Virtual and Gallery Exhibit!

Duration:
March 4th-26th

The Cultural Arts Center is Open Thursdays through Sunday 1pm-5pm. Please wear a mask if you are not fully vaccinated.

Click on each piece of art to view the full image and artist info.

Wisconsin Regional Art Program 2022

The Whitewater Arts Alliance is hosting the Wisconsin Regional Art Program (WRAP) exhibit that features the works of non-professional Wisconsin artists at Whitewater’s Cultural Arts Center, 402 West Main Street, from March 4 through March 26. Visitors will be asked to participate in health and safety measures recommended by the CDC for COVID-19, to include wearing a mask if not fully vaccinated.

Artists from Wisconsin are exhibiting art in a variety of media including 3D, acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings. Artists and art-advocates alike are invited to view the exhibit free of charge. The exhibit will run from 1 to 5 p.m. beginning March 4th and running through March 26 Thursdays through Sundays.

WRAP was established to encourage Wisconsin citizens with a serious interest in art - people who make art purely for the love of it, rather than for fame and fortune. The purpose of WRAP is to encourage nonprofessional artists to develop their abilities. The Wisconsin Regional Art Program consists of many artist workshop/exhibits that meet throughout the year statewide. Each one has a different artist demonstration or slide lecture and a different judge to lead the afternoon critique. Artists may enter as many Wisconsin Regional Art Workshops as they like. The program is run by the Association of Wisconsin Artists (AWA), formerly named WRAA.

Artists winning a State Exhibit Aware are eligible to compete for monetary awards at the State Day in Madison. In order to enter the State Exhibit, you must be a member of the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program — you can join the organization at any time before the state exhibit by going to wisartists.wildapricot.com and click on the WRAP tab to register.

The first Rural Art Exhibit was held at the Memorial Union during Farm and Home Week in 1940. Under the guidance of John Stuart Curry, the exhibit grew rapidly, expanding from 30 nonprofessional artists in 1040 to over 100 by 1947. The energy and enthusiasm of Curry’s successor, Aaron Bohrod, the WRAP directors, James Schwalbach and Ken Kuemmerlein, and the help of the AWA have continued to make the exhibition and workshops cornerstones of activity for nonprofessional artists throughout the state.

WRAP was developed and administered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts. WRAP exhibits and workshops began in 1940 to encourage the creative growth of non-professional artists from rural areas.