About Milwaukee Domes Art Festival

The Mitchell Park Conservatory, known affectionately to generations of Milwaukee and Wisconsin residents as, "The Domes," is a world class horticultural adventure under an architectural artwork in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The Domes are the centerpiece of a 65 acre Mitchell Park AND an ideal setting inside and out for a world class art event.

In August 2010 the first  annual Milwaukee Domes Art Shows was held. The 1st Annual Milwaukee Domes Art Festival attendees rave the Milwaukee Domes Art Festival is "a lovely, enjoyable setting with great art work!" The 1st Annual Milwaukee Domes Art Festival brought ‘art festival’ to a new level with whimsical, extraordinary art, delectable food & drink, and live, on-grounds painting. People of all ages gathered at the Milwaukee Domes August 20-22, 2010 for an extravagant cultural art experience, as artists, performers, and guests alike enjoyed themselves while celebrating art and the Milwaukee Domes together. This cornerstone event for the Milwaukee County Mitchell Park Domes raised nearly $20,000 and reminded us all of the magnificent architectural and horticultural landmark located right in our backyard. The second annual Milwaukee Domes Art Festival, held in 2011, was another wonderful success, raising over $20,000 for the Milwaukee Domes.

A dual purpose of bringing a cultural event to Milwaukee and supporting The Domes has the Friend of The Domes, a 501c3 non-profit Corporation organizing and presenting the Milwaukee Domes Art Show to the public. The Friends FOD fulfills the mission ‘To enhance projects and programs in Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory' every day through fund raising, grant writing, sponsorship, on site and web based retail sales, membership, corporate and individual gifts to fund our mission and programs.  

The Milwaukee Domes Art Festival is a cornerstone event for The Milwaukee County Mitchell Park Domes as well as a must attend cultural event for Milwaukee and all of South Eastern Wisconsin. Festival attendees will be subjected to intriguing art, fine cuisine, a live on premise plein air art event where festival attendees will be able to watch as some of the finest artists of our time create masterworks of the Mitchell Park, our Domes and the surrounding area. Inspired by the Milwaukee Domes’ beauty both inside and out, plein air painters from all over the world will travel to the Milwaukee Domes Art Festival to imaginatively capture the Milwaukee Mitchell Park’s Horticultural Conservancy Domes’ architectural uniqueness and world class botanical gardens, portraying the gold medal winning park’s natural beauty in bold, painterly strokes and vivid colors.