Milwaukee Art Museum Receives National Award

Milwaukee, WI, June 1, 2004— Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World , organized and exhibited by the Milwaukee Art Museum last summer, was honored the Award of Excellence by the American Association of Museums’ 16th Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition. This extremely prestigious national award recognizes both the concept and design of museum exhibitions.

Glenn Adamson, exhibition curator, and exhibition designer Lou Storey traveled to New Orleans to accept the award Friday, May 7. The Milwaukee Art Museum was the only art museum among the five recipients; other winners include the Henry Ford Museum and the Museum of Natural History in New York. Twenty-two museums entered the competition.

“The Milwaukee Art Museum is particularly glad to have been selected as the only art museum honored this year – the other four award-winning shows were devoted to history or science topics,” said exhibition curator Glenn Adamson.

The exhibition was recognized by the AAM jury for its “perfect mesh of exhibit topic and design,” and engagement with the “big picture” issues raised by Brooks Stevens’ career. Also singled out for praise were the educational programming for the show, the appropriateness of MAM’s Quadracci Pavilion as a setting for the show and the exhibition design itself, executed by guest designer Lou Storey of Red Bank, New Jersey.

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