The Warehouse has announced the appointment of Laura Sims Peck as the institution’s first curator.
Peck has worked with the family collection that is the basis of The Warehouse for the past four years. She has organized the collection in a private home and exhibited selected pieces from the collection at Milwaukee institutions such as the Villa Terrace, the University of Wisconsin– Milwaukee (UWM) Union Art Gallery, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. During that time, she also worked on publications including Beyond Baskets and Roy Staab: Suspended in Time, both with Plumb Press.
Peck curated the inaugural exhibition Concentrations at The Warehouse (December 10 – February 8, 2019). The purpose of this exhibition is to identify the eight most significant “concentrations” of the Warehouse’s over 3,600 object permanent collection.
“Gathered over decades, this collection is personal,” Peck said. “The works have been regularly displayed in the home of the collectors, and lived with daily. They range from contemporary craft and monotypes, to self-portraits and figurative works, and all set the tone of the collection as a whole. Many have never been exhibited publicly.”
She will continue to create exhibitions based on the collection of The Warehouse. She will also seek collaborations with other museums and art professionals. Such collaborations include a dance program by Wild Space Dance Company, scheduled for mid-February 2019 and the exhibition of “On Belonging” with Lois Bielefeld and Nirmal Raja, March 8-May 31, 2019. Over time, Peck will build the program schedule for The Warehouse to include lectures, publications, educational programming, and a breadth of performances.
“It is a tremendous honor to join The Warehouse in this role at this formative time,” Peck said. “We are creating exhibitions and events, and also operating procedures and communication portals so we might best reach our audience. The Warehouse collection is available for scholars, students, and art lovers, and works are available for institutional loans. Admission to the Warehouse is free and by appointment.”
Education: Laura Sims Peck received her B.A. in anthropology and art history from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and her M.A. in Art History from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, along with a certificate in Museum Studies.
Company:
The Warehouse
1635 W. Saint Paul Ave., Floor 1
Milwaukee, WI 53233
