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Memorial Union
800 Langdon St.
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 265-3000
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Breese Terrace Union
1552 University Ave.
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 263-2600
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Craftshop

“Walk This Way”
The Wisconsin Union Craftshop 75th Anniversary Mural

The 2005-06 academic year represented the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the Wisconsin Union Craftshop.  One of the celebratory processes for the anniversary was the creation of a hand-shaped tile mural.  The mural is composed of hand-painted tiles completed by over 270 "artists" from the UW-Madison community (list of contributing artists).  The mural was conceived as a hands-on community way to celebrate and commemorate the Craftshop's Anniversary.  The first tiles were painted at the kickoff celebration during Arts Night Out in October of 2005.  Tiles were painted all through the 2005-2006 academic year.  The design/concept was made real by James Allen, the Craftshop Manager.  James also did the finishing work of mounting each of the tiles into the frame after people had painted them and sealing the completed work.

The mural is an attempt to symbolize what the Craftshop represents on campus AND point the way to that opportunity.  The Craftshop is an open studio arts facility that lets people exercise their creativity without having to invest in large amounts of tools or space in their own house/apartment/residence hall.  They can be accomplished artists or absolute beginners, all working side-by-side in personal expression and creativity.  The Craftshop also hosts numerous

Mini Courses for people wishing more formal instruction and is used by a variety of groups from outside the Union as an arts facility/learning space.  If the Union is the "living room of the campus" then the Craftshop is the "basement workshop" of the campus, except that it is on the 4th floor of the Union!

Details (click to view larger)