Welcome to Madison, Wisconsin Arts Guide
Looking to explore the arts in Madison, Wisconsin? This is a broad introduction and useful resource. Find what you like and zoom in on your interests.
This post aims to make it easy. Easy to navigate. Easy to find Madison arts info.
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Who Is This Resource Guide For?
This Madison, Wisconsin Arts Guide is for:
- Art shoppers
- Art lovers seeking entertainment (visual arts, music, theater, etc.)
- Artists discovering how to be involved
Madison, Wisconsin: City Overview
Arts is the focus of this post, but for context, here’s a quick intro to Madison.
Madison is known as a small city or perhaps an oversized college town. It is a University City with a reputation for a high quality of life and active, engaged residents. It is both the state capital and the home of a large university. Downtown is on an isthmus (a strip of land) between lakes. Madison is a successful city that provides many options and activities.
By the way, I live in Madison. And who am I? I’m Dan from artfulnotebook.
Art Resource Pages on Madison Websites
Find out what’s happening now –
If you are looking for current events across the arts, local news publications are a great place to start. I have identified and selected key sites are quite useful, with a team working together to provide up-to-date content on what is happening now.
Below are three recommendations. These are art-focused pages on Madison-focused websites:
- The Arts & Culture page at visitmadison.com is searchable, sortable, and current. It will lead you to museums, galleries, and other venues. Choose a place that interests you to find out what is current. This is a popular website, useful for Madison tourists and residents.
- The A&E section at isthmus.com is a great resource for finding current events and info on arts and entertainment in the Madison area. The Isthmus is a long-running local newspaper. What is an isthmus? A narrow strip of land between bodies of water.
- Check out the Arts section of 608 Today for an introduction to Madison’s varied arts, including the local music scene, information on music festivals, sculptures around town, concerts on the square, and more. 608 Today is one of many city-focused websites maintained by 6AM City, “built to engage local communities by creating new ways to consume, participate, and share local content.”
Arts Organizations in and around Madison
Connect with an arts organization to get involved –
Below is a list of organizations that provide structure and space to help artists develop, network, and create.
Arts + Literature Laboratory is a community-driven contemporary arts center. The center’s programs and events include visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, and arts education. Check out the calendar to peruse specifics on artists and events.
The Bubbler is an artist-focused incubator space in Madison, Wisconsin focused on building a connection between artists and the community through creative and innovative events, exhibitions, and workshops. The Bubbler uses Madison’s public library as a platform for experimentation and collaboration through art.
The Madison Art Guild is a non-profit organization of artists and craftsmen in south-central Wisconsin. This organization facilitates support and encouragement among artists. The website includes an artist profile page that links to individual artists’ works and webpages.
ArtWorking is a Madison area nonprofit program that provides career development and support for artists & entrepreneurs with disabilities. ArtWorking provides a professional studio workspace. Reference the website for artist bios and photos of their work.
Madison Youth Arts ensures opportunities for young people to express themselves, discover the arts, and create connections. Madison Youth Arts is creating a community space for youth and serves as home for the Children’s Theater of Madison and Madison Youth Choirs.
DAMA is the acronym for Developing Artists, Murals & Alliances. This organization provides access to arts education through mural-making activities. DAMA has a clear focus on supporting youth, empowering artists and improving communities.
Crowd-sourced Websites, Art Searches
Find art with help from the crowd –
Crowd-sourced websites are an effective tool for finding the artful elements in a city. These sites seek reviews, photos, ratings and feedback from a wide range of people. Places that earn positive reviews are highlighted. Customize your own Madison, Wisconsin Arts Guide with your search choices. Find a place that interests you, read about it, look for a link to their website..
Examples of crowd-sourced web sources:
- Yelp
- Google reviews
- Foursquare city guide
Simply to go one of the above sources, type in “Madison, WI” and what you are looking for (art gallery, live music, pottery, etc.)
Additionally, consider searching for terms like “music bar” or “art show coffee shop” to find local businesses that add to the arts scene, like Harmony Bar and Grill or Mother Fool’s coffee shop.
