What happens when an artist’s creative life becomes a lasting legacy for an entire community?
As part of MIAD’s OUT OF THE SUITCASE 2026 exhibition, students are invited to tour the Mary L. Nohl House in Fox Point—the home, studio, and creative environment of Milwaukee artist Mary L. Nohl (1914–2001).
Nohl was a multidisciplinary artist who worked across ceramics, painting, sculpture, printmaking, woodcarving, jewelry, writing, illustration, and cartooning. She embraced experimentation and famously described herself simply as “a woman who likes tools.” She transformed her family’s Lake Michigan cottage into a living work of art, filling the home and surrounding landscape with sculptures, handmade objects, and imaginative artist-built environments.
But Nohl’s artistic legacy extends far beyond her own work.
Through the Mary L. Nohl Fund, established through her estate and administered in partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Nohl created a lasting source of support for visual artists in the Milwaukee area. The Mary L. Nohl Suitcase Export Fund helps local artists share their work beyond the four-county area by providing support for the transportation of artwork and artist travel.
Since its creation, the Suitcase Export Fund has supported 445 individual artists and 30 artist collectives—511 artists in total—with more than $295,000 in awards, helping Milwaukee-area artists exhibit their work across North America and around the world.
OUT OF THE SUITCASE 2026 celebrates this remarkable legacy and the ways Nohl’s vision continues to support artists, expand opportunities, and connect Milwaukee artists with new audiences.
See Where the Story Began
This special tour gives MIAD students a rare opportunity to step inside Nohl’s home and studio, experience the environment that shaped her artistic practice, and gain a deeper understanding of the person and vision behind a fund that continues to make a difference for artists today.
Open to MIAD students
Tour duration: approximately 1.5 hours
Carpool
Space is limited—sign up to reserve your spot!
For more information contact: Sarah Zamecnik, sarahzamecnik@miad.edu
Website: https://forms.gle/T1j9r2BfGUzLS9gUA
