WRAP/AWA State Exhibition and Conference
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2020 Annual Art Exhibition And State Day Conference
View the 2020 WRAP AWA Service Awards
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2020 State Day Conference! Even though it was held online this year, we still connected and engaged with Wisconsin arts through the online exhibition, ceremonies, demonstrations, keynote speaker presentation, and networking spaces. If you have any questions, email wrap@dcs.wisc.edu.
Conference 2020 dates
Friday, September 18 through Sunday, September 20

2020 State Day speaker
We are excited to announce our 2020 State Day speaker!
Karen Ann Hoffman: Oneida Nation of Wisconsin — Iroquois Raised Beadworker
Karen Ann Hoffman is the beadwork student of Samuel Thomas and the late Lorna Hill. She holds a master’s degree in human development with an emphasis on cultural identity, and was just awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. Her beadwork is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution-NMAI, the Wisconsin Historical Museum, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, the Memorial Hall Museum of Deerfield, MA, the New York State Museum, and Chicago’s Field Museum.
An advocate for Native Arts, Karen Ann has curated opportunities to showcase Native art at museums and galleries across Wisconsin. She sits on the Wisconsin Arts Board where she chairs the Wisconsin Woodland Indian Arts Initiative. Read more about Karen and her work.
2020 Demonstrations and Talks

Creative Art Journaling Demonstration – $10
Angela Johnson (Madison)
Friday, September 18, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Learn a variety of journaling techniques using simple materials. Experiment with warm-up exercise, problem solving, and capturing ideas on the fly. Have fun and find inspiration in your portable studio. Learn more about Angela and her work.
Curatorial Talk – $10
Variety of Wisconsin Museum and Gallery Curators and Staff (TBD)
Friday, September 18, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
Discover what creative projects and exhibits are happening around the state at local galleries and art museums. Hear from experts working in the field and learn how ideas and collaborations for exhibitions come together.

Curatorial Talk – Jody Clowes
Jody Clowes is the director of the James Watrous Gallery, dedicated to Wisconsin artists and located in Madison’s Overture Center for the Arts. As a program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, the Watrous Gallery’s exhibitions often reflect the Academy’s special interest in drawing connections between art and other disciplines.

Curatorial Talk – Marci Hoffman
Marci Hoffman is the education coordinator at the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton. With a master’s in educational leadership, she runs a division that includes more than 20 artists and educators, and offers year-round visual arts programming for all ages and abilities. Marci’s expertise is the administrative side of art education including developing community collaborations, program development and accessibility, grant writing, and more.

Curatorial Talk – Kelly Price
Kelly Price is the executive director of the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. Besides overseeing day-to-day operations, Kelly plays an active role in the organization’s marketing, social media, bookkeeping, and development.

Curatorial Talk – Candie Waterloo
Candie Waterloo is the director of education at the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She develops, manages, implements, and curates educational initiatives that link audiences of all ages with the Chazen’s permanent collection and exhibitions.

Professional Practice Talk – $10
Frank Juarez (Sheboygan)
Friday, September 18, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Artist and educator Frank Juarez brings nineteen years of art education and arts management experience organizing local and regional art exhibitions, community art events, and professional development workshops. Frank’s workshop will cover the basics of self-promotion, effective use of social media, balancing studio time with the business of art practices, and other methods to encourage artists. Learn more about Frank’s projects through his artdose online magazine.

State Day Speaker – $20
Karen Ann Hoffman, 2020 State Day speaker and judge (Stevens Point)
Saturday, September 19, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Karen Ann’s insightful demo includes talk about her raised Iroquois beadwork intertwined with storytelling. Learn more about Karen Ann and her work.

Painting Demonstration: Positive and Negative Image Development in Watercolor – $10
Helen R Klebesadel (Madison)
Saturday, September 19, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
Explore the use of positive and negative space in image development. Helen will demonstrate two ways to approach painting development starting from the same base. While the demo will be done in watercolor, the process could be done in a variety of painting, drawing and mixed media. Learn more about Helen and her work.

Sculpture Demonstration – $10
Madison Hagar (Wausau)
Saturday, September 19, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
Madison Hagar has an MFA in sculpture and is the curator at the Center for Visual Arts in Wausau. In this demonstration you will learn techniques and vocabulary that can be adapted for your own art practice (2D or 3D) within your own home studio.

Light as a 2×4″ Assemblage – $10
Sarah Thompson (Minocqua)
Sunday, September 20, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Learn the art of arranging objects in an aesthetically pleasing way. You will learn form, composition and layout for the art of assemblage. Use your own special vintage photo, jewelry or endearing object to personalize your art piece. Learn more about Sarah on her website.

Creating Spontaneity Demonstration: Acrylic pour – $10
Nancy McKinnon (Janesville – member of the Janesville Art League)
Sunday, September 20, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
My creations start with my passion for color. I love every shade of blue, and red, and yellow! I find that I experiment with the premise, “I wonder how these colors will work together” and “what if….” Learn some of Nancy’s best tips and tricks for acrylic pours. See Nancy’s artwork.

Box Making Demonstration – $10
Angela Johnson (Madison)
Sunday, September 20, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
Learn how to create a foldable artist box that can be scaled up or down. This box can be used as a portfolio for paintings, photographs, handmade journals, or an artistic piece all on its own. Learn more about Angela and her work.
Art for your video call
From the WRAP Permanent Collection
Download one or all of these images to use as backgrounds in your video calls: works with Zoom, WebEx, or any videoconferencing program. Add a little art to your calls!
Click any picture to open the full-size image. Then just drag it to your desktop.
Information from our 2019 Conference and State Day
2019 State Day speaker
Michael is a paper sculptor whose “intricate works combine exuberant abundance with an inventive formalism.” Throughout his career he has shown in over 150 museums and galleries. His position as Faculty Associate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison presents the opportunity to lecture and teach on his work and the paper arts.
Michael talked about his work and guided participants in creating a miniature exhibition. See more about his mini exhibitions at loveytown.org/exhibitions.
View more about Michael and his work at velliquette.com.
2019 State Award winners
The 2019 Annual Art Exhibition is a collection of award-winning artwork from WRAP’s regional exhibitions across the state. These winning artists are recognized in the exhibition and publicly honored at the State Day Conference. View artwork
Scenes from WRAP Conference 2019
Images from the 2019 WRAP conference
Photo credit: Kailee Kujawski
* Top-of-page art, “Phoenix,” by Rebecca Herb