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Our MISSION is to generate a creative exchange between artists and the public.

About the John Michael Kohler Arts Center

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC), located north of Milwaukee in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is known for promoting the understanding and appreciation of the work of self-taught and contemporary artists through exhibitions and commissioned works of art.

Founded in 1967, JMKAC has preserved, studied, and exhibited artist-built environments, earning a worldwide reputation. Art environments involve an individual significantly transforming their surroundings into an exceptional, multifaceted work of art.

The Arts Center’s downtown Sheboygan facility includes eight galleries, two performance spaces, a café, a museum shop, and a drop-in art-making studio. Among its program offerings are community arts projects; artist residencies; presentations of dance, film, and music; a free weekly summer concert series; classes and workshops; an onsite arts-based preschool; and approximately twelve original exhibitions of the work of self-taught and contemporary artists annually. JMKAC also administers the renowned Arts/Industry residency program, which is hosted by Kohler Co.

About the Art Preserve

In 2021, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center opened the Art Preserve, the world’s first museum to focus entirely on work from art environments. Located three miles from JMKAC, the 56,000-sq.-ft., three-level building holds more than 25,000 works in the Arts Center’s world-renowned collection, which includes complete and partial environments by more than thirty vernacular, self-taught, and academically trained artists.

Visitors experience unprecedented access and insight into the display, preservation, conservation, and interpretation of the Arts Center’s premier collection through tableaux as well as a unique system of curated, visible storage of the works of art.

Governor’s 2023 Tourism Award for Arts, Culture & Heritage.

On March 14, John Michael Kohler Arts Center was awarded the 2023 Governor’s Tourism Award for Arts, Culture & Heritage. This award is presented annually to one business or destination that showcases the arts, culture, or heritage for the enhancement of the tourism experience and economic well-being of a community.

The team at JMKAC is humbled to be recognized by Governor Tony Evers and the Travel Wisconsin team for this distinguished award and top honor.

Board of Directors

Officers

Steve Westphal–President
Maeve Quinn–Vice President
Rich Balge–Treasurer
Laura E. Kohler–Secretary
Anthony Rammer–Former President

Board Members

Michael Beeck
Jason Bemis
Jeff Cheney
Christine Lindemann
Margaret Chesebro Newhard
Lisa Hartman
Sarah Traas
Steven E. Woods
Natasha Torry
Naji Allan
Renee Boldt
Lynn Lucius

Honorary Board Members

K.C. Nemschoff
Barbara Gruber
Richard D. Pauls

Staff

Amy Horst–Executive Director
Doug Brusky–Director of CAPP
Ann Brusky–Deputy Director of Programming
Jim Van Alstine–Chief Financial Officer
Nancy Allison–Director of Development
Jamie Haack–Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Mary Ann Mayer–Director of Human Resources
Jodi Throckmorton–Chief Curator

Land Acknowledgement

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center acknowledges that we in Sheboygan County occupy the traditional homelands of the Ho-Chunk, Potawatomi, Menominee, Oneida, and Ojibwe people along the southwest shores of Michigami. This area holds tremendous value to these tribes and their cultural history. Let this acknowledgement remind all that this land was taken from the native people. Let these words increase public awareness as we honor, respect, and support the Indigenous peoples who are still connected to the land on which we live.      

Policies

No Strings Attached Refund
We know you’re always up for the unexpected, inspiring, and fun things we throw at you…but sometimes you just don’t know what your schedule will be. Maybe you have to go to (another) baby shower, your goldfish died, or you finally got a table at that new restaurant. For this reason, full refunds for class tuition* and ticket purchases are available at any time, no strings attached. So go ahead—buy your tickets, enroll in that class, and live fearlessly!

*This refund policy does not apply to Preschool or Youth Dance.

SMILE! Photo Permission
Periodically, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center takes photographs and video of visitors and activities for use in promotional and editorial material. By entering the Arts Center or the Art Preserve, or by engaging in Arts Center activities, you give permission to the Arts Center for the recording of photographs and video of you and your accompanying dependents. You grant the Arts Center all rights to use these still or moving images for educational, promotional, advertising, and other purposes that advance the mission of the Arts Center. All rights to the photographs and video belong to John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Should you wish to not be photographed or recorded, please let a staff member or the photographer know; we will certainly respect your wishes.

