Downtown Gets Three-Story Giannis Mural

Milwaukee’s best-known celebrity continues to expand his reach on the court and off.

A three-story mural of Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is being painted on the office building at 600 E. Wisconsin Ave.

It will be the fifth local mural to feature the two-time NBA MVP and the first in Downtown. Artist Mauricio Ramirez began work on the 54-foot by 56-foot piece this week and is scheduled to finish within two weeks.

The new mural is being jointly sponsored by the Bucks, Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District #21 and building owner Dan Nelson, Jr. The piece will adorn the building’s east side, which most recently featured a mural from Fred Kaems and John Kowalczyk painted as part of the 2019 Sculpture Milwaukee exhibit.

Ramirez, whose prolific work relies on a distinctly geometric style, is painting a photorealistic version of the nearly seven-foot-tall athlete.

“As a longtime supporter and season ticket holder, we are thrilled that the Bucks and Milwaukee Downtown chose 600 EAST for this fantastic tribute to Giannis,” said Nelson in a press release announcing the mural. “Mauricio’s artistry showing Giannis figuratively looking forward – and literally toward downtown Milwaukee, the Deer District and his Fiserv Forum home court – seems fitting for a champion who has achieved so much yet continues to strive to improve every day.” Nelson owns both of the building’s tenants: advertising agency Nelson Schmidt and 600 East Cafe.

“We are proud to continue to support public artworks in Milwaukee,” said Bucks chief marketing officer Dustin Godsey. “We want to thank Milwaukee Downtown BID #21 for approaching us with this exciting idea and Dan Nelson Jr. for providing a perfect location. We also want to thank Mauricio for his extraordinary ability to capture the essence of Giannis, and we look forward for this mural to be appreciated and enjoyed for years to come.”

The first Milwaukee mural of Antetokounmpo was painted in 2018 by Kaems in the city’s Tippecanoe neighborhood. You can see it on the north side of the store at 3600 S. Clement Ave. A second mural, painted by Shawn DeKay, has adorned the east side of the building at 321-323 W. National Ave. since 2019. Antetokounmpo can be seen high-fiving Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich in that mural, one door down from DeKay’s Dream Lab cafe. A third mural was added in 2020 above The Highbury Pub, 2322 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. It was designed by Jeff Redmon and painted by Ruben Alcantar and features Giannis, alongside brothers Alex and Thanasis, particpating in a racial justice protest march. A fourth mural, dubbed “City of Champions,” was painted by Rozalia Singh in 2021 near N. 28th St. and W. Vliet St. and includes Antetokounmpo amongst other Milwaukee athletes.

Ramirez’ work can now be found across the country, but his first major project was painting utility boxes on Wisconsin Ave. He’s painted numerous other murals in the city since 2017, including a spring 2020 piece honoring frontline healthcare workers and a fall 2020 piece on the Marquette University campus highlighting racial equity.

Milwaukee Downtown has sponsored the creation of a number of new public art projects in recent years, including a 5,000-square-foot mural, dubbed “Heart and Sol,” that Ramirez painted in Westown in 2019.

Antetokounmpo Murals

UPDATE: An earlier version of this story did not include Singh’s mural, which includes Antetokounmpo alongside other athletes.