Washburn Cultural Center

06/03/2026

A quick preview 📸 of VARIATIONS: FIBER ART! Tomorrow evening's Opening Reception for VARIATIONS (Thursday, June 4, 5pm–7pm) marks its return to the galleries this month! Join artists and community members over light refreshments to celebrate VARIATIONS' fifth series and its 60+ artworks created utilizing various fibers and fiber techniques. VARIATIONS runs June 4–26.

The Cultural Center Art Gallery's summer hours also begin June 4, expanding to Thursdays–Mondays, 11am–4pm.

05/05/2026

Join us THIS EVENING (Tues., May 5) from 5pm–7pm for the public reception for students exhibiting in this year’s School District of Washburn Student Art Show! Families, friends, and the community are welcome to celebrate these emerging artists and browse the works they have created this academic year.

The annual Student Art Show is open through Thursday, May 28. Gallery Hours: Thursday–Sunday, 11am–4pm.

You’re Invited: 2026 Washburn School District Art Show!

Join us in celebrating the incredible creativity of our students!

📅 When: May 2–May 28
🎉 Reception: May 5 from 5–7 PM
📍 Where: Washburn Cultural Center
👩‍🎨 Who: Elementary, Middle & High School Art Students

Our annual art show gives students the chance to showcase their work in a real gallery setting, just like professional artists! It’s a wonderful opportunity for families, community members, and visitors to experience the talent and creativity of our students.

This event also serves as our main annual fundraiser. Proceeds from student artwork sales are split 50/50 between the students and our Art Booster program, helping fund future art opportunities like supplies, guest artists, and special events.

Come support our young artists, find a meaningful piece of art, and celebrate the power of creativity in our community!

05/04/2026

Join us for this exciting new music- and sound-based workshop at the Washburn Cultural Center in two weeks!

Musical Alchemy Improvisation Workshop
with Ross Hackenmiller (Twin Cities, Minn.)

Saturday, May 16, 1pm–3pm
Info & Registration: https://luma.com/wjy7ezdo

Join us for an afternoon of musical improv games and listening meditation. No experience needed—everyone is welcome. Through participatory group exercises and collaborative play, we’ll explore sound, silence, and presence. Come investigate what improvisation and listening reveal about the innate creative potential and musicality within everyone!

Free ($10 suggested donation)

04/30/2026

Join us tonight (Thurs., Apr. 30, 5pm–7pm) for a Final Look Reception for Courtney Fishback’s solo exhibition of CURIOUS ETHEREALS: PART DEUX.

In Fishback’s CURIOUS ETHEREALS series, Pop Art sensibilities and Byzantine saints collide to document the absurdity of the present. Fishback’s mixed media work builds and collapses histories, utilizing imagery and practices of previous artistic periods carefully selected to speak to the contemporary moment.

04/17/2026

Our two April exhibitions are now up at the Cultural Center.

Courtney Fishback’s ‘Curious Ethereals: Part Deux’ contains 14 painted collage works that explore “what it feels like to live in a world that often seems unreal—a kind of clown world where nothing quite makes sense, yet everything continues on.” A closing reception for ‘Curious Ethereals’ will be held on Thursday, April 30, from 5pm–7pm.

We are also screening on-demand ‘This Is Who I Am,’ a short film about Indigenous language and identity presented at the Cultural Center by its executive producer Niigaani-animikiiwinini Kalvin Hartwig. ‘This Is Who I Am’ is presented through funding from the Apostle Islands Area Fund of the South Shore Community Fund and exhibited with support from the Washburn Heritage Association.

Our galleries are open this week and next week Thursdays–Sundays, 11am–4pm.

04/07/2026

Join us this Thursday, April 9, beginning at 7pm, for a public screening, reception, and panel discussion for the short film 'This Is Who I Am' (2017), presented by producer Niigaani-animikiiwinini Kalvin Hartwig (Ojibwe, Bear Clan, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians). Light refreshments will be provided.

In 'This is Who I Am,' a young Anishinaabe woman in the Big City feels lost about her identity. She wonders what her ancestors would do, and after a short series of events, she knows what she must do.

Thursday Evening's Program
- 7pm: Introduction by Niigaani-animikiiwinini Kalvin Hartwig
- 7:15pm: Public screening of 'This Is Who I Am'
- 7:30pm: Panel discussion/Q&A with film creators

This program and April's exhibition are presented through funding from the Apostle Islands Area Fund of the South Shore Community Fund and exhibited with support from the Washburn Heritage Association.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1626943065180325/

01/29/2026

Join MICHAEL LAUGHING FOX CHARETTE (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), renowned Ojibwe educator, musician, storyteller, and visual artist, for a hands-on dreamcatcher workshop. During this family- and community-focused program, participants of all ages will learn about Ojibwe dreamcatchers, build their own, and be invited to contribute to a community hoop.

This FREE, PUBLIC workshop is provided by the Washburn Cultural Center with support from the Boreal Waters Community Foundation. It is intended to be accessible for school-aged children but will provide a welcoming space for participants of ALL AGES, from ALL COMMUNITIES, to build dreamcatcher hoops with family members and alongside neighbors.

We ask that interested individuals and groups PRE-REGISTER so that we can anticipate and guarantee materials to have on-hand. Walk-in attendance may also be available as supplies allow, but cannot be guaranteed. Even so, all are welcome to listen to the introductory sessions and observe!

LEARN MORE & PRE-REGISTER:
washburnculturalcenter.com/dreamcatcher-02072026

01/23/2026

The Washburn Cultural Center building, including the Washburn Area Museum and Hedgehog Treasure Shop, will be closed today (Friday, January 23).

When these days become cold, please ensure yourselves, our neighbors, and all of our community members remain warm, safe, and welcomed.

12/22/2025

The Washburn Cultural Center is proud to announce a Call for Proposals for Indigenous visual artists; artist/cultural collectives, groups, or organizations; or curators for an exhibition in our first floor gallery space(s) for April 2026.

The proposed exhibition is intended to serve as a one- or two-gallery showcase for currently active/practicing artist(s), maker(s), and creative(s) whose work reflects a connection to the Chequamegon Bay, or the Upper Midwest or Lake Superior region more broadly, and engages the regions’ cultural histories, traditions of making, and/or contemporarily relevant topics, concerns, or perspectives.

For the full CFP, evaluation criteria, and online submission form, follow this link: https://www.washburnculturalcenter.com/cfp-april26

Tag or share this post with an Indigenous artist whose artwork you'd like to see on exhibit at the Washburn Cultural Center this April!

Photo by Aubree Herrick on Unsplash

12/12/2025

Curious about life drawing? Looking for a creative refuge from the cold? Join us this Saturday (December 13) from 11am–12:30pm for an informal life drawing demonstration!

As part of the exhibition 'Drawn Together: A Community of Life Drawing,' the Monday Night Life Drawing Group is hosting a demonstration with a clothed model in the Central Avenue Gallery.

These demonstrations are open to the public. Guests are welcome to browse the exhibition, observe artists as they draw, and ask questions about process to artists and the model. Anyone interested in joining the drawing is encouraged to participate—equipment and basic supplies are provided.

This month, our December exhibitions 'The Creative Power Collection,' presented by Arts For All Wisconsin, and 'Drawn Together' are on view in our galleries Thursdays–Sundays, 11am–4pm. The final Life Drawing Demonstration for 'Drawn Together' will be held next Saturday, December 20, from 11am–12:30pm.