Personal photographs are permitted inside the Arts Center and Art Preserve. To protect the art, flash photography, selfie sticks, or tripods are not permitted inside the venues. Moving or arranging artwork is not permitted.

Patrons are permitted to photograph outside on the grounds. Moving artwork, property, or vegetation is not permitted.

Photographing prom, homecoming, wedding, family reunions, and senior photos is permitted outside only unless prior approval is granted in writing.

Media/Press Permission Protocols
General broadcast media (newspapers, radio, television, magazines) should contact info@jmkac.org directly for interviews, stories, photos, and general information.

All commercial media, including photographers and videographers, should report to the welcome desk prior to any filming/shooting. Commercial photography/filming requests for private projects should be requested at least two weeks in advance by contacting info@jmkac.org. A waiver must be signed and a certificate of insurance submitted for all approved projects at John Michael Kohler Arts Center venues.

Privacy
John Michael Kohler Arts Center is committed to protecting your privacy when you visit our websites (collectively referred to as the “JMKAC website”). JMKAC does not collect personal information about individuals, such as names and mailing or email addresses, unless the individual visiting the JMKAC website knowingly provides it. By using the JMKAC website, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of JMKAC’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The JMKAC Privacy Policy is outlined below. A link to this policy is provided in the footer information on every page of the JMKAC website. Click here to view the Terms of use.

Online Purchases
When you order a product from the JMKAC Online Store, we need to know your name, billing and shipping addresses, telephone number, email address, and credit card information to process your order. Your credit card information will be stored temporarily on a secured server and used only as needed to process your transaction. We will retain your personally identifiable information for our records, in order to facilitate better customer service, and to inform you of our products and promotional offers.

Online Memberships and Donations
When you purchase a JMKAC membership or make a donation to JMKAC online, we will ask you to provide us with the information we need to process your membership and/or to acknowledge your contribution. This information includes your name, billing and mailing addresses, telephone number, email address, and credit card information. Your credit card information will be stored temporarily on a secured server and used only as needed to process your transaction. We will retain your personally identifiable information for our records, in order to facilitate better customer service. To process payments for members who have selected automatic renewal, JMKAC will also retain payment information, in a secure manner, until such time that either the payment information expires (when we will contact you to update it), or the auto-renewal of the membership is canceled by you. In certain cases, you may be asked for additional information to complete your request, such as the names and birth dates of your children if obtaining a Family Membership.

Registration
You may use the JMKAC website without registering or submitting any personally identifiable information. Registration for users and members on jmkac.org enables you to maintain your contact information and preferences, sign up for exclusive online features, purchase tickets more quickly, and receive notifications about events that interest you. With registration, members can also log in to renew their membership. You will be asked to provide personally identifiable information that may include a user name and password, your name, and an email address. We store this information on a secure server so that you need not reenter it when you return to the website. You may review or change your account information on the My Account page at any time.

Online Surveys
From time to time, JMKAC may invite you to participate in surveys posted on the JMKAC website or sent to you by email. You may decide whether or not you wish to complete such surveys, which may ask about your background, occupation, or similar questions. We use this information to help us better understand our audience, which in turn allows us to better meet your needs and interests. Information collected in these surveys is never sold, rented, or shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

Online Contests
JMKAC will occasionally offer visitors the opportunity to participate in online contests or sweepstakes. If you choose to enter, you may need to provide your name and email address so that we may contact you in connection with the contest. We may also request that you provide us with certain other information, such as your zip code, state of residence, and grade in school.

Children Twelve and Under
JMKAC does not solicit personal information from children. Visitors twelve years of age and under should remember that they are required to obtain an adult’s permission before submitting any personal information to this or any other website.

JMKAC E-News
As a service, JMKAC offers visitors to the JMKAC website the opportunity to subscribe to one or more of our online newsletters, a service hosted by a contractor that has agreed to use the email address you provide only to send E-News to you. If you choose to subscribe, you will receive JMKAC E-News on the topics you choose. You may subscribe or unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions on the E-Newsletter.

