ArtBlaze Will Again Turn Beaches Into Art
Free events at McKinley and South Shore will feature giant art, DJs, s’mores, fun activities.
2024 ArtBlaze beach art festival at South Shore Beach. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Milwaukee’s beaches will again become giant public art playgrounds this summer as Joy Engine brings back its ArtBlaze series for a third season.
The nonprofit arts group announced Wednesday that ArtBlaze will return with three free events split between McKinley Beach and South Shore Beach, pairing immersive art installations with live music, performances and family-friendly activities along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
This year’s events are scheduled for July 30 and Aug. 20 at McKinley Beach and Aug. 6 at South Shore Beach.
Returning for its third season, ArtBlaze transforms Milwaukee beaches into temporary arts and entertainment hubs featuring giant inflatable sculptures, live DJs, food vendors, interactive art experiences, waterside s’mores, and a silent disco.
“ArtBlaze is about bringing moments of joy and wonder into public spaces that already belong to the community,” said Joy Engine Executive Director Steph Salvia in a statement. “People might come for the music or the art, but what we really hope they leave with is a sense of belonging and connection to the city and to each other.”
The centerpiece of this year’s series will once again come from Milwaukee-based immersive arts collective FuzzPop Workshop, which is collaborating with students from the UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning on a new large-scale installation.
The series will also highlight two recently revamped public beaches. South Shore Beach reopened in late 2025 following an $8 million redevelopment project, while McKinley Beach reopened in 2024 after a nearly four-year closure and safety-focused redesign.
Joy Engine said accessibility will remain a priority for the series. Through support from The Ability Center, the events will again include mobility mats and beach wheelchairs to improve access to the sand and art installations for visitors with mobility challenges.
According to the organization, last year’s ArtBlaze events drew more than 5,000 attendees and featured more than 65 musicians, performers and artists.
Formerly known as Black Box Fund, Joy Engine has built a reputation for staging large-scale, immersive public art experiences across Milwaukee. Since launching in 2019, the nonprofit has brought internationally known installations and locally driven activations to parks, plazas and commercial corridors throughout the city. Its projects have included the “Museum of the Moon” installation in Catalano Square, a flock of oversized bird sculptures at Lakeshore State Park and the Nitelight projection festival on Historic Mitchell Street.
Additional entertainment lineups, vendors and activities are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
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