Visiting Artist Colloquium
UW Elvehjem Building 800 University Ave. , Madison, Wisconsin 53703
media release: Discover the latest developments in Fine art, Craft, and Design at our free public lectures by some of the nation’s most prominent artists, critics, and gallery and museum directors.
The Art Department Colloquium is a series supported by the Anonymous Fund and the Brittingham Trust. Faculty lectures are held every Tuesday and Visiting Artist lectures are held every Wednesday during the academic year, and are free and open to the public.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Art Department
Spring 2025 Visiting Artist Colloquium
Wednesdays @ 5 – 6:15 pm, Elvehjem L160
Aspen Golann is a furniture maker, artist, and educator whose work explores gender and power through the manipulation of iconic American furniture forms. Trained as a 17th to 19th century woodworker, she mines the intersections of sexuality, identity, decorative arts, and contemporary craft in a range of works including fine furniture and sculpture.
Her work has been featured on NPR, PBS, and in publications such as The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Elle, Luxe, Fine Woodworking, and American Craft. She has given talks at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Rhode Island School of Design, Sotheby’s NYC, Winterthur Museum, Cranbrook Academy of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and others. Golann devotes much of her time to teaching, working at the intersection of American decorative arts, research, and inclusive education. She is a critic in furniture design at The Rhode Island School of Design, holds a degree from The North Bennet Street School, and teaches craft workshops internationally.
Golann has collaborated on educational initiatives with both established and radical craft institutions, including Winterthur Museum, The Center for Craft, A Workshop of Our Own, Fireweed Workshop, The Furniture Society, and Colonial Williamsburg, with the goal of creating pathways for marginalized makers into traditional craft practices. In 2020, she founded The Chairmakers Toolbox—a project fostering access and equity in the field of chairmaking. Since its founding, The Chairmakers Toolbox has partnered with over 20 renowned chairmakers to provide over 130 full scholarships, 9 tool mentorships, and more than $25,000 in donated tools.
Golann has received the Maxwell Hanrahan Award in Craft, a Critical Craft Fellowship at Winterthur Museum, The Mineck Fellowship, and a Windgate residency at SDSU. She is a member of the 2023 Teaching Artist Cohort through the Center for Craft. Golann serves on the board of A Workshop of Our Own, The Furniture Society, and The Society of Arts + Crafts. She writes for Fine Woodworking Magazine and is working on a book about broom and brush making. She lives and works in Southern New Hampshire.