Young Authors

For more than 30 years The Young Authors and Artists Conference has inspired and given voice to over 15,000 talented students at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Students from third through 12th grade spend the day with fellow passionate authors and artists.

The young authors begin the day touring the museum searching for a piece of art that reminds them of a story from their life. Once the writing process is completed, the stories are collected for the Art of Writing anthology. Meanwhile, young artists and photographers document the day by touring the museum, creating their own art from their chosen medium (sketch, 3D, or photography), receiving constructive feedback from their teammates, and then revising their work for the anthology.

In the spring, the museum hosts a publishing party where students return and celebrate their work in the newly published book. Students who participate in our conferences, and the subsequent publishing party, often express the significance of the experience with, “It was the best day of my life.”

The conference is open to public, private, and homeschooled students. Registration is based on a first-come, first-served basis. There is limited space in the museum so once the 500 seats are filled, registration will be closed.

This beloved program was founded in 1988 by an accomplished, award-winning, and compassionate local teacher, John Hallagan, who has recently retired. Blossoming from Hallagan’s experience of teaching a wide range of students, the program was created to bring together young people from many different schools and backgrounds who share a love of writing and art, and to give these students the opportunity to get their work published—and it has done just that. The Milwaukee Art Museum is truly honored to have partnered with John Hallagan and his wife, Pat, for the past three decades.

The conference is sponsored by the Kettle Moraine School District in conjunction with the Milwaukee Art Museum.