Saturday, October 25 @ 12–5pm
Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 25th from 12 to 5pm as we host our annual Fall Open House. This event is free and invites current students, prospective students interested in studying at UW-Madison and the general public to interact and celebrate the Art Department. Download your copy of the UW-Madison Art Department 2025 Fall Open House PDF Event Planner!
From 12 to 3pm, get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of classrooms and art studio labs, watch select demonstrations from many art disciplines, and meet the department’s Master in Fine Arts graduate students as they welcome visitors to their studios in both the Humanities building and Art Lofts.
For prospective students who are considering pursuing BS-Art, BS-Art: Graphic Design, BFA-Art, BFA-Art: Graphic Design, or BS-Art Education, join a two-hour guided tour of classrooms and art studio labs in the Humanities Building and Art Lofts. An overview of Art Department programs and degree options, course offerings, and opportunities available for art students at UW-Madison will be covered. The tour is from 1 to 3pm with limited spots available, register here.
From 3 to 5 pm, celebrate our undergraduate Art students and Art Department-affiliated student organizations in their showcase of artwork exhibited in the Art Lofts Gallery. Student organizations will be tabling information alongside local Madison art organizations. The exhibition reception with light refreshments will conclude the day’s events.
12–3pm
- Meet our MFA graduate students and visit their open studios in both the Humanities Building and Art Lofts.
- With a self-guided tour (map provided), get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of our classrooms and art studio labs and watch select demonstrations from our art areas.
Humanities Building Events
- Cartoon Self-Portraits with our Comics class Instructor Jeff Butler in the Comics Room 6131, 6th Floor, ink & paper provided.
- Enameling & Ring Making Workshop with the Mad Metals student organization in the Metals Studio, Room 7551, 7th Floor.
- Performance Art Demonstrations by Professor Professor Michael Peterson’s Art Performance class at Gallery 7, Room 7240, 7th Floor, from 1-3pm.
Art Lofts Events
- Clay Bird Making with Molly Green at the Ceramics Lab, Room 1040.
- Neon Art Demonstrations by Neon: Light as Sculpture Instructor Tom Zickuhr and students at the Neon Lab, Room 1147.
- Glassworking Demonstrations with the Mad Gaffers student organization at the Glass Lab, Room 1165.
- Traditional Silver Gelatin Printing with Nika McKagen at the Darkroom, Room 1055, from 1-1:30pm.
1–3pm
- Join our Prospective Student Academic Advisor for a two-hour guided tour of our classrooms and art labs in the Humanities Building and Art Lofts. Space is limited, register here.
3–5pm
- Learn about exhibition opportunities and ways to get involved in local Madison art communities at the Art Lofts Lobby Community Organization Fair with Dane Arts, Carnelian Art Gallery, ArtWorking, and the Memory Cloth Circle!
- Find out how to join the Art department-affiliated student organizations at the Art Lofts Lobby during the Student Organization Reception with UW–Madison Art Club, AIGA UW–Madison, Mad Gaffers, and Mad Metals!
- Celebrate our undergraduate art students in a showcase exhibition of their artwork on display at the Art Lofts Gallery during the reception with light refreshments provided.
Locations
- Humanities Building, 6th and 7th Floors, 455 N Park St: Only one Humanities Building elevator goes to the top 6th and 7th floors. Enter the Humanities building through the open breezeway on the ground floor and go in the doors marked “ART” in large white letters (E01-02) that are nearest to the Chazen Museum’s back entrance (the Chazen is next-door, immediately to the east). In the lobby the stairs and elevator are to the left.
- Labs & Graduate Studios: Printmaking, Graphic Design, nodeLab, Art Education, Metals, Sculpture, Furniture/Wood, and Drawing/Painting
- Art Lofts, 111 N Frances St: The Art Lofts building is located to the east next to the Kohl Center.
- Labs & Graduate Studios: Ceramics, Papermaking, Glass/Neon, Photography, and Drawing/Painting