News Release: 7/16/2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

• Photo attached: new signs

MINERAL POINT, Wis.—Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts has installed new signage at each of its buildings with QR codes for a new self-guided tour that links to dedicated web pages with information about their historic buildings, the 2.5 acre campus, and programming. 

The new signs were part of a comprehensive campus revitalization project over the last year and a half. In 2024, Shake Rag Alley celebrated its 20th year with upgraded electrical and campus-wide WiFi, restored lanterns, and new fencing and gates. With the new signs, the project is now complete. 

Signs direct visitors to dedicated web pages that will continue to evolve with archival materials, including photos, stories, and opportunities for links to articles about the cultural history of the area. The campus of Shake Rag Alley includes four buildings dating from the 1830’s and 1840’s, including a territorial log cabin, a Cornish cottage, an early lodging house, and the brick Potter’s House. Each of these buildings are used to deliver programming, and open for special events for the public to enjoy. 

Thanks to the Mineral Point Community Foundation, the Robert G. Campbell Community Fund, the Iowa County Recreation for Tourism grant, and other community partners for supporting this project.

Upcoming Events & Workshops at Shake Rag Alley

Creating A Sense of Belonging through Slam Poetry with Charles Payne | August 16 1-3 p.m.

Good stories foster empathy and help people see the world through different perspectives. This workshop is designed to challenge you to think, write, and share experiences that have contributed to your sense of belonging. By providing a brave space to share personal stories and challenging us all to listen critically, we hope to foster empathy and understanding. We’ll start by looking at poems by different poetry slam and story slam authors, discuss, and then write using a workbook that walks us through a series of reflection activities before we brainstorm ideas for a three to five-minute poem/story. As time allows, you’ll get to share. Charles will be in residence at Shake Rag Alley as part of his Swanson Emerging Poet Fellowship, a partnership with the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Register for this free workshop at ShakeRagAlley.org 

Alley Stage Reading Series: One Time by Richard Conlon | August 17 4 p.m.

Our fifth annual Alley Stage Reading Series continues with playwright Richard Conlon's "One Time" About "One Time." Sometimes it takes a lifetime of stories to tell the story of a lifetime. Unrequited love, religious epiphanies, posing in the nude, an abusive marriage, and the secret powers of nuns … these are just some of the stories Sonia and Mason tell each other from their individual lives. Now, can they complete the story of a common past they once shared more than three decades earlier? A talkback session and reception will follow this reading. $5 tickets available at ShakeRagAlley.org or at the door. 

Art Adventure | August 21-24

Treat yourself to four days of fun & exploration with assemblage, fiber, encaustic, collage, costume, found objects, painting & paper, and eco-pigments! From half-day to multi-day workshops, make a weekend with everything from wind chimes to violins, and new techniques with materials you think you know well. 14 workshops with 12 talented instructors from across the country and across the street!

For more information and updates throughout the year, see ShakeRagAlley.org, call (608) 987-3292, subscribe to twice-monthly e-newsletters and follow Shake Rag Alley on Facebook and Instagram.

###

About Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts