Eyes on Milwaukee
$350,000 Grant Funds Art Corridors
GMC lands grant from ArtPlace America to create artistic corridors in Riverwest and Harambee and on West Wisconsin Ave.
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GMC lands grant from ArtPlace America to create artistic corridors in Riverwest and Harambee and on West Wisconsin Ave. Back to the full article.
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Categories: Eyes on Milwaukee
My family is moving to Williamsburg later this summer and this project was one of the deciding factors for us to plant roots here. It also looks like they are turning the triangle block at the end of Pt Wash Rd into a public space…maybe it will turn out to be something of a public square and weekly farmer’s market.
I am concerned that there is no real representation from the neighborhoods itself. Having been born and raised in Riverwest and Harambe neighborhoods and still living here today, I am worried that this is another attempt to inflict what is best without representatives from the actual neighborhood to be part of the vetting process. What does the Milwaukee Art Museum know about these neighborhoods? There should be artists from these neighborhoods who are involved in volunteering to be part of the vetting process. Groups like the Riverwest Artists Association who have a long standing record (over 32 years) of community volunteering, working with the schools and neighborhood on a grassroots level.
@Tess I’d suggest you get in touch with the folks at http://beintween.ning.com/. They list 150 members as part of the group and even before getting the grant had raised over $11,000 from 230 donors to kickstart the project http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keith-hayes/matireal-a-creational-trail. I also glanced at their event calendar http://beintween.ning.com/events and see they are having a couple of events here in the near future where people can get involved.
I agree with Tess, there is almost no community involvement in this project. The whole thing feels like gentrification. While I feel that beintween and some of the other groups do have good intentions I don’t think they have enough of an understanding of the socioeconomic factors at play here and will in the end harm the Harmbee neighborhood with this project.