A museum in Two Rivers is facing backlash after it canceled artist residencies, with artists and a donor calling for more transparency and new leadership.<\/p>\n
The Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum says it\u2019s the only museum dedicated<\/a> to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. The museum also hosts a visiting artists<\/a> program that showcases printers who\u2019ve made significant contributions to the letterpress craft.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the museum unexpectedly canceled artist residencies. The museum said the cancellations were related to<\/a> a leadership transition, requiring the board to manage day-to-day operations while a new executive director was sought.<\/p>\n News with a little more humanity<\/p>\n WPR\u2019s \u201cWisconsin Today\u201d newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.<\/p>\n But the museum has since found a new executive director and critics say their concerns have continued to go unaddressed. Hamilton Wood Type and the museum\u2019s board president declined an interview for this story.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are aware of others\u2019 efforts to look back and, while we respect those individuals\u2019 and groups\u2019 rights to voice their opinions, we also need to forge ahead in our important work,\u201d a Nov. 1 statement<\/a> from Executive Director Beth Kowalski reads.<\/p>\n The statement came after the Windgate Foundation<\/a>, which has supported the Hamilton museum for 20 years and currently provides more than $414,000 to the museum through an endowment, sent a letter<\/a> in mid-October calling for new leadership.<\/p>\n Windgate Foundation Executive Director Patricia Forgy wrote the controversy over canceled programming had \u201cbecome a full-blown crisis\u201d that led to a loss of around 25 percent of the museum\u2019s earned revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cThis trajectory is not sustainable,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cWe are also increasingly concerned about the lack of transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n Forgy said the foundation would withhold future endowment payments until the executive committee members resign, there\u2019s a clear plan to restore canceled programming and a commitment to bring in board members from underrepresented groups.<\/p>\n \u201cThese steps are imperative to allow the Museum to recover and continue its important role in the printing community,\u201d the letter reads. <\/p>\n In a statement responding to questions about the foundation\u2019s letter, Kowalski said the museum is thankful for Windgate\u2019s support.<\/p>\n \u201cAs to questions being raised by some, the Museum remains confident in its legal and financial position as we further our mission to provide critical preservation of our collections,\u201d the emailed statement reads.<\/p>\n In early August, the museum canceled artist IB\u00e9 Crawley\u2019s residency with about a week\u2019s notice, according to Desiree Aspiras and Jenn Graves, print art community members who launched a website and petition in response to concerns about the museum\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n In a video posted to Instagram<\/a>, Crawley said the only explanation she received for the cancellation was \u201cthat they were reevaluating their initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI asked to speak to the president of the board or any of the board members, just to get a better understanding of why my residency was canceled,\u201d she said in the video. \u201cI was told that they did not want to speak to me. At that time, I asked if I could pay the $100 daily fee in order to be able to print there, and I was told that I could not print there at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Crawley did not respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Graves and Aspiras described Crawley\u2019s canceled residency as a \u201ctipping point\u201d that started a wider community conversation. They said there had also been cancellations of other Black artists\u2019 residencies and planned exhibits.<\/p>\n \u201cThese things didn\u2019t just happen overnight. They\u2019ve been going on for quite some time,\u201d Graves said. \u201cThat\u2019s when it became more public. I think people knew there were issues that they weren\u2019t being talked about publicly until then.\u201d<\/p>\n In September, Crawley and Graves attended a Zoom meeting with board President Tracy Honn. During the meeting, Crawley asked that the museum continue its residency program<\/a> aimed at artists who are Black, Indigenous or women of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe conversation went nowhere,\u201d Graves said.<\/p>\n Julie Chen, a book artist and University of Wisconsin art professor who previously had a residency at Hamilton, said she attended a different meeting via Zoom with Honn in late August to discuss the issue. She described it as a \u201cvery unsatisfying meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTracy was not really willing or able \u2014 it was hard to tell which \u2014 to give us hardly any information about the cancellation,\u201d Chen said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t seem to us like she felt like this was an important issue. After that meeting, the community started to mobilize.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple presenters pulled out of the museum\u2019s annual Wayzgoose fundraiser program and registered attendees asked for refunds in late August and early September, according to Graves and Aspiras. Hamilton Wood Type ended up canceling this year\u2019s Wayzgoose event<\/a>.<\/p>\n A petition<\/a> campaign that began in late September is calling for the resignation of the museum\u2019s board of directors and executive committee. Organizers also began a postcard campaign<\/a> asking Hamilton\u2019s largest funder, the Reva and David Logan Foundation, to intervene.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wisconsin Public Radio, \u00a9 Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.<\/p>\n \t\t