ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASES
If you have questions about Wilson Center events or media coverage, contact Vice President-Marketing & Communications Nichole Cooper at ncooper@wilson-center.com or 262-373-5034.
February 8, 2017 - Wilson Center Guitar Festival Receives Increased Prize Money Sponsorship
Guitar players of all ages have a chance to win their share of $32,000 in prize money as part of the fifth annual international Wilson Center Guitar Festival taking place August 17-19, 2017, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Wisconsin. The increase of $10,000 in cash awards has been made possible by a generous competition prize money sponsorship from Milwaukee philanthropists and guitar enthusiasts Mark and Sharon Cameli in memory of John Cameli. Download full press release.
June 27, 2016 - Wilson Center Announces New President & CEO
Following an extensive nationwide search, the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts announced today that Lynn Sprangers will lead the institution as its new President & CEO. Sprangers will join the Wilson Center on August 1, 2016. Download full press release.
June 7, 2016 - Wilson Center Unveils Inaugural ArtsPark Sculpture at The Big Event
The Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts unveiled the inaugural Lynn Chappy ArtsPark sculpture, Flit by Wisconsin artist Nizar Schaller, at The Big Event on Saturday, June 4, 2016. More than 500 Greater Milwaukee-area business and community leaders were in attendance at this premier arts education fundraiser as the Wilson Center officially expanded its mission—to be the catalyst for lifelong learning and discovery of the arts—beyond the Center’s walls. Download full press release.
May 19, 2016 - Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival Application Deadline: May 31
Guitar competitors of all ages have a chance to win their share of $22,000 in prize money as part of the international Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival taking place August 18-20, 2016, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Now in its fourth year, the Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival is the only guitar competition and festival in the world to feature four different genres—Rock/Blues, Jazz, Classical, and Fingerstyle—with simultaneous live competitions, master classes, guitar industry exhibits, and ticketed concert events. Download full press release.
May 3, 2016 - Wilson Center Announces World-Class Line-Up for 15th Anniversary Season
Titans of jazz, seminal dance companies, internationally acclaimed orchestras, visceral singer/songwriters, and hometown artists take center stage in year‐long 15th Anniversary Season celebration that features more than 25 artists and ensembles at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Download full press release.
April 22, 2016 - Wilson Center Celebrates Earth Day with Announcement of ArtsPark Contest Winners
Three new sculptures will unite nature and art in inspiring ways for the Greater Milwaukee‐area community, as the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) announces the winners of the second Lynn Chappy ArtsPark (ArtsPark) sculpture contest—Wisconsin‐based artists Gail Simpson, Aristotle Georgiades, and Michael Kautzner— and prepares to unveil the inaugural ArtsPark sculpture, “Flit,” by Wisconsin artist Nizar Schaller. Download full press release.
March 4, 2016 - Eclectic GlobalFEST Tour Brings Carnival to Wilson Center
As the dark days of winter give way to spring, global music lovers throughout the Greater Milwaukee area will have a chance to celebrate “fusions both geographical and temporal” (The New York Times) with the first North American tour of globalFEST: Creole Carnival at Brookfield’s Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) on Saturday, Mar. 19, at 8:00 p.m. Download full press release.
March 2, 2016 - Wilson Center to Honor Donna and Donald Baumgartner at The Big Event
In an evening filled with dinner, dancing, and first-class entertainment, more than 600 Milwaukee-area business and community leaders will come together to raise funds for arts education at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) on Saturday, June 4, 2016. As part of The Big Event, Greater Milwaukee community leaders and philanthropists Donna and Donald Baumgartner and nationally acclaimed children’s theatre First Stage will be respectively honored with the twelfth annual EDDY Award and the second annual Educational Excellence Award. Download full press release.
February 22, 2016 - Wilson Center Appoints Kathryn R. Martin as Interim President & CEO
The Board of Directors at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) announce that San Diego-based management transition expert and veteran arts leader Kathryn R. Martin, Arts Consulting Group, Inc. (ACG) project consultant, has been appointed as Interim President & CEO, effective February 23, 2016. Download full press release.
January 27, 2016 - First-Ever Mack Avenue Tour Brings Label Superstars to Wilson Center
For the first time in its history, the Mack Avenue SuperBand is heading out on tour, with the stellar line-up of Gary Burton, Tia Fuller, Sean Jones, Christian McBride, Christian Sands, and Carl Allen performing for one night only in Wisconsin at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 8:00 p.m. Download full press release.
December 22, 2015 - Greater Milwaukee Community Invited to Help Select Sculpture Contest Winners
The Greater Milwaukee-area community has an opportunity this winter to help the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) select two leased sculptures for display in Lynn Chappy ArtsPark – a free, interactive sculpture garden that will unite nature and art in inspiring ways. Download full press release.
