Milwaukee is an ArtPlace

Source photo by David J. Minerath.

You’re on the art map, Milwaukee!

ArtPlace, an organization comprised of thirteen national and regional foundations, has put together a list of the top twelve “ArtPlaces” in America. They highlighted a dozen neighborhoods in the country’s 44 largest metropolitan areas for recognition, and named Milwaukee’s East Town and Lower East Side as a one of these premier hot spots.

The artsy atmosphere of Elsa’s Restaurant in East Town. Photo by Kenya Evans, courtesy of ArtPlace.

The locales singled out are not just about galleries and august museums; rather, the creative culture andquality of living figured heavily into the designation.

According to ArtPlace, “Four indicators measure ingredients of vibrancy: the number of retail and service businesses; the percentage of independent businesses; the neighborhood’s Walk Score; and the percentage of workers in creative occupations living in the neighborhood. Two arts-related indicators were also used: the number of arts- related non-profits and the number of arts-related businesses. Finally, neighborhood scores were normalized for family income so that neighborhoods with the highest concentration of income did not skew the results.”

Milwaukee is in good company, sharing this designation with San Francisco’s Mission District and Brooklyn’s most hip havens. For more on “America’s Top ArtPlaces 2013,” check out the ArtPlace website and the full report.

Richard Taylor, Urban Pop, Highline. Courtesy Tory Folliard Gallery.

Okay, now that it’s official that we’ve got a lot of art going on, be sure to check out these exhibition openings and closings. For a full list of museum and gallery shows, see TCD’s Guide to Museums and Galleries.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9

• CLOSING: The Printed Woods: Serigraphs by Larry Basky 
  Museum of Wisconsin Art on the Lake at St. John’s on the Lake

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 

• OPENING: James Steeno: Similitudes
  Anaba Tea Room

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11

• CLOSING: Bruce Dorow, Experiencing Surprise Daily
  Galerie M, Hotel Intercontinental

• OPENING: Color! 
  Tory Folliard Gallery

Maria Tomasula, It Happened One Night. Courtesy Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12 

• CLOSING: The Cow Jumping Over the Moon
  David Barnett Gallery

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13 

• CLOSING: Garden of Curious Delight
  Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum

• CLOSING: Grand Avenue Christmas
  Pabst Mansion

Find more of Kat Murrell‘s coverage of the arts in Milwaukee over at TCD’s Visual Art Page.