FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2024
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MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM SELECTS INDIGENOUS ARTIST FOR
FUTURE MUSEUM ART INSTALLATION
Germantown-based artist Mark Fischer will create a structure honoring tribes in Wisconsin and Indigenous symbolism, promoting education and storytelling
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) has selected Indigenous artist Mark Fischer of the Oneida Nation to design and create an outdoor art installation for the Future Museum. The piece, titled The Gathering Place, will be in the shape of a dome and made primarily of copper. With key symbolism embedded throughout, the work will serve as a testament to the rich cultural heritage of Native American tribes in Wisconsin.
“I am incredibly proud to be trusted with creating such a meaningful piece of art for the Future Museum,” said Fischer. “I feel a special connection to this land and am truly honored to create an iconic piece of art for this centuries-old gathering place to celebrate Native cultures, honor our natural world and create a highly interactive environment for visitors.”
Originally from Milwaukee, Fischer learned about welding copper from his grandfather. He has worked as a full-time artist for the past 30 years, previously working on projects with the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, Oneida Nation Museum, UW-Madison, the Smithsonian Museum of Contemporary Native American Art and Milwaukee’s Indian Community School, where he served as president for three years.
Fischer’s Future Museum art installation will take inspiration from aspen trees, organisms which he says speak with each other, much like humans, through their root systems. Fischer will create a group of aspen trees made out of copper to represent Wisconsin’s First Nations. The trees will form the exterior of the dome and will be arranged to visually mimic the support poles seen in a traditional Great Lakes home. Each of the poles will be adorned with welded-on, cultural patterns affiliated with each tribe of Wisconsin.
“Mark’s profound connection to the land and dedication to sharing Native American heritage makes him the perfect artist for this installation,” said MPM Manager of Tribal Relations James Flores. “Mark’s vision beautifully intertwines the cultural significance of the tribes in Wisconsin with the natural beauty of our environment. This installation will not only be a striking piece of art, but a powerful educational tool that will teach Museum visitors about the rich traditions, history and resilience of Wisconsin tribes.”
In addition to the structure’s traditional Great Lakes home-inspired shape, the base of the installation will also honor Indigenous symbolism and knowledge while creating an intentional space for gathering and learning.
“Inside the dwelling, there will be 13 large stones arranged in a circular design on the ground to represent the 13 squares, called scutes, found on every turtle shell,” said Fischer. “Many Indigenous people consider a turtle’s shell to be a representation of the lunar calendar, which has 13 full moons in a year. Turtles also have 28 tiny square shells⸺the same number of days between each full moon⸺around the perimeter of their shell. Knowing this, I plan to incorporate 28 smaller stones around the structure’s outer edge. My hope is that these stones will serve as a place for children to sit for storytelling.”
The sculpture will be located in the Future Museum’s Plaza, a green space adjacent to the Museum building and in front of the parking structure. This area will be free and open to the public year-round, giving both Museum visitors and people in the neighborhood the opportunity to enjoy The Gathering Place art installation as well as other works of public art at their leisure.
Learn more about Fischer and his work at turtleclanart.com. More information about the Future Museum project, including details about the Museum’s architecture and exhibit galleries, is available at mpm.edu/future.
About the Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum is Wisconsin’s natural history museum, welcoming over half a million visitors annually. Located in downtown Milwaukee, the Museum was chartered in 1882, opened to the public in 1884, and currently houses more than 4 million objects in its collections. MPM has three floors of exhibits that encompass life-size dioramas, walk-through villages, world cultures, dinosaurs, a rainforest, and a live butterfly garden, as well as the Daniel M. Soref Dome Theater & Planetarium. MPM is operated by Milwaukee Public Museum, Inc., a private, non-profit company, housed in a county-owned facility with collections that are held in trust and supported by Milwaukee County for the benefit of the public.
About the Future Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin’s natural history museum, will be relocating from its current location on Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee to a newly constructed building due to open in early 2027.
To be located on a 2.4-acre site at the corner of Sixth and McKinley Streets in the Haymarket neighborhood adjacent to the city’s Deer District, the Future Museum will be the largest cultural project in Wisconsin history. Heavily influenced by the ecological histories of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, the design of the new Museum will be reminiscent of the geological formations in Mill Bluff State Park, emblematic of the region’s diversity of landscapes formed by the movements of water through time. The building will be approximately 200,000 square feet, including five stories, with an additional 50,000-square-foot collections storage building.
To learn more about the Future Museum, visit mpm.edu/future.
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