November 24, 2015 - Wisconsin Artist Nizar Schaller Announced as Wilson Center Sculpture Contest Winner
As the culmination of the year-long Circle Drive Sculpture Contest, the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) is excited to announce that Flit by Wisconsin artist Nizar Schaller has been selected as the inaugural sculpture in Lynn Chappy ArtsPark—a free, interactive sculpture garden in Brookfield's Mitchell Park that will unite nature and art in inspiring ways for visitors. Download full press release.
October 21, 2015 - Pillbox Hats De Rigueur at Wilson Center's Third Annual Literary Luncheon
Iconic style, timeless grace, and arts education will be celebrated as part of the 2015 Literary Luncheon at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center) in Brookfield’s Mitchell Park on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Download full press release.
October 7, 2015 - Suzanne Vega, Duncan Sheik Take Center Stage this November at the Wilson Center
From iconic singer-songwriters and riveting dance to internationally acclaimed artists and explosive family performances, and more, the 2015-2016 season is in full swing this fall at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center). Download full press release.
September 16, 2015 - Sculpture Contest Winner to be Revealed at Hidden River Art Festival.
More than 100 artists from across the Midwest will be part of the 10th anniversary Hidden River Art Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19-20, 2015. In addition to the numerous events taking place throughout the weekend, this year’s Festival will include a special announcement—the winner of the Circle Drive Sculpture Contest. Download full press release.
August 13, 2015 - Winners Announced at 2015 Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival
Hailing from as close as Brookfield, Wis., to as far as Salerno, Italy, the winners of the third annual Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival were announced on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center). Semi-final and final competition rounds in four different genres—Fingerstyle, Classical, Jazz, and Rock/Blues—took place over the three-day event and featured 59 guitarists from 14 countries competing for $22,000 in cash prizes. Read full press release.
August 5, 2015 - Wilson Center Selected as Heart of Canal Street Signature Charity
Ninety children from the Greater Milwaukee area will have the opportunity to attend Arts Camp: The Art of Nature 2016 as scholarship campers after the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts was chosen as one of 10 signature charities to take part in Potawatomi Hotel & Casino’s annual Heart of Canal Street program. Read full press release.
July 30, 2015 - Guitar Legends Headlining Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival
A celebration of everything guitar—three concerts, four competitions, five master classes, six industry exhibitors, and a stage filled with local young artists—the third annual Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival will be held August 13-15, 2015, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. World-class headliners include Croatian virtuoso classical guitarist Ana Vidovic, Milwaukee’s own internationally renowned guitarist Troy Stetina and American jazz guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, and fingerstyle legend Leo Kottke with Canada-based guitarist Antoine Dufour. Read full press release.
July 8, 2015 - Summer Sculpture Contest Opens to Wisconsin Artists
The Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts is calling all Wisconsin artists to apply for the Lynn Chappy ArtsPark Summer Sculpture Contest. Located in Brookfield’s Mitchell Park, Lynn Chappy ArtsPark will be a free, outdoor art experience that unites nature and art in inspiring ways. Read full press release.
July 2, 2015 - Public Invited to Share Input on Circle Drive Sculpture Contest
The Greater Milwaukee-area community has an opportunity this summer to help the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts select the winner of the Circle Drive Sculpture Contest. The winning sculpture will be placed in Soerens Circle Drive outside the building’s main entrance as the inaugural piece in Lynn Chappy ArtsPark—a free, interactive sculpture garden in Brookfield's Mitchell Park that will unite nature and art in inspiring ways for visitors. Read full press release.
July 1, 2015 - Semi-Finalists Announced for Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival
As part of an eclectic celebration of some of the world’s best guitar players, 59 competitors have been selected as the semi-finalists in the third annual Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival taking place Thursday, August 13, 2015, through Saturday, August 15, 2015, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. An international, multi-genre festival that features four different competitions—Rock/Blues, Fingerstyle, Jazz, and Classical—the Guitar Competition & Festival is open to competitors of all ages and features $22,000 in prize money. Read full press release.
June 18, 2015 - Wilson Center Gala Breaks Attendance, Fundraising Records
In an evening filled with dinner, dancing, and first-class entertainment, 600 Milwaukee-area business and community leaders came together on Saturday, June 6, 2015, for The Big Event at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. The nearly sold-out gala raised a record-breaking $105,000 on the “raise the paddle” to support arts education, plus additional funds through sponsorships, an exciting voice auction, raffle, and diamond bar. Read full press release.
April 23, 2015 - Last Call to Midwest Artists for 2015 Hidden River Art Festival
Exhibiting artists from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota are encouraged to submit applications for the 10th anniversary Hidden River Art Festival (HRAF) to be held September 19-20, 2015. Read full press release.
March 26, 2015 - Five Finalists Compete for Wilson Center's Inaugural ArtsPark Sculpture
Five Wisconsin-based artists have been selected as finalists in the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts' Circle Drive Sculpture Competition. Each artist will create maquettes of their proposed sculpture design for the inaugural piece that will be commissioned as part of Lynn Chappy ArtsPark—a free, interactive sculpture garden in Brookfield's Mitchell Park that will unite nature and art in inspiring ways for visitors. Read full press release.