July 17, 2025
For Immediate Release
Contact: Nicole Graper, MSCR Marketing Specialist, at ngraper@madison.k12.wi.us or 608-204-3017
Art Cart to Celebrate 50th Birthday with Community-Wide Bash
MADISON, Wis. — The Art Cart, a beloved mobile art studio that has provided free, hands-on creative experiences to generations of Madison-area children since 1975, is turning 50 this summer. To mark this golden birthday, Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR) and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) are throwing a free birthday celebration on Sunday, July 27, 2–5 pm at the Vilas Park Shelter, 1602 Vilas Park Dr.
The event promises an afternoon of engaging activities for all ages, featuring Art Cart, Play on the Move, the Madison Children’s Museum and the Madison Reading Project.
Dr. Joe Gothard, Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent, Mary Roth, MSCR Executive Director, and Paul Baker Prindle, MMoCA’s Gabriele Haberland Director, will provide welcoming remarks, vision and reflections on Art Cart’s community impact at 2:15–2:30 pm.
A highlight of the celebration will be the grand unveiling of the new Vilas Park Shoe art design. Each summer, the Art Cart season culminates in a collaborative effort to design and decorate this iconic play structure, inspired by the “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe” nursery rhyme. Attendees can be among the first to see the new design and participate in additional art projects and family fun.
“MSCR is proud of this long-standing partnership with MMoCA,” said Mary Roth, MSCR Executive Director. “Together, our two organizations have created free, high-quality art experiences for thousands of families. Art Cart is fundamental to engaging the next generation with art, exploration and the outdoors.”
Last summer Art Cart served nearly 3,700 community members and expects to reach more than 4,000 this summer with a robust 96 events.
Elise Daugherty, Learning and Community Engagement Coordinator at MMoCA, added, “For generations, the Art Cart has served as a creative outlet for exploring art and ideas, bringing the Museum out into the surrounding communities. I cannot wait to celebrate this history with our community and look forward to many more summers of artistic fun.”
To learn more about the Art Cart and view a full schedule of events, visit mscr.org.
About the Art Cart
The Art Cart has been a cornerstone of Madison’s community art scene for five decades, providing accessible and free art programming to children and families across the city. This mobile art studio fosters creativity, imagination and a love for the arts in an outdoor setting.
About MSCR
Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR), a department of the Madison School District, offers a wide range of recreation and enrichment programs for people of all ages and abilities. Programs include adapted recreation, afterschool, arts & enrichment, camps, fitness, outdoor pursuits, sports, swimming and more. Committed to building a stronger community, MSCR provides accessible and affordable opportunities for learning, growth and connection.
About MMoCA
The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is always admission-free. Its vision is to be an organization that fosters the exchange of ideas and creates experiences that will inspire a wide audience; be a nexus for the work of emerging and established regional, national and international artists; serve as a catalyst for the continued development of a vigorous community of artists; and provide a forum that will encourage people to be challenged by, reflect on, and make connections between art and the world around them.
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