Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts (WMODA)

Glass is hot at WMODA! Let us fire your imagination with our amazing collection of studio glass by Dale Chihuly and other modern masters – you’ll be blown away! We also make ceramics cool at our Fired Arts museum with our exciting exhibitions, events, and scavenger hunts exploring art, culture, fantasy, and nature. The WMODA has been awarded the coveted TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Award for six years in a row. Check out all the five-star reviews for the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts on TripAdvisor and Google. Visit us soon in Dania Beach, Florida or at WMODA.com and follow us on Facebook or Instagram. Admission is FREE on Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day on Saturday, September 17.

The Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts (WMODA) is a world-class museum in South Florida celebrating the fired arts of ceramics and glass. The museum features thousands of works from the world’s most renowned ceramic and glass artists. In addition to a vast collection of 19th and 20th century British pottery and porcelain from factories such as Wedgwood and Royal Doulton, the WMODA displays works by contemporary ceramic artists from the UK and South Africa.

A spectacular collection of Dale Chihuly’s work is exhibited in the Hot Glass gallery at WMODA along with works by other great glass artists in the Art on Fire exhibit, including William Morris and Toots Zynsky. Recent glass installations include Constellations, a dazzling display of Windstars by Miami artist, Rob Stern. WMODA also hosts an exciting program of exhibitions, including Fantastique which explores the enchanted world of ceramic art, Carnival & Cabaret which celebrates the art of having fun, the Art of Tea which presents the ritual of afternoon tea, and A Safari for the Soul, exploring Ardmore Ceramic Art from South Africa.

WMODA is located in Dania Beach, just south of Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport. WMODA is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

Exhibits

WMODA will be open Saturday, September 17, 2022 from 10am to 4pm.

CARNIVAL & CABARET
It’s party time at the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts as we celebrate the art of having fun at our exhibition Carnival & Cabaret. This entertaining exhibit explores the flamboyant festivals in Venice, Rio and New Orleans as seen by porcelain artists from Europe. Discover how Harlequin and Columbine and other characters from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte have influenced carnival fun, the art of clowning and masquerade balls through the ages. Masking was particularly popular during the roaring 1920s to disguise the flirtatious behavior of the flappers. The centerpiece is Cinderella arriving at the ball, a
masterpiece of fantasy in porcelain by Lladró of Spain. Cabaret and variety shows in early 20th century Paris and Berlin also reveled in the theatrical excesses of carnival costumes in the performing arts.

A SAFARI FOR THE SOUL
A giant smiling hippopotamus greets you as you enter the contemporary ceramics gallery at the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts and visitors can’t stop smiling in return. The hippo was made by Ardmore Ceramic Arts, a thriving artist collective in the picturesque Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The studio was started thirty-five years ago by Fée Halsted, a talented ceramic artist who teaches local men and women how to make and decorate pottery. There are now around 80 sculptors and painters in the Ardmore studio making whimsical and uplifting works of art. As well as hippos, the Ardmore exhibition
includes many other African animals which burst out of luxuriant foliage to form vibrant vases, tureens and bowls. Ardmore ceramic art is one of the most popular features at the WMODA Museum and it’s worth a visit just to see this exhibit.

ART ON FIRE
The contemporary glass collection at WMODA features the work of many of the world’s leading glass masters. The Art on Fire exhibit is dominated by the work of Dale Chihuly and the Venetian maestros Lino Tagliapietra and Pino Signoretto. The Hot Glass gallery also celebrates the creative exuberance of Chihuly’s collaborators and students, such as William Morris and Toots Zynsky. Together they have pushed the sculptural potential of glass and redefined glass as an art form.

Participation in Museum Day is open to any tax-exempt or governmental museum or cultural venue on a voluntary basis. Smithsonian magazine encourages museum visitation, but is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of the participating museums and cultural venues, and does not subsidize museums that participate.