Last Updated on October 15, 2023
Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee has announced Anwar Floyd-Pruitt, an interdisciplinary artist, curator and puppeteer from Milwaukee, as its second Artist in Residence. The hotel also debuted a new program unique to the hospitality industry this October: a Curator in Residence program, with Shane McAdams, a Cedarburg, Wisconsin-based curator, artist, writer, and educator, named as its first-ever Curator in Residence.
“In Saint Kate, we wanted to create a place where artists of all ages, experience levels, demographics and disciplines can showcase their work to a new audience,” Linda Marcus, a nationally recognized multi-disciplinary artist, designer and storyteller, and member of the Marcus Corporation family which owns the property said. “We have done this with both our Artist in Residence and now our newly created Curator in Residence program. These unique residencies open an entirely new channel for artists and curators to showcase their skills, build new relationships, add to their portfolio, and expand their careers.”
Anwar Floyd-Pruitt’s Residency
Floyd-Pruitt works across a diverse range of media. His art focuses on human expression as he creates different pieces reflective of the many human emotions. Through various collage activities, zine creation and performance opportunities, visitors will experience the breadth and depth of his studio practice while also taking a small keepsake home with them.
“I have often wondered how to lower the barrier to entry when asking others to participate in art making. This upcoming year as Saint Kate’s second Artist in Residence helps answer that very question,” Floyd-Pruitt said. “This residency is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to develop and experiment with various techniques and materials to bring people into my art practice through hands-on engagement.”
Recently, Floyd-Pruitt’s work of collages, paintings and abstract mixed-media self-portraits have been on view in solo exhibitions at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin, Edgewood College in Madison, Mount Mary University in Milwaukee and the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s downtown Milwaukee gallery at Saint Kate. He also regularly leads puppet-making workshops throughout the greater Milwaukee area and writes and performs a family-friendly singalong called “Hip Hop Puppet Party.”
In addition to his artwork, he is associate curator of contemporary art at the Museum of Wisconsin Art and maintains a studio at the House of RAD (Resident Artist Doers) in Milwaukee.
Floyd-Pruitt holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Saint Kate’s Artist in Residence program offers Midwest-based artists working in any art form or medium a year-long residency inside the hotel’s studio to devote time to their practice while gathering inspiration from Saint Kate’s guests. Throughout the residency, guests are invited to visit the Artist in Residence studio to interact directly with the artist and witness their art evolve over time.
The Artist in Residence also hosts events, talks and tours where guests can learn more about their artform and unique process. During the residency, the Artist in Residence will create a legacy piece that will become part of Saint Kate’s permanent art collection.
Guests are invited to meet Floyd-Pruitt in his studio or during his AIR Time: Art & Studio Tour on Saturdays at 5:30 pm. Guests can join for a tour of the hotel’s permanent art collection, feature exhibitions and the residency’s space. In his studio, guests are invited to experience and participate in his multidisciplinary art practice.
Saint Kate’s Curator in Residence Program
Saint Kate’s new Curator in Residence program invites a Midwest-based guest curator to participate in a year-long residency to work inside the arts hotel. Selected by Saint Kate’s creative team, the Curator in Residence will embody Saint Kate’s core values of creativity, curiosity, community, collaboration and common ground. The program will allow curators to hone their skills as they work with artists with a depth of background, experiences and artforms at the forefront of Milwaukee’s art scene.
The Curator in Residence will seek new artists to exhibit at Saint Kate and work directly with them to showcase their works in the hotel’s multiple on-site gallery spaces while developing arts programming that engages the public with featured artists and their artforms. The curator will also care for Saint Kate’s permanent art collection found throughout the hotel and will be available for collaboration with Saint Kate’s Artist in Residence.
In addition, Saint Kate’s Curator in Residence will host monthly artist talks and lead special events such as Saint Kate’s Champagne Art Tours and Gallery Night receptions.
Meet Shane McAdams
As a curator, artist, writer and educator, McAdams brings a perceptive approach to Saint Kate as its first Curator in Residence. McAdams’ past curated exhibitions have been found throughout Wisconsin and New York with reviews from The New York Times and The Village Voice.
“Saint Kate is an artist’s paradise and I’m excited to showcase nationally known as well as emerging artists and give them a spotlight in Milwaukee’s vibrant arts community,” McAdams said. “I believe that there is common ground to be found between what is popular and what is extraordinary. I want to find that in the art world and bring it to Saint Kate.”
In addition to his curatorial practice, McAdams is a skilled painter with his artwork seen in galleries across the globe, like Allegra LaViola Gallery and Malborough Gallery in New York, Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, Scream Gallery in London, ARTISTree in Hong Kong, and locally at The Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee and Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, Wisconsin.
McAdams’ second artform is writing. He is currently a writer for Shepherd Express, Milwaukee’s arts, culture, and entertainment news publication, where he received the Visual Arts Achievement in Arts Writing Award from the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Letters. He has also contributed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brooklyn Rail, and other arts-dedicated publications.
In addition to his breadth of experience in the arts, McAdams has taught art at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.
McAdams holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and a master’s degree in fine arts from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He is a three-time Creative Capital grant recipient and an Andy Warhol Writer’s Grant finalist.
In addition to curating, painting, writing and teaching, McAdams is a partner in REAL TINSEL, an art space in Milwaukee.
Under McAdams’ residency, guests can view his new exhibitions: “The Perpetual Surrealist” with works by Soobin Jeon in The Vitrine and “Time Looks Like This” with Risograph prints by Kelli Anderson in The Closet.
“Since Saint Kate opened, the reaction from guests and locals alike has been incredible. They enjoy immersing themselves in the arts as they walk amongst the ever-changing gallery spaces,” Dana Johnson, general manager of Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel, said. “Our Curator in Residence will help further ensure that what we are offering our guests is always new, fresh and surprising. Anwar’s studio will be an additional place where guests can explore and learn more about his practice as they gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the arts and the process.”
About Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel
Recognized as one of Milwaukee’s most esteemed hotels with an elite award repertoire, Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel is among the first hotels in the nation to broadly celebrate the arts in its many forms – from painting and sculpture to music, poetry and performing arts.
With a prime location in the city’s Theater District and within walking distance of notable arts and entertainment attractions, the Third Ward and Fiserv Forum, Saint Kate serves as a creative hub for the city offering intimate and immersive arts experiences. Its blend of exceptional hospitality and unmatched dedication to the arts serves as a platform for exploration, connection and expression.
