Save MPM

06/27/2026

We dug into the record — not rhetoric. Our review shows the old museum’s exhibits and collections were handled under clear, documentable policies. Yet MPM leadership’s claim that the former institution was “white and Eurocentric” has been used to justify disposing of publicly owned collections. As Milwaukee County moves through this transition, we call for strict adherence to the 2021 Collections Policy, the approved Disposition Plan, and professional museum ethics.

We are the only advocacy effort basing arguments entirely on primary documents. Milwaukee residents, custodial stewards, and journalists: demand transparency and compliance with fiduciary obligations so historic collections, dioramas, and built environments are preserved and treated properly. Share your concerns and read our full analysis: https://wix.to/6X8HMJy

What changes would you like to see from County oversight? Tell us below.

A County Supervisor just revealed the new museum has "really nothing to speak of" for Latino history. Meanwhile the old museum's exhibit record shows sustained, data-backed global coverage. SaveMPM.org breaks it down.

06/26/2026

Most people think the Milwaukee Public Museum is just moving. It isn't.

We won't own the new museum. It's half the size of the current one. And MPM Inc. — not the public — decides what makes the move and what doesn't.

So how much of the museum you remember actually survives? How much gets sold, stored, or quietly disposed of? No one will say.

You're in this group, so you already know more than most. That's why we need you. We need a small donation — $10 — to fund one specific job: getting this story past Facebook and in front of real press before August.

If even a fraction of this group gives $10, we hit our goal in a day. We can't do it without you.

STOP THE SALE — before it's gone.

Fund the fight. Share the page. The clock is running.

https://gofund.me/6dab13c33

06/26/2026

Two public meetings. Two weeks. Everything in their own words.

Watch Chair Steve Taylor tell a Milwaukee taxpayer he is “tired of the same questions” about what’s being sold from your museum — then call the vote and end the meeting.

Watch the Charles Porteus WPA diorama question go unanswered. Watch a citizen hand it in writing because the chair moved on.

Watch Supervisor Juan Martinez call out MPM President Ellen Censky on the record about Latino representation in the new museum. Her answer: “a spattering.”

This is not our opinion. This is their own words, at public meetings, on the public record.

Walk-throughs begin in August. Collections are already being packed and moved.

Watch. Share. Tag your county supervisor. Tag someone who grew up in this museum.

We are not going away.

06/25/2026

You've been asking who gets first access to YOUR Milwaukee Public Museum before any public auction.
Here's your answer — straight from MPM President Ellen Censky at the June 23rd Parks & Culture Committee meeting. On the record:

County insiders
Private museums
Nonprofits
Exhibit companies
You. Whatever is left.

This is not SaveMPM's opinion. This is what was said out loud at a public meeting your tax dollars fund.
Walk-throughs begin in August.
We are not going away.

06/25/2026

They called the old Milwaukee Public Museum "culturally incompetent."
So what does the new one offer Milwaukee's Latino community?
According to MPM President Dr. Ellen Censky at the June 23rd Parks & Culture Committee meeting — "a spattering."
Supervisor Juan Martinez hosted a public event about Latino history in the new museum. There was almost nothing to show. He was then told all future presentations had been canceled.
A sitting county supervisor said this out loud. On the record. In a public meeting.
Milwaukee deserves better than a spattering.
👉 savempm.org |

SaveMPM documents the Milwaukee Public Museum transition — examining public records, governance agreements, and asset classification decisions that affect publicly owned collections, exhibits, and historic environments.

06/25/2026

🚨 While you were sleeping, they were packing.
At the June 23rd Parks & Culture Committee meeting, Ellen Censky reported that 32 new staff have been hired to barcode, pack, and move collections to off-site storage. It's already underway.
No independent appraisal.

No public list of what's being moved.

No County Board vote authorizing disposal.
The public is literally last in line when the auction happens. County insiders, other museums, nonprofits, and exhibit companies all get to pick through YOUR museum first.
Walk-throughs start in August. Things are already moving.
We are not going away.
👉 savempm.org |

06/24/2026

This was said out loud at a public meeting in June 2026 by the President of the Milwaukee Public Museum:

"We are still working through how the auction will happen."

Let that sink in.

Walk-throughs of the collection are scheduled to begin in August 2026. The auction format isn't decided. There is no confirmed public list of what's being sold. No process for the public to review items before commitments are made.

And the clock is running.

We are not being included in this. We are being managed. There is a difference.

Milwaukee County taxpayers deserve to know what is being sold, who can buy it, and where the money goes — before any of it is decided behind closed doors.

Deadline to act is not far away. Please share this and make some noise.

👉 Tag your county supervisor. Tag local press. We need eyes on this now.

06/24/2026

Some of what's inside the Milwaukee Public Museum is priceless.
Native American artifacts. Natural history specimens. WPA-era art. Pieces that took generations to collect, preserve, and protect — paid for by the people of Milwaukee County.
And right now, the people deciding what those pieces are worth... are the same people deciding what to do with them.
That is not how this should work.
We are calling for an independent inventory and appraisal — outside experts, no conflicts of interest — before anything is sold, auctioned, transferred, or disposed of.
Once these pieces are gone, they are gone. There is no taking it back.
This isn't about being against a new museum. This is about making sure the process is honest, transparent, and fair to the public that owns this collection.
👉 Share this if you believe Milwaukee deserves an independent set of eyes before it's too late.

06/23/2026

Here's the question nobody will answer straight:

When items from the Milwaukee Public Museum are sold — who keeps the money?

At the June 2026 Finance Committee meeting, a taxpayer asked exactly this. The response? Items are being divided into categories: county-owned, MPM-owned, "personal property." And those categories determine who profits.

But here's the problem: the definition of "personal property" is vague. It's broad. It's being decided internally, by the people who stand to benefit.

We were handed a social-studies-level webpage that explains almost nothing. We are adults. We are taxpayers. We are the reason this museum existed in the first place.

An independent inventory and appraisal — done by outside experts, not museum staff — is the bare minimum before a single item leaves that building.

👉 Share if you agree.

06/23/2026

A community member stood up at the June 2026 Milwaukee County Finance Committee meeting and asked a very specific question:

What is happening to the Charles Porteus WPA-era dioramas?

The chair said the question was answered. The person who asked said it wasn't. And then it just... moved on.

These dioramas may be federally owned — built during the New Deal era with public funding. That matters enormously for what can legally be done with them.

No answer. No follow-up. Next agenda item.

If you don't know what the Charles Porteus dioramas are, look them up. They are extraordinary. And right now nobody in charge will tell us where they're going.

👉 Share this and demand a real answer.