(Photo by Adam Carr)

County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic is proposing Mitchell Park as a possible site for the new Milwaukee Public Museum and recommending a combined governing structure to manage the museum and the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory. The Finance and Audit Committee recommended (7 – 0) including Dimitrijevic’s proposal for a new county work group to evaluate collocating the facilities in Mitchell Park as an amendment to the 2019 county budget. The amendment also creates immediate synergy around the united educational mission both amenities share and county residents enjoy.

“Locating the new Milwaukee Public Museum in Mitchell Park creates a tremendous opportunity for establishing a new world-class cultural site with multiple amenities in the south side of  Milwaukee. There is awesome potential in aligning the work of the horticultural conservatory with the Milwaukee Public Museum and locating both in one of the south side’s greatest parks.We can preserve the mission of the Mitchell Park Domes by partnering with the museum to provide educational programming while delivering a stronger, bolder experience to our residents and visitors. The positive possibilities of this proposed relationship are endless,” said Dimitrijevic.

The Milwaukee Public Museum is in the midst of a $100 million capital campaign to finance a new building to replace its current facility, and looking for a new location.

“MPM is excited about our future and is continuing to explore many possibilities and potential partnerships. The proposed Milwaukee County taskforce to explore the feasibility of collocating MPM at Mitchell Park is just one such possibility and we are interested in the findings,” said Dr. Ellen Censky, Interim President & CEO of the Milwaukee Public Museum.

County Executive Chris Able expressed his support for exploring locating the museum in Mitchell Park and aligning the work and governing structure with the horticultural conservatory.

“Sustaining the cultural and educational institutions that our community depends on presents a challenge for Milwaukee County with our current fiscal limitations. The Milwaukee Public Museum and the Mitchell Park Conservatory foster vital education and engagement with the world around us, and combining the two is a potential solution to securing their future. We need creative ideas to support the mission and collections of these two important institutions, and I will be interested to see the results of a study that explores the benefits of connecting the two,” said Abele.