Call for Poets
Through a Poetic Lens: The Charles Allis Art Museum as Interpreted by Local Poets
Through a Poetic Lens is a collaboration between The Charles Allis Art Museum and Milwaukee poet and essayist Angelina Danae to create an anthology of poems exploring the spaces, stories, and world-class art collection within The Allis. The project will feature a coalition of Milwaukee poets, each randomly assigned a portion of the house from which to draw inspiration to create an original piece of poetry. The resulting poems will be gathered into an anthology, set against photos of the assigned spaces, and offered to members as a year-end gift for their patronage. The public will also be able to purchase copies of the anthology from the museum’s gift shop.
DETAILS
Poets of all ages and experience levels are welcome to submit a brief application to be considered for the project. No payment is offered for participation, but selected poets will receive one complimentary 12-month individual or family membership to The Allis along with a copy of the anthology.
Applications close on August 26, with all selected poets notified by September 2.
YOUR COMMITMENT
We will kick off the project in early September with a mandatory meeting to assign spaces to poets and offer uninterrupted time for poets to sit in their assigned rooms and begin writing. We will offer one additional meeting time to give poets a chance to meet with fellow participants and share their work in progress for peer review and critique. The Allis will also provide unlimited access to the museum during regular operating hours, as needed, for poets to gather additional inspiration, explore their assigned space, and use the grounds as a quiet place to complete their final piece.
Each selected poet will be expected to submit one poem (at least 10 lines but up to 50 lines) on their assigned space. If more than one piece is submitted, the project organizers reserve the right to choose which to include in the anthology if space is unavailable for all. Final pieces will be due on October 9.
Questions prior to filling out the form? Contact Angelina Danae at angelinadanae@gmail.com or the team at The Allis at info@cavtmuseums.org.
Call for Community Participation
The Charles Allis home was gifted to the people of Milwaukee as an inheritance.
This exhibition begins with a question:
What have we inherited, and what do we choose to carry forward together?
Not everything we inherit can be held in our hands.
Sometimes it's a language.
A family tradition.
A value.
An act of care.
Sometimes it's a photograph.
A recipe.
A garment.
A handwritten letter.
These are the threads that continue to shape who we become.
This August, artist Christina Lopez-Prado will begin transforming The Lift at the Charles Allis Art Museum into a community vessel carrying the stories and memories that connect us all across time and space.
You are invited to contribute a photograph, a story, a family tradition, a handwritten note, a recipe, a textile, or another thread that continues to shape your life today.
Learn more and make your contribution using this form.
