Bay View hosts inaugural Gallery Night

Music, food, art, dancing and even a blacksmithing demonstration will be among the attractions at more than 20 venues as Made in Milwaukee presents the first Bay View Gallery Night on Friday, June 3.

“It’s a good opportunity to get people who don’t know the community of Bay View out and checking it out,” said Made in Milwaukee founder Charles Watson. “I think it’s changed a lot in the last few years, or the last decade even, and it’s a place with great culture.”

Watson, who founded Made in Milwaukee about 10 years ago, said he first got the idea for Gallery Night in February.

“Back in our early days, [MiM] would do something similar at just one venue where we would have a band and some art in one place,” says Watson. “ Over the years, we’ve grown Made in Milwaukee into a festival in Cathedral Square, and Bay View Gallery Night is basically the same idea we started with but with 22 bases.”

Some venues will be open as early as 5 p.m., while events will get underway as late as 10 p.m. at a couple of taverns hosting live music. Neighborhood staples like Sweet Water Organics, an urban aquaponic farm that raises fish and organic produce, are among the stops on this tour of Bay View culture.

Sweet Water will host one of the more family-friendly events, with tours of their indoor farm along with interactive art projects from local designers Zewing Girl and Permanent Baggage, live blacksmith demonstration, and paintings and collage work from local artists.

“Folks are encouraged to bring their children if they’d like to,” said Todd Leech, sales manager at Sweet Water Organics.“We’ve just opened the space to be a part of the community here … we see art as integral to anything [we’re] involved with, whether it’s agriculture or any kind of community event.”

Most events occur along the winding stretch of South Kinnickinnic Avenue, highlighting Bay View as a unique enclave for music, art and DIY culture. Sky High Gallery will extend its hours for the event, and Monica Canilao’s What’s Lost is Safe is a must-see. Check out handmade crafts and goods at places like Sparrow Collective and Eco Batik, or step off the beaten path to explore the creative spaces within the Hide House. If you’re in the mood for music, venues like the Cactus Club, BYO Studio Lounge and Club Garibaldi will have live bands, while others feature sweet jams from area DJs. If you really want to get moving, Deleware House Dance Studio is offering salsa lessons, followed by an open dance party.

Those are just a fraction of the happenings for this first-ever neighborhood event. Watson says there will more Bay View-centric Gallery Nights in the future, but dates and frequency are slightly nebulous for now.

“I think we’ll see how it goes, and then we’ll stay in contact with the business that we affiliated with and hopefully add some more, and maybe get something even more interesting together,” says Watson. “Whether or not it’s this year again, for the second time, or next year remains to be seen.”

Watson said the Bay View Arts Guild and Milwaukee Makerspace (which is reportedly hosting the largest event of BVGN with more than 20 artists and cocktails by Bittercube*) were a lot of help in putting the event together, and that the artists and musicians involve were a mix of people he’d worked with before and people who submitted their work through Made in Milwaukee’s website.

“We’re just interested in connecting all the great artists in Milwaukee to the active culture of the city, the people that are out that are trying to have a good time,” said Watson, “but at the same time hoping that we can convince people that going out to see art and participate in the local art scene is a good time.”

Bay View Gallery Night pops off tonight, Friday June 3. For a full list of locations and hours, click here.

*Ed note: Due to license/code issues, Bittercube will not be offering cocktails at Makerspace during Bay View Gallery Night.