THE BOTTOMLINE
The Milwaukee Public Museum is the largest municipally owned museum in the world. And yet, the public — its rightful owners — has almost no real information about what is happening to their own museum. What’s crazy is not just what’s being dismantled, but that it’s happening at all.
By redefining “collections” as “components,” a term never found in the 2013 Lease, MPM is acting as though stewardship equals ownership. We are told to “trust the professionals,” but transparency has been absent at every turn. Dr. Ellen Censky herself has said the new museum is “not a history museum,” while pledging to “reimagine,” “evolve,” and “make right” our history- all the while forcing Milwaukee County residents to pay for the destruction of their own museum
Beloved exhibits like the Streets of Old Milwaukee and the European Village are not being preserved — they are being rewritten. The public has been taken out of the Public Museum. This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about accountability, ownership, and the right of Milwaukeeans to decide what is done with their heritage.
WHAT IS PRESERVE MKE?
Preserve MKE is a nonprofit, grassroots organization focused on preserving the current Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) building and its iconic immersive exhibits.
Their Mission highlights that beloved exhibits—like The Streets of Old Milwaukee, The European Village, and The Buffalo Hunt—carry deep historical and emotional significance. Preserve MKE doesn’t oppose building a new museum but wants these exhibits preserved “as and where they are” for future generations.
our exhibits.
Protect our stories. Keep the public in the Public Museum. Visit us at PreserveMKE.org
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Every day, more of Milwaukee’s heritage is at risk. Act now before it disappears behind closed doors.