Tuesday – Friday 9 am – 4 pm
Saturday – Sunday Noon – 5 pm
Closed Monday and holidays
Always Free Admission
Current Exhibitions
Directions:
- From Highway 39/51 Southbound
Use Exit 193 (Bridge Street). At Bridge Street stop light, turn left and go 1.5 miles to 5th Street. (You will cross the Wisconsin River.) Turn right onto 5th Street to Franklin Street (County Highway Z). Left on Franklin Street to 12th Street. Right on 12th Street. The Museum is located at the corner of Franklin and 12th Streets. Free on-site parking is located south of the building adjacent to the sculpture garden.
- From Highway 39/51 Northbound
Use Exit 193 (Bridge Street). At the Bridge Street stop light, turn right and go approx. 1.5 miles to 5th Street. (You will cross the Wisconsin River.) Turn right onto 5th Street to Franklin Street (County Highway Z). Left on Franklin Street to 12th Street. Right on 12th Street. The Museum is located at the corner of Franklin and 12th Streets. Free on-site parking is located south of the building adjacent to the sculpture garden.
- From Highway 29 Eastbound
Take Exit 164 (North Hwy. 51/Merrill) from right lane. Go straight through first light at Stewart Avenue and Highway 52 Pkwy. intersection. Move into left lane and go straight at next two lights. Continue under three overpasses and then turn left at first light, following sign for North Hwy. 51. Stay in right lane to Exit 193/Bridge Street. Turn right onto Bridge Street and go 1.4 miles to 5th Street. (You will cross the Wisconsin River.) Turn right onto 5th Street to Franklin Street. Left on Franklin Street to 12th Street. Right on 12th Street. The Museum is located at the corner of Franklin and 12th Streets. Free on-site parking is located south of the building adjacent to the sculpture garden.
- From Highway 29 Westbound
Exit Highway 29 at County Highway X (Camp Phillips Road). Travel north on County Highway X approx. 4 miles to County Highway Z (Franklin Street). Turn left on County Highway Z. Travel west to Twelfth Street. Turn left on Twelfth Street. The Museum is located at the corner of Franklin and 12th Streets. Free on-site parking is located south of the building adjacent to the sculpture garden.
- Within Wausau Follow the blue directional ‘Art Museum’ signs prominently located throughout Wausau.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum is to enhance lives through art. Therefore, the Museum will continually strive for excellence in providing audiences with quality art experiences through permanent collections, changing exhibitions, and education programs.
About the museum:
The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, located in a beautiful residential area on the east side of Wausau, Wisconsin, offers artworks from every corner of the world to north central Wisconsin residents and visitors through diverse changing exhibitions. Best known is the internationally acclaimed Birds in Art, an annual juried exhibition that showcases a variety of artistic styles – from impressionism to satirical caricature – created by artists the world over and documented in a full-color catalogue.
The Museum is housed in an updated 1931 English Tudor period Cotswold-style residence to which a new main entrance and expansive two-story gallery spaces have been added. The grounds cover four acres highlighted by the Margaret Woodson Fisher Sculpture Garden, a formal English garden, attractive brick walkways, a shaded arbor and seating area, and on-site parking. All public spaces are accessible to visitors with disabilities.
An active program of eight to ten changing exhibitions each year encourages frequent visits as does an array of programs for children and adults scheduled to complement each exhibition. Regular programs such as Toddler Tuesday, Art Time for Tots, Art Buddies, Art Explorers, Foundations, and Activity Guides are supplemented with storytelling, lectures, videos, demonstrations, and bus trips. Not to be missed are the summertime Concerts in the Garden and OctoBIRDfest, the Museum’s biggest and birdiest family festival of the year.
Birds in Art opens to the public on the first Saturday following Labor Day every year and is on view for nine weeks. Specific Birds in Art education programs and special events will be available online by August 15 each year.
Tours
Nearly one third of the Museum’s annual visitors – approximately 15,000 school children and adults – benefit from tours given by the Museum’s dedicated docents.
Through activities that fuel the creative imagination and the exchange of stories and knowledge, touring the Museum’s changing exhibitions and permanent collections becomes an integrated learning experience for all.
To schedule a tour, please consider the following:
- Arrange for a tour at least three weeks prior to your visit.
