Art Jamboree in the Plankinton Arcade

Art Milwaukee celebrated their 1st-year anniversary as an organization by throwing a party outside their new digs at the Grand Avenue mall. Their office is located on the lower level of the Plankinton Arcade, right outside a small water fountain upon which stands a statue of John Plankinton. Everybody that resides in the Grand Avenue was invited, from food vendors to other organizations like Spreenkler, VETransfer, Milwaukee Public Theatre, Sophia’s Heart (featuring perfomances by a talented childrens’ choir) and your very own ThirdCoast Digest office.

Our end of the party was a kind of open house. We hosted three student artists’ photographic work for Art Milwaukee, displayed work by our own staffers and contributors and launched an official, ongoing artist corner by showcasing current Marcus artist-in-residence Shelby Keefe. Also, there were cookies.

Other projects and groups were on hand, from Artworks to the Living Photo Booth Project to TRUE Skool (giving out DJ lessons to kids), as the party went until 10 p.m. when the planners and guests moved things over to STIR. Much dancing took place.

We took a lot of pictures out our front windows, and present them here in a grand slideshow via flickr. Happy Birthday, Art Milwaukee!