Art Meets Porcelain At One Of Wisconsin's Coolest Galleries Where Even The Bathrooms Are Masterpieces

Perhaps Sheboygan, a Wisconsin town nicknamed the Malibu of the Midwest, isn't the first place you think of when you consider exceptional art museums, but you may want to rethink that. In fact, it's got an incredibly unique museum called the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, which showcases the work of both academically trained and self-taught contemporary artists. This is no stuffy museum where you don't feel you can speak above a whisper. This spot has some fascinating displays in eight galleries. Not only that, but it has some of the coolest bathrooms you've ever seen. No, really. Called "washrooms," if you're looking for them in the museum, they have some really incredible artwork that may make you linger as you wash your hands. In fact, one reviewer on TripAdvisor said, "The staff member at the front desk highly recommended we check out all the restrooms, which are all different and designed by artists. Yes, we felt a bit strange taking photos of toilets, but it was an interesting experience." Just ... um, be conscious of not taking pictures of other museum guests! 

The museum itself, which was founded in 1967, has thousands of items on display, as well as two performance galleries that feature dance, music, films, a free summer concert series, classes, and more, an art-based preschool, artist residencies, and, of course, a café, and a gift shop. There is even a drop-in studio where visitors can participate in collaborative artmaking, all for free. As of 2021, the center has an additional gallery space called the Art Preserve, just 3 miles away, featuring artist-created environments and over 25,000 works of art. Both the Arts Center, which won the 2023 Governor's Tourism Award for Arts, Culture, and Heritage, and the Art Preserve are free to visit.

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center and Art Preserve are just under 70 miles from Green Bay's Austin Straubel International Airport. It's also just over 60 miles from the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, America's most affordable lake destination. You can visit both locations Tuesday through Sunday, with the museums opening at 10 a.m., though closing hours differ by day. It's wheelchair accessible, and they have a limited number that are first come, first served, and free. The modern exhibitions features the likes of "Familiar Texture: the Fibers of Childhood and Home," including a shockingly pink room that feels like a young child's dream, and "Water Sprouts and Remains (an unfolding)," an outdoor exhibit built of natural materials with an ephemeral, almost mystical feel. 

The washrooms are a must-visit. There are six of them, and they include one from artist Casey O'Connor that is full of tiles with children's drawings, and stuffed animals injected with liquid clay and fired to form sculptures. They have a toddler-scale sink and a blue-scalloped-seat toilet. The "Sheboygan Men's Room" (above) from Ann Agee is covered in cobalt and white ceramic tiles with historical motifs, representing the Sheboygan area. "The Women's Room" by Cynthia Consentino was created to explore her "affection and aversion toward what society has defined as female," according to the website. 

In addition to the Arts Center's exhibition, the Art Preserve allows you to walk through artist-created environments like artist Seymour Rosen's "SPACES Archives," Stella Waitzkin's "Details of Lost Library" created from things like polyester resin, and based on the concept of the lost-wax casting technique, or Annie Hooper's tableaux of carved figural sculptures of people. Finally, if you're traveling through Milwaukee, make sure to take some time to explore the Third Ward, with its walkable art scene and historic charm.