- Assess any special needs within your group.
- Schedule tours starting at 9:00 am and no later than 2:30 pm, Tuesday through Friday; tours are generally one hour long.
- Arrangements can be made for Saturday and Sunday tours.
- To ensure a personalized experience for everyone, groups should not exceed 50 people.
- Self-guided tours are an option.
- Chartered bus tour fee is $2.00 per person.
If you have questions or to schedule a tour, call 715-845-7010 or email museum@lywam.org.
The all-new 2010 Birds in Art
Saturday, September 11 and will be on view through November 14.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of both the Woodson Art Museum and its signature and
internationally renowned Birds in Art exhibition.
Event
Wausau’s Artrageous Weekend
Three-Site Community Art Bash Is Back!
Wausau’s Artrageous Weekend embarks on its third decade as the biggest art bash in north central Wisconsin, offering a stellar, three-site visual arts celebration!
On September 11-12, three free events – Art in the Park, Festival of Arts, and Birds in Art – invite art lovers to immerse themselves in distinct and complementary experiences, from artists’ demonstrations, displays, and sales to handmade crafts, children’s art activities, food, and entertainment. Free shuttle buses link the three cross-town sites that span the Wisconsin River. The art-packed weekend offers diverse, affordable art experiences, because all events are admission free and are linked by the free, handicapped-accessible, shuttle bus service throughout both Saturday and Sunday, September 11-12.
· WESTSIDE: Art in the Park brings together the work of 120 juried fine artists and craft exhibitors from Wisconsin and neighboring states in Marathon Park’s East Gate Hall and historic Exhibition Building. An array of original artwork – ranging from pottery, oils, and watercolor, to weavings, woodcarvings, jewelry, handmade purses, and wearable art – make this a shopper’s dream – a mecca for early holiday shopping. Art in the Park also includes artist demos, an author/illustrator book signing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Butterfly Release on Sunday afternoon, a free children’s art and craft area, and food and beverages sold by non-profit organizations. The Butterfly Release at 3 p.m. on Sunday, “Spread Your Wings for Art Education,” supports the Wisconsin Valley Art Association scholarship fund. Free admission. Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
· DOWNTOWN: The Festival of Arts, at City Square and Third Street, presents work by 120 juried, national fine artists offering an exceptional selection of their finest work in ceramics, fiber arts, glass, graphics, jewelry, metals, oils and watercolors, paper, photography, and wood. A lively roster of instrumentalists and vocalists offers a harmonious backdrop from three stages in the heart of the festivities. Art enrichment for youngsters is encouraged in several ways: hands-on children’s art activities, the Young Collector’s Mart – where youngsters can purchase affordable fine art – and a scholarship silent auction to benefit area art students. Delectable food and beverages, offered as fundraisers for more than a dozen non-profit organizations, provide refreshment throughout two enriching days in the city’s River District. Free admission. Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
· EASTSIDE: For the opening of the 35th anniversary Birds in Art exhibition, the Woodson Art Museum features the debut of “Artists in Action” featuring artists demonstrating how they paint, draw, and sculpt, throughout the Museum’s grounds on Saturday from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Other Birds in Art artists will be in the galleries on Saturday morning to talk with visitors and sign catalogues and posters. Revel in birds of the land, sea, and sky – presented in a multitude of mediums and artistic styles – that migrate from throughout the world every September to the Woodson Art Museum. To celebrate the Museum’s 35th anniversary, From the Archive, an interactive timeline exhibition, traces how the Museum and its signature, internationally renowned Birds in Art exhibition have taken flight and soared in tandem. Also view A Naturalist’s Eden: Don Richard Eckelberry’s Birds of Trinidad and Tobago in the galleries and wander through the sculpture garden, using a map and riddles for clues to help you find four new small-scale sculptures. Visit Art Park for children’s art and nature-themed activities. Always free admission. Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Birds in Art remains on view through November 14.
Note: Free handicapped-accessible shuttle buses between all three locations run every 15 minutes or so from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. from designated locations.
For additional information contact the Woodson Art Museum at 715-845-7010, the Festival
of Arts at 715-842-1676, and Art in the Park at 715-581-1484 or log on to www.lywam.org, www.wausaufoa.org, or www.wivalleyart.org.
