Milwaukee Arts & Artists Coverage

Please put your cat in front of this 70-minute Weird Al Chia Pet video

October 13, 2026

This is a video for cats. Specifically, cats of Weird Al fans. Your time has finally come. If you are a human and you are reading this, please, please, PLEASE avert your eyes and quickly wrangle your cat...

Ahead of Strokes book chat, Steven Hyden talks Milwaukee nostalgia, rolling with the punches

Matt Wild

October 9, 2026

On Thursday, October 15, music critic, author, and podcast host Steven Hyden will stop by Boswell Book Company to chat about his new book, Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise And Fall Of The Strokes (And Rock 'n'...

Hover Craft announces 2026 vendor lineup

Tyler Maas

October 1, 2026

Since 2009, Hover Craft has brought skilled local artists, crafters, retailers, and others residing beneath the broad "maker" umbrella together each December to sell Milwaukee-made goods to area consumers durin...

Here’s info on final Halloween, holiday seasons for Streets of Old Milwaukee

Matt Wild

October 1, 2026

This is it, folks. The current Milwaukee Public Museum will close its doors at 800 W. Wells St. on January 3, 2027. Then, sometime in spring 2027, the new Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin will open i...

Bob Reitman transcends time on spoken word ‘12th House’

Matt Wild

September 29, 2026

Bob Reitman's 12th House begins with death. "Death waits like a frozen pillow / Death hides in the corner of a circle," Reitman says. "Death sits on a wall too high to see, and whistles in Latin tunes we for...

Watch Milwaukee journalists (and me) talk about AI

Matt Wild

September 28, 2026

A few Fridays ago, I (Matt) participated in a panel discussion on everyone's favorite topic: AI. Specifically, believing in human creativity in the age of AI. Even more specifically, how local journalists use A...

Milwaukee Krampusnacht is coming back to town this December

Matt Wild

September 25, 2026

For the past nine winters, Milwaukee has gotten wild, weird, and naughty with Milwaukee Krampusnacht. The annual blowout celebrates the half-goat/half-demon Krampus—a.k.a. a figure from Alpine folklore who puni...

A guide to Bay View Gallery Night

Tyler Maas

September 22, 2026

Since 2011, Bay View Gallery Night has organized "Milwaukee’s largest annual celebration of art, local business, music, and community." The massive neighborhood-wide event brings together talented area artists ...

Watch exterior swan sculpture move from old museum to new museum

Matt Wild

September 16, 2026

In case you somehow, improbably, impossibly missed it, the current Milwaukee Public Museum will close its doors at 800 W. Wells St. on January 3, 2027. Then, sometime in spring 2027, the new Nature & Cultur...

Let’s talk human creativity in the age of AI at CreativeMornings, September 18

Matt Wild

September 9, 2026

What's the deal with AI? It's pretty awful, yes? Of course it is. Want to go beyond that answer and hear what four media professionals have to say about it? Of course you do. Then start your morning of Friday, ...

‘I stopped using AI for our regular promo stuff’: How a Milwaukee bowling alley leaned into, away from AI

Matt Wild

September 4, 2026

On Thursday I published a piece called "Graphic design is my passion: An ode to wonderfully crummy non-AI flyers." In it, I decried the busy, ugly, and soulless AI flyers that every business seems to use these ...

Graphic design is my passion: An ode to wonderfully crummy non-AI flyers

Matt Wild

September 3, 2026

Every Monday I put together a weekly show and events calendar called Record Recommended. These roundups are relatively basic and lo-fi—words, links, occasional YouTube embeds—but they still take a fair amount o...

Chicago artists bring honking, flapping ‘Swans’ to blustery Veterans Park

Cal Roach

August 31, 2026

The swan paddle boats are a beloved if tourist-y feature of the lagoon at Veterans Park on Milwaukee's lakefront, perfect for any leisurely summer day. Wheel Fun Rentals has a whole bevy of them available to re...

Patti Smith will treat Riverside Theater to songs and stories September 23

Matt Wild

July 21, 2026

It's been a minute since legendary musician/poet/author/icon Patti Smith graced Milwaukee with her legendary presence. (Like, since 2017?) That'll change on Wednesday, September 23, when Smith will come to Milw...

Behold, an angel descended from heaven and said, ‘Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking the Bronze Fonz. He is not here, for he is undergoing routine maintenance. Come and see the place where he stood.’

Matt Wild

July 14, 2026

A reading from the Book of Matthew: After Bastille Days, as the second day of the week was dawning, Milwaukee Record came to see the Bronze Fonz. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of ...

‘SWANS’ will use Veterans Park swan paddle boats as a stage

Tyler Maas

July 13, 2026

When making a list of things that come to mind when thinking of Milwaukee in summertime, many-a Milwaukeean would make sure to include Milwaukee County parks, live music performances taking place outdoors, and ...

Argren Faire will return to Riverwest September 12, complete with beer and mermaid lagoon

Matt Wild

July 7, 2026

The past two years have seen a homegrown Ren Faire called the Argren Faire set up shop on Locust Street, outside of Black Husky Brewing in Riverwest. Argren Faire is based on the mythical land of Argren—a.k.a. ...

Repaired Giannis mural in downtown Milwaukee

Giannis mural fixed

Matt Wild

July 2, 2026

Remember Wednesday morning, when someone tagged and vandalized the Giannis Antetokounmpo mural in downtown Milwaukee? Of course you do, because it only happened yesterday and because every single Milwaukee medi...

Computer game offers chance to relive ’90s-era East Side

Ethan Duran

July 1, 2026

For many current and former East Siders, the mid-'90s was a hub for mom-and-pop businesses and different subcultures and businesses living next to one another. One punk-guitarist-turned-video-game-developer wan...

Tagged Giannis mural in downtown Milwaukee

Giannis mural vandalized

Matt Wild

July 1, 2026

UPDATE: No worries. Artist Mauricio Ramirez appeared on the scene Wednesday afternoon and worked to restore the mural. Roughly one week after Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat, the downtow...