Creative MKE

Hosted by Imagine MKE

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May 2024

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About the show

Join Elisabeth Gasparka for this conversation show from Imagine MKE, where we hear from creative leaders in Milwaukee and beyond, to highlight all the incredible transformative power of their work in our region. We hope that after listening to the pod you’ll be able to imagine Milwaukee's arts and culture ecosystem—and all the awesome artists, organizations and creative assets within it, in a new way.

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30 recent

May 6, 202429 min

A Home for Milwaukee's Young Artists: Milwaukee Youth Arts Center

How might a young person’s future look different with exposure to and training in the arts? This is the proposition at the heart of the mission of Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth speaks with Chad Tessmer, the Executive Director at MYAC. They discuss how equitable engagement in the arts has a measurable positive impact on young people’s development—and on their entire lives. Located at the corner of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Walnut Street, MYAC is at the intersection of several Milwaukee neighborhoods including Halyard Park, Brewer’s Hill, Harambee, Schlitz Park, and The Deer District. Since its founding in 2005, the space has served as a home to First Stage and Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other local arts organizations. While MYAC is not in the business of trying to “turn every student into a performer at Carnegie Hall,” the organization seeks to give young people means to explore their voices and express themselves artistically in a safe, inclusive and professional environment. And because the employees at MYAC are creatives themselves (some of them alumni!), they believe in the promise and purpose of the institution, and “pay it forward” every day by shaping high quality and equitable access to transformative arts experiences.  As the organization evolves, MYAC seeks new ways to engage with young artists across their developmental trajectories in to support their creative professional development.  Milwaukee Youth Arts Center First Stage Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra  Danceworks Festival City Symphony Bel Canto Chorus Frankly Music Project Kindred Milwaukee Children’s Choir American Civil Liberties Union WI  Milwaukee Public Schools Creative Thinking is In-Demand from Employers Brit Nicole Additional episode music “Forgotten" by Soundroll

April 29, 202429 min

Fantastic Food, Creative Collaboration, Seasonality, and Natural Wonders: MKE’s Got It.

“Cheese in different ways,” is only the beginning of Milwaukee’s compelling cultural offerings. From the astounding waters, to the presence of industrious creatives who are making things happen and helping each other to develop their skills and talents—Milwaukee is a vibrant community that continues to exceed expectations and enable a strong quality of life for creatives of all disciplines.  This special episode of Creative MKE features more conversations with arts leaders held at Washington Park Media Center including Angela Damiani, CEO of NEWaukee, Peggy Williams Smith, CEO of VISIT Milwaukee, Joe Poeschl, Director of Engagement of MKE Tech Hub Coalition and Kevin Giglinto, President & CEO of the Marcus Performing Arts Center, Adam Braatz, Executive Director at Imagine MKE, Lafayette Crump, the City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development, Daniel Murray, Founder and Creative Director of FuzzPop Workshop. The group spends time envisioning what the future might look like for the city, and discussing how it’s possible today to do so much in Milwaukee without encountering barriers that exist in other cities. Founding startups and launching profitable creative businesses, while building a network of collaborators and striking a fulfilling work-life balance... it can be done here. In Milwaukee, it's possible to dream big...and our creatives are the key to pushing the culture forward. “When artists come together, that’s when the real magic arises,” reflected Kevin Giglinto, President & CEO of Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Marcus Center for the Performing Arts MKE Tech Hub Coalition  VISIT Milwaukee  NEWaukee FuzzPop Workshop Milwaukee Symphony OrchestraMilwaukee Film Festival Washington Park Media Center City of Milwaukee's Dept. of City Development

April 22, 202429 min

The Milwaukee Vortex, DIY culture, “Yes, and...” Thinking

The Milwaukee Vortex, DIY culture, “Yes, and...” Thinking  In this special episode of Creative MKE, we’re sharing conversations from a special event Imagine MKE hosted at Washington Park Media Center earlier this year. The event was a gathering of arts, culture and creative industry leaders brought together to discuss the strengths and opportunities of Milwaukee’s creative culture. In the discussion, guests touch on: the waterways, walkability and park system in Milwaukee, the ease of DIY creation and collaborations and the simultaneous challenge of scarcity mindsets, and the magnetic power (or sports franchise potential?) of the “the Milwaukee Vortex.” This conversation features Linda Edelstein, Chief Executive Officer of Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra; Kim Miller, artist and the chair of MIAD’s fine Art Dept.; Darius Smith, Program Director, Gener8tor Art, also an artist, mental health advocate; Kantara Souffrant, Curator of Community Dialogue, Milwaukee Art Museum; Maureen Ragalie, Managing Director of Gener8tor Art; Jason Yi, professor at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, artist and gallerist at Hawthorn Contemporary; Xela Garcia, Executive Director of Walkers Point Center for the Arts, also an artist and writer; and Joe Poeschl, Director of Engagement at Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition.  Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Gener8tor Art Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Milwaukee Art Museum  Hawthorn Contemporary Walkers Point Center for the Arts MKE Tech Hub Coalition Greater Milwaukee Committee: The Commons  Kristina Rolander Washington Park Media Center  Stryv365Additional episode music: Tiger Technique "Oakvale of Albion"; Headspace Torus "Main Version 01"

