Arts

Milwaukee Zine Fest returns with (mostly) virtual events April 17-18

April 16, 2021

In Normal Times, the annual Milwaukee Zine Fest would set up shop in Milwaukee Public Library's Central Branch for a one-day event filled with creators, workshops, and more. But these are (still) not Normal Tim...

Zhanna Slor investigates identity, 2008-era Riverwest in ‘At The End Of The World, Turn Left’

Matt Wild

April 13, 2021

"Being existentially lost has a smell; the room is drowning in it. Like grease and beer and sourness. I breathe out of my mouth, get closer. Hakol le'tova, I remind myself. Everything happens for a reason."...

Take a look inside Lion’s Tooth, which is open for appointments and limited walk-ins

Matt Wild

March 22, 2021

Four months after purchasing a storefront in Bay View—and roughly a year and a half after debuting as a subscription service—Lion's Tooth (2421 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., 414-455-3498) is finally open.Similar to...

14 pictures of “Brighten The Passage,” a.k.a. the support pier murals under the I-794 freeway

Matt Wild

February 25, 2021

Ever find yourself wandering around downtown on a mild February afternoon, completely adrift and frazzled and tired? Ever realize that this short walk is the most you've physically moved in months, and that it'...

Milwaukee Artist Resource Network announces new Third Ward arts and culture hub, inaugural show

Matt Wild

February 23, 2021

Approximately a year and a half after moving into its new home at 191 N. Broadway in the city's Historic Third Ward, the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) has announced the impending opening of its MARN ...

FemFest goes virtual with month-long “Portraits of Femme” series

Matt Wild

February 17, 2021

Like, well, everything, Milwaukee's annual Riverwest FemFest took a pandemic-forced break in 2020. And, like, well, pretty much everything again, Milwaukee's annual FemFest will take a pandemic-forced break in ...

Dulling my Packers pain with a Nintendo Switch virtual pinball cabinet I made out of LEGO bricks

Matt Wild

January 24, 2021

Late Sunday night, after a devastating and all-too-familiar Green Bay Packers loss in the NFC Championship Game, I completed a goofy project I had started the previous week: a Nintendo Switch virtual pinball ca...

12 pictures of the “Massimals MKE” art installation in Cathedral Square Park, plus 2 pictures of some tracks I saw in the snow and need help identifying

Matt Wild

January 20, 2021

There's a new public art installation in Cathedral Square Park, and it's pretty neat! "Massimals MKE" is a group of life-size bear sculptures created by artist Jason Scroggin of Scroggin Studio. Massimals are d...

John Riepenhoff asks David Robbins a few questions about the mysterious Utah monolith

John Riepenhoff

December 9, 2020

John Riepenhoff is an engineer of artistic platforms for the expression of others. He co-owns The Green Gallery. David Robbins is the author of seven books, including Concrete Comedy: An Alternative History Of ...

Help Niche Book Bar reach its fundraising goal and open the only Black-owned bookstore in Wisconsin

Matt Wild

December 2, 2020

Last month we told how a local bookseller, Lion's Tooth, will soon open a physical location in Bay View. Lion's Tooth's successful campaign to open a brick-and-mortar store was partially due to support from onl...

Lion’s Tooth is opening a brick-and-mortar bookstore on Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View

Matt Wild

November 20, 2020

When we first talked to Shelly McClone-Carriere and Cris Siqueira in October 2019, the two Milwaukee women had just launched a small press and graphic novel subscription service called Lion's Tooth. The service...

Milwaukee Art Museum is closed, will remain closed until at least January

Matt Wild

November 19, 2020

The Milwaukee Art Museum—which has been open in a limited capacity since July—is now closed. It will remain closed until at least January 2, 2021. Sigh. Here's the press release.Milwaukee Art Museum Clo...

Milwaukee Mural Of The Week: “Mural Of Peace”

Matt Wild

November 9, 2020

Take a tour of the city with "Milwaukee Mural Of The Week," a regular feature that looks at Milwaukee murals both iconic and lesser-known.Name: "Mural Of Peace" Artist: Reynaldo Hernandez Location: South ...

Milwaukee Ballet’s “We Miss You MKE” videos bring dancers to local landmarks

Tyler Maas

October 14, 2020

It's a particularly ugly and isolated time in history. As Wisconsin's COVID-19 numbers continue to rise, it's become apparent that it will be an incredibly long time before we can experience art and in-person p...

11 pictures of Shepard Fairey’s new, almost-complete “Voting Rights Are Human Rights” mural

Matt Wild

October 13, 2020

If you happen to glance up at the north side of the Colby Abbot building (759 N. Milwaukee St.) in downtown Milwaukee, you'll see the city's latest mural. But it's not just any mural—"Voting Rights Are Human Ri...

It looks like Milwaukee is getting a Shepard Fairey mural after all

Matt Wild

October 7, 2020

Like it or not, Milwaukee is getting a mural from internationally acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey.Fairey and his Obey Giant team will paint a 7,400-square-foot mural entitled "Voting Rights Are Human Rights...

Hover Craft transitions to virtual event, seeks artists and makers

Tyler Maas

October 6, 2020

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

Murals on historic properties may need to be removable, facing away from streets and sidewalks

Matt Wild

September 30, 2020

Want to paint or install a mural on the side of a historic Milwaukee property? There may be some new guidelines for that—including a few that ask you to please keep your mural tucked away in a back alley or som...

Watch a Lion’s Tooth video tour of the MOWA comics exhibit

Cris Siqueira

September 14, 2020

Last month the Museum of Wisconsin Art launched an amazing exhibition about the history of comics in Wisconsin, with emphasis on the career of cartoonist and publisher Denis Kitchen, from his beginnings in the ...

Gaze upon the four new murals being painted underneath I-794 along North Broadway

Matt Wild

September 9, 2020

If you thought Milwaukee went mural-happy in 2019, it's gone all out in 2020. Murals celebrating local civil rights leaders, murals celebrating local frontline workers, and murals celebrating local otters and b...