Emailing JMKAC
If you email JMKAC, your message and email address may be saved and we may send you emails in order to respond to your message. Any material, business information, ideas, concepts, or other information sent to JMKAC by email will be treated as nonconfidential and nonproprietary. We will only use the information provided in your email and your email address to improve the JMKAC website, services, and products and to fulfill or respond to your requests for products, services, or information.

Share Feature
JMKAC uses third-party service providers to give you easy ways to share our content with others. The information you provide when using these tools is subject to the third parties’ privacy policies.

Cookies
Cookies are small files of information that are stored on your computer’s hard drive by your Web browser. The cookies we use do not contain any personal information. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can change the preferences of your browser so that it does not accept them. In order to use all the features of the JMKAC website, we recommend that you accept cookies.

Personal information usage
JMKAC uses the personal information you provide to us for internal purposes, such as completing and tracking your transaction, analyzing trends, and collecting statistics. JMKAC may also compile and provide aggregate statistics about our visitors, customers, sales, traffic patterns, and related site information to third parties, but these statistics will not include any personally identifying information.

We may share the names and postal addresses we receive from members and donors with other nonprofit organizations. If you do not want to have your information used in this way, you may send an email message containing your name and postal address to membership@jmkac.org. We may also share such information with third-party vendors who help us analyze and understand our donor and membership base.

If you have provided us with your email address, we may send you emails in order to alert you to information, events, activities or programs at or related to JMKAC that we believe may be of interest to you, or to alert you about sales or other promotional events at the JMKAC Online Store. If you do not want us to use your email address to contact you for these purposes, you may unsubscribe at any time.

We may combine information you give to us online, in our stores or at the Arts Center or through our catalogs. We may also combine or supplement this information with publicly available information and additional information we receive from or have cross-referenced with our third-party vendors and others. We use this combined information to enhance and personalize your shopping experience with us, to communicate with you about products or events that may be of interest to you, or for other promotional purposes.

Use of Outside Vendors
JMKAC may from time to time retain qualified third-party vendors in order to help us manage the JMKAC website and allow us to better serve our visitors and customers. These may include third-party vendors who assist us by processing registration and ticketing for certain events or courses. We also engage third party vendors to analyze the information we collect on the JMKAC website for marketing or similar purposes. JMKAC requires its vendors to maintain the security of the information to which they are provided access and restricts the vendors from using the information in any way not expressly authorized by JMKAC.

We may contract with third parties who use cookies to collect information on our behalf. These parties are required to maintain the confidentiality of this information. If you would like to opt out of this use of your information, you can change the preferences of your browser so that it does not accept cookies. We may contract with companies or others to provide certain services, including credit card processing, data management, promotional services, etc. We provide these service providers with the information they need to perform these services, but we restrict the vendors from using the information in any way not expressly authorized by JMKAC.

Linking
The JMKAC website may include links to websites operated by third parties over which we have no control. Once you leave the JMKAC website, the JMKAC Privacy Policy will not apply, and you access such sites at your own risk.

Security
JMKAC secure server software uses industry-standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology. SSL encodes your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, as it travels over the Internet so that all transactions are secure. If you prefer, you may also place a JMKAC Store order by phone at 920–458–6144. You may also gift a membership, or make a donation over the phone.

It is important for you to protect yourself against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer.

Be sure to use a known and trusted secure connection and to log off when finished using a shared computer. Notwithstanding our commitments to protect your information (including Personally Identifiable Information) from loss, misuse or alteration by third parties, you should be aware that there is always some risk involved in transmitting information over the Internet. There is also some risk that others could find a way to thwart our security systems. As a result, while we strive to protect your information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security and privacy of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.

Please be advised that when placing an online order through the JMKAC Online Store, your personal data will be protected in accordance with United States law but may not be at the same level of protection as is legally required in the European Union.

Revisions to our Privacy Policy
Please note that JMKAC may revise its privacy policy at any time, without notice, such changes to be effective immediately upon posting on the JMKAC website. Such revisions may arise in response to changes in the law, policy, or other factors. We encourage you to periodically visit this page to review our most current policy.

Financial Information

Click here to access financial information for public inspection.

Contact JMKAC

Send your questions, comments, or concerns about our privacy policy or any other aspect of our website to privacy@jmkac.org.

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