025 ⏰ 5:00–7:00 p.m. 🎟 Free | All ages | Register

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is honored to share that "Cloth as Land: HMong Indigeneity" at the JMKAC was nominated for the Wisconsin Governor's Conference on Tourism's Bright IDEA Award, recognizing excellence in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility! Co-curated by Pachia Vang, this powerful exhibition explored HMong Indigeneity through textiles—where intricate patterns and motifs preserve ancestral stories and lost homelands. Featuring works by Ger Xiong/Ntxawg Xyooj, Pao Houa Her, and Jennifer Tshab Her, "Cloth as Land" highlighted the resilience of HMong identity despite displacement and erasure, weaving together culture, memory, and belonging. We'd also like to extend our congratulations to the Bright IDEA Award winner, "Access for All Initiative," at the Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore for their outstanding work in advancing accessibility in the arts! Learn more about our nominated exhibition:  https://lnkd.in/gzB4upBa

Join us for ANTARANGA: Between You and Me, a performance by Ananya Dance Theatre. 📅 Thursday, April 17, 2025 | ⏰ 7:30 p.m. 💲 $20 members | $25 public Set in a world where connection is rare, this powerful performance follows a group of humsafar—fellow travelers with heart-opening powers—on a journey to restore unity and heal the world. Part of the Futures Forward series, this 80-minute performance explores themes of intimacy, trust, and community among BIPOC women/femmes. 🎟️ Don’t miss this moving story of resilience and hope. Register Now: https://lnkd.in/gXdz-3_k

Where do you come from? Where are you now? These questions ignite a year of discovery at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center with our 2025 theme, “This Is Where I'm Coming From.” Join us for the opening celebration, marking the start of a yearlong exploration through exhibitions and programming that delve into how place shapes our past, present, and future. Opening Reception 🎉 Friday, March 14 | 5:00–7:00 p.m. Mix and mingle with fellow art lovers while enjoying new exhibitions, hors d’oeuvres, and drinks. Community Day 🎨 Saturday, March 15 | 12:00–4:00 p.m. An all-ages event featuring the Youth Art Expo, artist gallery talks, art-making activities, entertainment, and more! Guided Tours 🖌️ Saturday, March 15 | 12:30–1:30 p.m. & 2:30–3:30 p.m. Tour various sites around Sheboygan with Chief Curator Jodi Throckmorton and special guests to view works by artist Pao Houa Her. Don’t miss this vibrant weekend of art, community, and celebration! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gBHvypKw

Opening March 15! ✨ “Pao Houa Her: The Imaginative Landscape” is the first survey of the artist’s nearly 20-year practice, exploring themes of longing, desire, and the complex interplay between artifice and the dreams of homeland. Rooted in the experience of her Hmong community and shaped by family stories and cultural lore, Her’s photography offers a profound meditation on the construction of homeland within the diaspora. Co-organized by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and the San José Museum of Art, the exhibition presents selections from six major series and new work created in the jungles of Laos. While deeply personal, the exhibition speaks to universal themes of how communities adapt and create new homelands in diverse U.S. contexts. Her’s work will also extend beyond the gallery, with lightboxes in local restaurants, wheat-pasted images, and billboards in Sheboygan—stay tuned for the full list of locations! https://lnkd.in/gXCfCjE9

✨ Community Day: This is Where I’m Coming From ✨ Celebrate the opening of This is Where I’m Coming From with a day of art, activities, and community! 📅 Saturday, March 15, 2025 📍 John Michael Kohler Arts Center 🎟️ FREE | All Ages Welcome 🔹 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Artist Gallery Talks – Hear from exhibiting artists. 🔹 12:00–4:00 p.m. | Community Day – Enjoy hands-on activities, live entertainment, the Youth Art Expo, guided tours, and more! Join us for a day of creativity and connection. Learn more and register for tours here: https://lnkd.in/giRqakww #JMKAC #CommunityDay #ThisIsWhereImComingFrom #SheboyganEvents

Opening Reception: This is Where I’m Coming From Be among the first to experience This is Where I’m Coming From, our exciting yearlong theme exploring personal narratives through art. 📅 Friday, March 14, 2025 📍 John Michael Kohler Arts Center 🎟️ FREE Admission 🔹 4:00–5:00 p.m. | Members Exclusive Preview – Enjoy early access to the exhibitions and connect with featured artists in an intimate setting. Hors d’oeuvres provided. Cash bar. [Register here.] 🔹 5:00–7:00 p.m. | Public Celebration – Mix, mingle, and immerse yourself in the new exhibitions alongside fellow art lovers. Join us for an inspiring evening of art, conversation, and community! #JMKAC #ThisIsWhereImComingFrom #SheboyganEvents

Introducing the 2025 Arts/Industry Residents! 🎉 The John Michael Kohler Arts Center and Kohler Co. proudly continue their groundbreaking collaboration through the Arts/Industry program, offering 12 artists each year the extraordinary opportunity to work with industrial processes at the Kohler factory. Over three transformative months, these artists will work alongside Kohler’s skilled artisans, creating innovative works in a dynamic, resource-rich environment. With 24/7 studio access, expert technical support, and unparalleled opportunities for experimentation, the residency inspires boundary-pushing creativity and bold new ideas. As we celebrate 50 years of Arts/Industry with special exhibitions on view through spring, we’re excited to introduce the first cohort of 2025: Margaret Jacobs (Foundry) – Salem, NY iris yirei hu (Pottery) – Pasadena, CA Mathew McConnell (Foundry) – Fayetteville, AR Marie Lorenz (Pottery) – New York, NY Learn more about the program: https://lnkd.in/g_4eqJ_5

Opening Saturday! ✨ Embark on a transformative journey through a decade of artwork in “Ashwini Bhat: Reverberating Self,” exploring the artist’s quest for home, belonging, and connection to the natural world. On view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, the exhibition highlights Ashwini Bhat’s mastery of diverse materials—ranging from cast bronze and hand-built ceramics to video works and a collaborative community installation. A key part of her ongoing “Assembling California” project, these works engage with themes of climate, place, and a deep connection to nature. Bhat’s work invites viewers to reflect on their relationship with the world, fostering communion with both human and nonhuman ecologies. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gvsmPfKU