Event Websites with Madison Info
Schedule or attend an event –
If you are an artist looking to create an event, or if you are an arts-enthusiast looking for a play, or concert, below are a few helpful sites.
The Madison Theatre website is an independent guide to the best shows in Madison. Look here for in-depth info on theatrical, musical and performance arts events.
Eventbrite allows anyone to create, share, find and attend events. You can find all kinds of events here, including but certainly not limited to arftful events.
City of Madison Website Arts Page
The Madison Arts page at the City of Madison website is good place to start a search for artistic activities and cultural programs formally supported by the city. This page is a launching pad for discovering the successes organized and coordinated by the city.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Arts Webpages
UW-Madison is a large, four-year research university comprising twenty associated colleges and schools. It has a strong influence on Madison’s culture and activities.
Here are just a few of UW-Madison’s department webpages.
- Art Department
- Mead Witter School of Music
Of course, this large university educates in diverse areas including landscape architecture, interior architecture, film,
Madison’s Character and Style
Part of what makes Madison fantastic is the city’s foundation, the fundamental building blocks contributing to the economy and character:
- Geography: Downtown is on an isthmus, a narrow strip of land between lakes. There are four major lakes in the Madison area.
- The University: UW-Madison add to the culture and energy, and is a major employer.
- Capital City: Madison is capital of Wisconsin which boosts the political element and adds job diversity.
Madison thrives with a buzz of activity but there is also space. The city has an exceptional number of parks, a great network of bicycle/pedestrian paths, and a bit of room to breathe and stretch.
Many students and professors live here, creating an academic element. The popular music scene is vibrant for a city of this size, influenced by the youthful energy of college students. You can find diverse bars, restaurants, coffee shops, sports clubs, quirky meetup groups, intellectual speakers, scientists, musical performances, tech startups, theaters and so on. A nice mix. So much is happening that it cannot be concisely summarized.
Art Museums in Madison, WI
The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (mmoca.org) and the Chazen Museum of Art are the cities largest art museums. Both locations offer free admission and are involved in the community,
Architecture Around Madison
Wisconsin’s Capital Building is a downtown architectural highlight. Surrounding this buildind , a height restriction law protects the view of the capital. Expanding out from downtown are residential neighborhoods with interesting houses.
Prairie-style architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright’s influence are prominent in Madison. Key characteristics of the Prairie School of architecture:
- Horizontal rather than vertical elements
- Integration with the environment
- Flat or low-pitched roofs
- Overhanging eaves
- Windows grouped in horizontal bands
Wright lived in Madison for a time and later settled in nearby Spring Green, where Taliesin East is located. This style can be found in many Madison homes, bridges, and general architecture. Check out these five Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Madison, as highlighted but the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Fairs, Festivals, Fun Events
Madison’s tradition of fairs, festivals and fun events add to an artful atmosphere. There are numerous summer festivals with live music, annual art fairs, and weekly concerts on the square in warm weather.
Like many cities across the globe that participate in Make Music Day, Make Music Madison is a day filled with live music at locations throughout the city.
You can link to a calendar of festivals and fairs at visitmadison.com. From that calendar some art and music-oriented highlights include:
- Wisconsin Film Festival
- Marquette Waterfront Festival
- Make Music Madison
- Art Fair on the Square
- La Fête de Marquette
- Atwood Fest
- Orton Park Festival
- Willy Street Fair
- Wisconsin Book Festival
Resource Guide Recap – Madison Arts Guide
Madison, Wisconsin Arts Guide is designed to make it easy to find arts oriented Madison events and artful organizations. It works best if you bookmark this post, visit the links, and then return.
If you want to develop as an artist, consider connecting with an arts organization. For people seeking community, artists with shared interests are out there.
Also important, the support of art aficionados is always meaningful. A great reason to get out, view paintings, dance to live music, attend a poetry reading, or watch a play!
Published March 28, 2023
