Rentals

Booking a rental and hosting an event at the Milwaukee Art Museum is easy. The Museum’s events department and a sales and events manager can help you through the rental and event planning process, keeping the focus on what will make your gathering a success.

One of our sales and events managers can place a reservation, provide further rental and event planning information, meet personally for a tour, officially book a rental space, and assist you from beginning to end with the many aspects of your event.

A sales and events manager is able to:

• Review the particular needs and requirements of your gathering
• Supply more pictures and sample layouts of past events in a particular rental space
• Prepare a rental agreement
• Arrange the amenities & options available to your event
• Coordinate your event’s timeframe
• Prepare the layout of your event
• Direct the many details between the Museum, catering, and outside vendors
• Coordinate music and entertainment, floral and event décor, and catering
• Furnish sample estimates from events catered by the Museum’s in-house
• Work with the Museum’s Executive Chef on creating a menu specific to your event, including a menu sampling/tasting of possible menu ideas
• Schedule access to the Museum by vendors involved in your event
• Be on-site for your event

Among the amenities and options available to Museum rentals:

• Access to either the Museum’s Collection galleries or featured exhibition
• The Museum’s security staff
• Burke Brise Soleil: the opening, full flap, and closing during your event
• The Museum’s in-house catering service, including tastings
• Secure, heated parking directly beneath Windhover Hall with up to 100 spaces
• Corporate and event gift products through our Museum Store
• Views of Lake Michigan, McKinley Marina, Pier Wisconsin, and downtown Milwaukee
• Patio access for certain rentals, weather permitting

Room rental deposit

To officially book an event space at the Milwaukee Art Museum, a non-refundable deposit of 1/3 of the estimated rental fee is required upon signing the Museum’s Rental Agreement. Upon receiving the deposit, your sales and events manager signs the Rental Agreement as well, then emailing, faxing, or mailing a copy to you.

The remaining room rental fee balance for the space you have rented is due 30 (thirty) business days prior to the actual date of your event. Any outstanding balance for amenities will be billed after the event occurs and will be due within three working days upon receiving the bill.

Contract conditions

To ensure a quality event with the Milwaukee Art Museum’s facilities, all set-up and decorations must be picked up at the end of the function/your event. Anything not taken or picked up will be disposed of the following day.

To protect the facility and Museum’s art collection and to ensure continued availability of the Museum as an event space, we request your cooperation with the following:

• Smoking is not allowed in the Museum.
• Helium balloons may not be used anywhere in the Museum.
• Attachable decorations such as banners and streamers may not be used anywhere in the Museum’s property.
• Confetti, glitter, rice, birdseed, loose flower petals, etc., may not be used.
• Candles may be used only if the flame is contained in a votive or “hurricane”.
• The Museum reserves the right in its sole discretion to disapprove the use of musical groups and the location thereof anywhere on the Milwaukee Art Museum’s property.
• Exceptionally loud music is not permitted and will be monitored.

Prohibition uses

The Museum reserves the right to deny the use or the continued use of its facilities to any person, organization, or corporation that does not comply with the Museum policies and procedures. The following events are not permitted at the Museum:

• Political events
• Product sales or trade shows
• Alcohol-only events
• Art displays not belonging or approved by the Milwaukee Art Museum
• Functions on Thanksgiving Day and December 25th

Insurance

The User entering into a Rental Agreement to host an event at the Milwaukee Art Museum must maintain a general liability policy or obtain a “rider” while present at the Museum for the particular date of the event. This is to protect both the Museum and the User in the case of damages or injury during the event.

After museum hours and event parking

Parking in the Museum’s underground parking is $8.00 per car after 5 p.m. and can be master billed to the group hosting the event or individuals may pay for parking on their own. These spaces are on a first-come/first-serve basis and the Museum will not guarantee the 98 parking spaces for any event. The height clearance of the parking garage is 8 feet. Parking of comparable pricing is available across Lincoln Memorial Parkway in the O’Donnell Park facility. The Milwaukee Art Museum and the O’Donnell facility are easily accessible via the Reiman footbridge that spans over the Lincoln Memorial Parkway and takes your guests directly to a spacious circular glass elevator as part of the main entrance of the Museum.

Milwaukee Art Museum image usage

Both the Museum’s sales and events manager and the Media Relations Manager must approve any image of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

All printed materials for an event in the form of invitations, programs, posters, promotional materials, and sample text, must be submitted to the Museum event planner for approval. Final copies of all printed event materials must be given to the MAM event manager prior to full printing and production.

Cancellation

Cancellation of the event by the User within sixty (60) days of the scheduled event will result in forfeiture of all fees and deposits paid. For more than sixty (60) days notice, all fees will be refunded except for the non-refundable deposit.

The Museum reserves the right to cancel an event if the facilities are, in the sole judgment of an authorized museum official, rendered unsuitable for the event due to fire or other calamity, and act of God, an act of nature, labor dispute, notice of violations by any city, county, or other government agency, or any other occurrences beyond the control of the Museum. In the event of such cancellation, User will not be liable for payment of fees for cancelled programs, nor will the Milwaukee Art Museum have any further liability or obligations with regard to said canceled events. Should such action be deemed necessary, the Milwaukee Art Museum guarantees that it will offer suitable time(s) for rescheduling.