The
Milwaukee Artist Resource Network announced it will soon open its new gallery and exhibition hall in the Historic Third Ward.
The 5,500-square-foot MARN Art + Culture Hub at 191 N. Broadway includes a conference center, innovation studio, a 2,800-square-foot gallery and exhibition hall, and café.
The organization
announced in 2019 its plans to open a new storefront facility after being awarded a $3 million grant from an anonymous fund at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. MARN was formerly based nearby, on the sixth floor of the Marshall building, 207 E. Buffalo St., in the Third Ward.
MARN said it plans to open the facility early this year but did not announce an exact date when the public will be able to access the building because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
Currently on display is MARN’s inaugural show, 2020 2.0: A Year in Transition, which is available virtually. It features 63 works from over 50 artists touching on themes of personal ways of coping, daily rituals, social justice, COVID-19, quarantine, privilege, family and propaganda.
MARN is hosting a live virtual event for the inaugural exhibition on March 6.
“If what gallery director Riley Niemack has been able to accomplish during a global pandemic and construction is any indication of what MARN will be capable of, Milwaukee creatives will be at the forefront of growth in a post COVID era,” said MARN president and CEO Mal Montoya.
The facility also includes a marketplace, where artwork is available for purchase; a conference center featuring a 110-inch diagonal video wall; and FOMA at MARN, a wine and coffee bar that will be operated by local area students.
MARN was founded in 2002 and provides educational and professional resources, and promotes collaboration among literacy, performing and visual artists. The grant in 2019 afforded the organization with 10 years of operational funding.
