FISCH HAUS is a multi-disciplinary art facility, located in Wichita’s Commerce St. Art District, currently accommodating five full-time local creatives as well as a steady stream of artists, actors and musicians, both regional and international.  The artist cooperative was founded in 1990 by Patrick Duegaw, John Ernatt, Eric Schmidt, and Kent Williams; and since 1993, has operated out of a three story warehouse that contains studio and gallery space, small businesses, a full wood and metal shop, and a graphic design studio.  The Fisch Haus, through their not-for-profit arm Fisch Bowl, produces several large-scale shows annually, and hosts numerous community art events, ranging from visiting artist exhibitions and performances, to lectures, classes, benefits, readings, and music festivals throughout the rest of the year; most all of which are offered free of charge and are open to all ages.

Email us at info@fischhaus.com for more information or to request a tour. We do not maintain regular business hours, so please contact us to make an appointment to see an exhibition or event outside of our public receptions.

For more information about the history and evolution of Fisch Haus, go to Fisch Haus 21:  An Artist’s Collaborative Comes of Age, an essay by Dr. Emily Stamey.

Current Resident Artists | Patrick Duegaw | Elizabeth Stevenson | Eric Schmidt | Jamie Tabor | Kent Williams

FISCH BOWL INC is a 501(c)(3) organization that endeavors to promote the arts and offer a wide variety of cultural experiences and resources to the public.  At this time, they present most of their programming in the Fisch Haus, a 21,000 s.f. warehouse owned and operated by the five-member artist’s collaborative.  Fisch Haus has been active since 1990;  for many years, self-producing annual large-scale exhibitions for each of its resident artists.  However, limited by a restricted budget and schedule, the full-time artists were not able to open their facility as often or extensively as they wished, so they incorporated as Fisch Bowl, Inc. in June of 2004 and received their not-for-profit status in March of 2005. Fisch Bowl’s event roster has included an annual Theatre Thursdays program in March, a Tuesday night Jazz Series in April, a bi-annual women’s art exhibition series entitled XX, the Neighborhood Superstar Award with Harvester Arts, the KNOB New Music Festival, music and theatrical performances, lectures, an annual Living Statues collaboration with Ballet Wichita, performance art installations, and several visiting artist exhibitions every year.  Fisch Bowl also participates frequently in the monthly Wichita Final Friday gallery crawl, and is spearheading the Commerce St. Art District initiative.  In an effort to move beyond the brick-and-mortar building and out into the community, Fisch Bowl initiated the MapMusik/316, OpenStudios and PLATFORM programs in 2018. The organization is growing steadily, following an agenda dictated by the following goals:

• host performances and exhibit work that is unique in the city
• form an endowment fund, for scholarships and exterior programming
• offer artists, performers and lecturers a small stipend
• create a space for classes and workshops
• hire a part-time development director/marketing manager/general administrator
• participate in Commerce St. Art District events, such as Final Fridays, street fairs and festivals
• assist in promoting and developing the Commerce St. Art District association

2023-2024 Board of Directors

Secretary and Treasurer
Elizabeth Stevenson

Ex-Officio members
Torin Andersen
Patrick Duegaw

Board Members
Stacy Chestnut
Marcela Gimenez
Anthony Joiner
Mike Marlett
Dee Starkey