‘These one-of-a-kind historical spaces show us where we’ve been as we focus on where we’re going.’

The Charles Allis Art Museum is a piece of Milwaukee history. Weathering storms and snow since 1911, the historic home allows those from Milwaukee and afar to observe the museum’s preserved “present.” Its visitors get to observe art of the past and the local arts of today. Marquayla Ellison has been board chair since 2022.

Lupita Gifford: How long has it [Charles Allis Art Museum] been open with Doors Open?

Marquayla Ellison: I think historically we’ve always participated.
Happy to have them, it’s a great way to get involved…I feel like people use it as, like, a tradition for their friends and families to explore Milwaukee. We always want to take advantage of that and be a part of that energy as we wrap up summer and transition to fall.

Lupita Gifford: Do you get a lot of out of town visitors?

Marquayla Ellison: Yes, we get a lot of people who are in town for conferences and events, and if they’re looking up things to do. Of course there’s a niche for everybody and there are a lot of people who like historic homes and historic spaces, and then we have our rotating exhibits so we have local artists that come, and their networks come to check them out and support their exhibits. And then when people are in town, from overseas, different networking events. We partner with Visit Milwaukee so we try to market ourselves as a unique gem to check out when you’re in town.

Lupita Gifford: Do you think that historic preservation is important for keeping Milwaukee culture alive?

Marquayla Ellison: It’s just so deeply tied to our history and the way that these buildings were built was done in such an intricate and beautiful way that is not common to see. We’re in a marble hallway right now and how often do you get into a space that’s made out of marble? We have several fireplaces that are also made out of marble. A lot of the iron work, a lot of the art is original, This home in particular was built to be waterproof and though it was built to be a home It was also built to display art so it was built with the intentions to be a museum so these one-of-a-kind historical spaces are so important because they show us where we’ve been as we focus on where we’re going.

Lupita Gifford: I’m sure that you guys get an uptake and visitors during open doors Milwaukee, do you find that is a good opportunity for people to be repeat visitors and come back?

Marquayla Ellison: Definitely I think that it’s more so encouraging curiosity. You’ve driven past a lot of these places maybe thought they looked cool or what’s in there sometimes you think that’s not a space I would ever go into I probably got to work there, know somebody, so doors open helps give that friendly invite for people to know they’re welcome to come in but also they get this opportunity to do it for free.

Lupita Gifford: What other things do you think are important about the Allis family?

Marquayla Ellison: Well they were gracious enough to leave this home to the city. They wanted to make sure after their passing that the art they collected continues to be on display for everybody to enjoy. They wanted to inspire, they wanted to excite and they wanted to encourage people though the arts to have different conversations….but also just to share different cultures and experiences.

Lupita Gifford: Do you think that showcasing such a different history is important to the people of Wisconsin and Milwaukee?

Marquayla Ellison: You know that historical touch is nice and we try to crack a balance so of course we have a nice appeal to older crowds and people who just have a love for historic art but we also try to partner with current artists to also have some modern touches weaved into the permanent collection we have here just because we want to keep that variety and appeal that everyone is welcome here so we do some unique programing and fun things too beside the historic home.

Lupita Gifford: And how would one get involved with being an artist that would be currently displayed here?

Marquayla Ellison: One thing is just to follow us, follow us on social media, sign up for our email list just to stay up to date. I would encourage definitely get involved by attending events and coming around. We do do open calls for artists but they’re also welcome to just shoot us an email to say hello and share their work with us so whether we have an open opportunity or maybe they’re just introducing themselves we’d love to connect. We have a community exhibition, and we do that two times a year when we do an open call for artists.