April 15, 202429 min

Summerfest and Henry Maier Festival Park

Summerfest and Henry Maier Festival Park  In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth speaks with Kevin Canady, Vice President of Sales & Business Development, and Scott Ziel, Vice President of Entertainment, at Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., the organization that manages and hosts Summerfest, and books a variety of festivals and other events on the grounds throughout the year. The group reflects on how Milwaukee World Music Festival Inc stewards the unique cultural asset that is the Henry Maier Festival Park, 75 acres located on the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee. Ziel and Canady speak to the nature of Milwaukee’s festival culture, the history of Summerfest, and how the organization helps regional companies to retain and attract talent, while creating a variety of paid opportunities for local talent. Each year, Summerfest relies on hundreds of creative contractors and vendors—from professional jugglers, to sound engineers, to photographers and restauranters to make the festival all that it is.  Canady and Ziel shed light on the process of building Summerfest (hint: the planning begins just as soon as each festival ends). Despite changes in the music industry especially in the wake of the pandemic, Canady and Ziel and the whole team remain focused on producing and attracting events that showcase the best of Milwaukee, responding to the needs and tastes of attendees, and delivering on creative ways that an event of such enormous scale can positively impact the Milwaukee community beyond presenting affordable world-class music and entertainment.Milwaukee World Festival, Inc: Summerfest Henry Meier Festival Park Northwestern Mutual Community Park Hunger Task Force United Way Mary Lou’s Closet Initiative Let the Music Play Grant  BMO EMpower  Generac: Power Up with a Purpose American Red Cross Summerfest Tech American Family Insurance Ampitheatre Pridefest Milwaukee Irishfest Mexican Fiesta German Fest  PolishFest Black Arts Fest  Kevin...

April 8, 202429 min

Championing Arts + Culture in Milwaukee

In this second portion of this discussion about the Vel R. Phillips Plaza public art commission, Elisabeth and guests City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump and arts leader Marilu Knode reflect on the wider context of the project.  Crump and Knode discuss the relevance of public art and the presence of artists to the city’s 2040 downtown plan, the power of the arts on individuals’ lives, as well as the collective power of Milwaukee’s creative industry. Knode shares specific suggestions of how the city can continue to turn the tide towards a more robust and supported creative sector: A dedicated arts office within the city; a 1% Law: Art for All, and increased public support for the arts. To that, Crump adds on the need for more affordable housing for artists, so that they can live, work and contribute to Milwaukee’s culture, long-term. To listen back to the first part of the conversation, stream it wherever you stream podcasts, or visit Imagine MKE on the web.  Milwaukee Department of City Development: Milwaukee Arts Board City of Milwaukee Artist in Residence  Ranking of Per Capita Arts Invesment Milwaukee High School of the Arts Genre: Urban Arts America’s Black Holocaust Museum 

March 26, 202429 min

Vel R. Phillips Plaza Art Commission

The Vel R. Phillips Plaza Art Commission In part one of this special two-part episode, Elisabeth speaks with City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump and arts leader Marilu Knode to discuss the plans for the Vel R. Phillips plaza. It’s a development project for which Crump and Knode are both serving on the art committee to select an original sculpture installation concept that, once completed, will memorialize and animate the legacy of Phillips, a trailblazing Black woman, attorney, politician, jurist, and civil rights activist, who served as an alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as secretary of state of Wisconsin.The group reflects on how the arts are a special ingredient to development—that art can help  our city to stand apart and also function as an economic engine. Crump shares how investing in the arts is often a “less obvious” aspect of infrastructure to decision makers, but an incredibly important ingredient to a city that can retain and attract diverse residents and visitors. With a new generation of leadership in place in Milwaukee under Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the city has made a one-time investment in public art through this $600,000 commission. But the plaza and the artwork will not just be about aesthetic beauty: it will have activations, spaces for vendors, food and beverage offerings and programming to encourage people to linger, engage and learn about Vel Phillips.  In her life, Phillips was a boundary pushing figure, and, as Knode reflects, “she forecast the direction the country would be going in with her leadership.” The intention is that the plaza installation and the social and artistic activations it invites will build upon this legacy. “Often people think public art is always “man on horse” or “woman in fountain.” Vel Phillips had a different form of leadership,” reflects Knode. “Let’s use this an opportunity to reformulate how we think about leadership.”  But should artists have to be activists? Knode suggests that in this day and age, everything is political. According to her, “going into the arts itself” is political. At the heart of this commission plan is the acknowledgement that artists are often the ones who drive social change in society. “A lot of creativity or boundary pushing that does come out of city government... somewhere you will find an artist pushing on us to do that,” says Crump.  Vel R. Phillips Plaza will be constructed by July 2024, and the public art installation is estimated to be completed in 2025. Learn more about the project.References and resources  Brad Pruitt  America’s Black Holocaust Museum The Mountaintop, presented by Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Lexi Brunson CopyWrite Magazine Mike Phillips Downtown Bid #21 Westown Association  <a...

March 11, 202429 min

The Connection Between the Arts and Economic Prosperity

“When we invest in the arts, those dollars aren’t just disappearing down some black hole of goodness. It’s giving back to the community and government to help pay for its needed services. There’s undercapitalization happening here. It’s just hard to imagine how much more arts and culture activity and impact and benefit to local businesses would be happening with greater investment.” -Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research at Americans for the Arts.  In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth and Adam speak with Randy Cohen from Americans for the Arts about the Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 Study. Last year, Imagine MKE collaborated with Americans for the Arts to conduct this audience intercept survey in Milwaukee to learn about their induced and direct spending in relationship to arts and culture nonprofit events. Additionally, another survey was shared with hundreds of arts nonprofit organizations—large and small—to learn about their own economic activity, including employment figures. Nearly 100 arts orgs participated, and the results showed Milwaukee to be massively benefiting from jobs, spending, and tax revenue generated through the work of art nonprofits. A sampling of the findings:  $334.6 million generated in economic activity  4,550 jobs supported  $7.1 million in Milwaukee county and city tax revenue  The group discuss how this hallmark arts and economic study has changed over the years to become much more inclusive and to center diverse communities, the dire lack of investment for the arts in Milwaukee and in Wisconsin, and the qualitative and quantitive impact of the arts on individuals and communities.  Learn more about the groundbreaking sixth iteration of the Arts and Economic Prosperity study. Study conducted by Americans for the Arts and Imagine MKE.  Support for the AEP6 Study from: First Stage The Milwaukee Rep Theatre & United Performing Arts Fund - UPAF 

August 29, 202329 min

Milwaukee: an Arts and Culture Society w/ VISIT Milwaukee

It all begins with a visit. If you ask the leadership of VISIT Milwaukee, they believe that in order to attract people to live, work, and play somewhere, they have to first experience and connect to the culture of that place on a deeper level.The attraction of the outside world to Milwaukee is not an accident, and is, in large part due to the work of VISIT Milwaukee—lead by Peggy Williams Smith, President & CEO, Joshua Albrecht, VP of Marketing & Communications and Claire Koenig, Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs—who champion and lift up the city’s culture every day through their work and entice media representatives to visit and learn more about what Milwaukee has to offer. At the same time, Milwaukee continues to struggle with population decline and a loss of talent, particularly within diverse communities.The attraction of the outside world to Milwaukee is not an accident, and is, in large part due to the work of VISIT Milwaukee—Peggy Williams Smith, Joshua Albrecht, and Claire Koenig—who champion and lift up the city’s culture every day through their work and entice media representatives to visit and learn more about what Milwaukee has to offer. At the same time, Milwaukee continues to struggle with population decline and a loss of talent, particularly within diverse communities.Elisabeth, along with Imagine MKE’s Executive Director Adam Braatz, discuss with the VISIT Milwaukee team how the arts and culture of Milwaukee is one of its chief assets, and a powerful economic driver. The group discuss how intrinsic the arts are to tourism, and how Imagine MKE and VISIT Milwaukee are both working to amplify the region’s creative economy and shape the narrative about Milwaukee. If the narrative shifts, and our arts sector can be better supported and broadcast for all its brilliance, it all adds up to Milwaukee stepping into its greatness as, in Albrecht’s words, as a new “arts and culture society." They see a future where Milwaukee is known as an innovative place that embraces, supports, and celebrates all that is creative and expressive, and where talent and lovers of culture will see themselves, feel a sense of belonging, and want to build their lives.Learn more about the work of VISIT Milwaukee, and follow them on Instagram.Additional ResourcesMKE Theater District<a...

August 22, 202329 min

Community Art at the Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium w/ Tia Richardson and Jordan Banks

The arts. Sports. Oftentimes, they are thought of as in opposition to each other, but the pursuit of arts and sports have a lot of overlap. One remarkable local "artist" in the field of soccer and coaching was the late Jimmy Banks. Banks was a trailblazing Milwaukeean who was discovered in his young teens, playing pick-up soccer outside the Westlawn housing project where he grew up. He went on to play professionally for the Milwaukee Wave, and then for the U.S. Men’s Soccer team—where he was a starting player in the 1990 World Cup. His ascendant career was followed by a whole other career—as a leader, coach, and mentor in the Milwaukee community to young players of diverse backgrounds, including the MSOE Men’s soccer team and leading the Simba Soccer Club. Banks passed away in 2019, but his impactful legacy lives on. To commemorate his work, values, and spirit, Milwaukee Public School’s Custer Stadium, where he played as a school kid, has been renamed the Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium.  Now, a mural celebrating Jimmy Banks will be added to the facility. Community artist, Tia Richardson, who will be leading the artistic arm of the project, and Banks’ son Jordan Banks—who is himself a soccer player, coach, and educator—joined Elisabeth for a conversation about the mural project, which is seeking support.  In the conversation, they speak about the importance of representation for young Black kids growing up in Milwaukee, youth development, and the value of creativity, public art, and the many rich connections that exist between art making and sports—which both foster self-exploration, collaboration, relationship-building, and skill development. Richardson and Banks hope that the spirit of the mural will inspire youth who play on the Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium field for generations will see the mural, think of Banks and what he accomplished, and expand their own concepts of themselves and the positive impact they can have within their communities.  You can support the work and learn more at Friends of Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium’s website. Check out Tia Richardson’s artwork and follow her on Instagram at Cosmic Butterfly Design. Jimmy BanksAbout Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium Pelé Al Jarreau Jordan Banks’ Peak of Artful Soccer—World Cup Final 2022 Lil Kickers Milwaukee Milwaukee Simbas Sports Club 

August 15, 202329 min

Girls Rock MKE w/D Kirschling

In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth speaks with D Kirschling, a board member and the volunteer coordinator at the non- profit organization Girls Rock & Ladies Rock MKE. Participants of Girls & Ladies Rock MKE attend camps and workshops where they experiment and learn music in a safe space, working on traditional elements of a rock band including voice, instrumentation on guitar, drums, bass and keyboard, and song composition and performance.Despite the name, Girls & Ladies Rock MKE programs are inclusive: they are open to all on the gender spectrum, and are designed to empower participants through collaboration, expression and exploration of technical skills.  Guided by volunteers who are often local musicians, participants are encouraged to lean in to the process of self-reflection and self-expression through creativity. It’s a process that Kirschling and organizers hope sparks rockers to challenge themselves—and maybe even change their perception of who they are and what they can accomplish. Kirschling shares how Ladies Rock—an offshoot of Girls Rock MKE-- emerged from the interest of parents of kids who were part of Girls Rock camps, and saw the benefits it had for them. Ladies Rock became an answer to the question of how adults who had interest in music but little experience could find space within Milwaukee’s music scene, and rock music itself, which is often experienced as a “boys club” by marginalized artists.  Ultimately, the mission of both programs is to move the Milwaukee music scene forward to become a more equitable place, and to enrich the lives of individuals.  “We want to create healthy and balanced people. The arts are part of a healthy and balanced life,” said Kirschling. In the conversation, Kirschling also reflects on how arts organizations, including Girls Rock, as so focused on basic survival that they struggle to expand on their programming and their footprint in the community. She imagines that with more support, individual artists in Milwaukee would live healthier, more fulfilled lives—which would in turn make our community a healthier place.  You can find Girls and Ladies Rock on Instagram: Girls Rock MKE, and Ladies Rock MKE.   Support Girls Rock at the upcoming Backyard BBQ from WMSE!  Negative/Positive Camp Board of Directors and Co-Founders Mary Joy Hickey’s Founding of Ladies Rock Reyna <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/ShleBerry"...

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