Feature image: facade of the new location for the Trout Museum of Art. Photo: Artdose Magazine.
By Rachel Hausmann Schall
As a Wisconsin-based artist and art lover, I’m interested in visiting art spaces across the state. From museums and art centers to garage galleries and basement event spaces, it’s intriguing to see the variety of arts institutions that exist in our great Badger state. It can be easy to familiarize oneself with art spaces in Wisconsin’s larger cities, which are well-known for their creative communities, such as Milwaukee or Madison. However, it’s also beneficial to become acquainted with galleries, art centers, and museums from other parts of the state.
The artistic community here extends far beyond our highly populated cities, and recent initiatives like Wisconsin Art Destinations, which created a collective of 14 Wisconsin art museums, make it effortless for those art-curious individuals to get to know art spaces from all over the state. As a member of Wisconsin Art Destinations, the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, Wisconsin, has recently completed a tremendous task: moving into a brand-new space at 325 E College Ave, just a few blocks down the road from its old location in the heart of downtown Appleton.
Oncoming Close. Photo: Rich Maciejewski.
The new museum, now located on the ground floor in a building shared with Lawrence University, represents itself as one of Wisconsin’s premier arts institutions. It was clear upon my first visit to the new location that this sleek and modern physical space has the capacity to enhance the museum’s offerings–exhibitions, workshops, residencies, and community engagement, while leaving room for plenty of new possibilities. The upgraded facility includes expanded gallery spaces with concrete floors and high ceilings, visible storage areas, and many street-facing windows that invite the public inside. The museum has secured free admission through 2026, encouraging community members to experience what the new space offers. With 30,000 square feet of contemporarily designed spaces, including a café, classroom, and educational spaces, a dedicated studio space for artists-in-residence, and large, open galleries with ample wall space for captivating exhibitions, the Trout is well equipped to bring meaningful and inspiring visual art experiences to audiences for years to come.
In October 2025, the museum reopened at its new location with many different exhibitions for visitors to explore, including Guiding Ethos, an exhibition guest-curated by artist and entrepreneur Jenie Gao. Guiding Ethos features the work of 25 national and international artists–half are from Wisconsin or have ties to the state–whose work engages in storytelling as both record and resistance through historical reflection and collective memory. As a guest curator, Jenie had the unique opportunity to work with Trout staff in planning this exhibition, leading up to the reopening. Jenie describes one of the connecting threads of the exhibition, “The show brings together artists who have previously been censored by fine arts institutions, alongside artists who have organized, protested, and built community as a part of their creative practices.”
“It was important to me that at least half of the artists have a connection to Wisconsin, and then to contextualize them in this national and international cohort of artists as a way that strengthens both the local and global stories that are going on here.” Jenie went on to explain her perspective on the recent museum move, “working with the museum and watching how they facilitated this move into the new building and understanding how they steward their policies around the work they show has been a great experience. They have built a foundation for themselves that gives them a lot of latitude and agency over what they exhibit.”
The representation of contemporary artists, including those local to Wisconsin, was a central focus for the museum during the re-opening celebration. As I meandered through the galleries on opening day, I recognized name after name, noticing artists’ work from across the state. In addition to Guiding Ethos, other exhibitions in the Trout galleries celebrated the work of artists with ties to Wisconsin, like Michelle Grabner, Beth Lipman, and Li Hu. The Trout also showcased its permanent collection, which was assembled over the past 40 years by the museum’s namesake, Dr. Monroe E. and Sandra Trout. Additionally, the museum celebrated the work of previous artists-in-residence through a group exhibition and unveiled a custom 20-foot mural created by their Designer of the Year that hangs behind the counter in the museum store, greeting visitors upon entrance.
David Najib Kasir, a Wisconsin-based artist whose work was featured in Guiding Ethos, shared his outlook on the recent move to a new building: “I got to see the space as I dropped off my work and walked around, and I was blown away by what I saw. I really thought that this new building sets a new standard for smaller art museums. They have something special in Appleton. At the opening, I felt honored to be among the first works in the new spaces.”
Like many artists, I strive to find spaces where I feel like I belong or where I feel welcome to be an independent thinker and creator. The Trout Museum of Art’s new location has succeeded in making the art-curious welcome, and I encourage any art lover to visit, explore, and enjoy what one of Wisconsin’s many art spaces has to offer.
To learn more about the Trout Museum of Art, visit troutmuseumart.org and connect on Instagram at @troutmuseumofart.
Trout Museum of Art is published in Issue 40. Purchase a copy here.
Rachel Hausmann Schall (she/her) is a born-and-raised Midwestern artist, writer, and educator living and working in central Wisconsin. She received her BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) in 2015 and has exhibited nationally at a variety of museums, galleries, and artist-run spaces. Rachel is co-editor of Artdose magazine and has contributed writing to publications like Sixty Inches From Center, Dovetail Magazine, and Flat Rate Contemporary. She is a co-organizer of the Grilled Cheese Grant, an artist-run project that raises funds for emerging artists in Wisconsin with grilled cheese sandwiches. Hausmann Schall also works as the Artist Residency & Adult Program Manager at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin.