Author: Lee Matz

The AlleyWayz live performance series of acoustic concerts took place over the summer in the Black Cat Alley District of Milwaukee’s East Side, showcasing five emerging Milwaukee musicians in partnership with five muralists. The format presented an intimate venue with engaging performances, attended by hundreds of local residents and an online audience. The series came together as a collaboration of creatives from across the city, organized by Aaron Davis, experience designer with BLK SHP; Enrique Rodriguez, founder of Magic Studios; and Stacey Williams-Ng, program director of Black Cat Alley. “This was exactly the kind of thing we hoped would...

Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee’s much anticipated sports and entertainment venue, officially opened its doors to the public on August 26 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the plaza outside of the world-class downtown arena. As part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, former Bucks owner Senator Herb Kohl was honored with the street naming dedication of Herb Kohl Way, for the section of 4th Street that passed in front of the Arena. In addition, the world’s largest welcome mat, measuring 92-feet long by 24-feet wide, was unveiled outside of Fiserv Forum to welcome the community into its new home. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was...

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center opened a $13 million addition in 1999, tripling its space to showcase visual and performing arts, with ten galleries, a theater, performance spaces, studio-classrooms, and rotating exhibitions of contemporary work by international and emerging talent. With more than 20,000 individual pieces of art, the collection focuses primarily on works by artist-environment builders, self-taught and folk artists, and works developed in its residency program. The art center is also known for its artist-created public toilets, which cultural historian Barbara Penner uses as the introduction to her 2013 book “Bathroom.” Situated 57 miles north of...

Milwaukee Water Commons, in partnership with Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Harbor District, and Wisconsin Sea Grant, held the first ever open water swim in the Milwaukee River on August 11. A total of 72 master swimmers completed the historical swim, bringing attention to the sizable efforts made over the years on the river’s cleanup. Not since the early days of Milwaukee’s founding, before the waterways were used to support industry, have residents used the river for recreational activity, and they did so further up stream. The 2018 Cream City Classic’s 1.5 mile course started where the Milwaukee River meets Lake Michigan,...