‘Athena On My Mind’ Opens at Mitchell Street Arts

In her new exhibition at Mitchell Street Arts (MiSA), Milwaukee-based artist and author Christine Welman asks visitors to look inward, to find the stories we have been told, to interrogate the ones that limit us — and dare to rewrite and retell them in our own way.

Unveiled on Sept. 12, the exhibition, “Athena On My Mind,” does so through visual and written explorations of Greek mythology’s goddess Athena as an ancient female archetype, a myth and a modern figure of resistance.

“I wanted to create something about creative fear, about getting out of your own head and into the real world,” Welman said in an interview at the exhibition’s opening reception.

Welman’s interpretation of Athena’s birth story is about bringing oneself into being, she said — an example of “the courage it takes to grow into yourself, resist the forces that seek to define you, and keep creating along the way,” as she writes in the exhibition’s didactic, the introductory panel explaining the themes and ideas behind the work.

“[Athena] had to be ready to come out into the world when Zeus thought she was a tumor he had to destroy,” Welman said. “I’m trying not to be overtly political, but there is subtlety in what I created — it discusses what it is like to be a woman in a patriarchal world and what it is like to be yourself anyway.”

The exhibition places Welman’s poetry alongside oil paintings — of Cleopatra, of ancient and modern Greek architecture, of Athena herself — giving visitors a chance to digest visuals alongside verse.

“I wanted to give people something to claw onto so they may interact with the pieces more deeply. To read the poetry, to look at the art and see the connections between them,” she said.

Most of the exhibition’s paintings are for sale, and prices generally range from $300 to $750. Some pieces indicate that 50% of the sale proceeds will go to area organizations such as Voces de la Frontera and Pink Umbrella Co.

Welman teaches oil painting at MiSA, 710 W. Historic Mitchell St., which opened in 2022 and operates as a southside community arts and culture hub that aims to “expand equitable access to arts education, creative resources, and economic opportunity for Milwaukee’s historically underserved youth, immigrants, families, and emerging artists.” MiSA hosts pay-what-you-can art and dance classes, performing arts events and several gallery exhibitions throughout the year.

Welman revealed that what can only be described as the exhibition’s “showstopper” piece depicting Cleopatra started as a demo piece for her students.

“It is a joy for me to be able to teach and provide access for my students,” said Welman. “I would bring the piece in and talk about it as I was teaching.”

“Athena on my Mind” will run until Oct. 16. MiSA is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Learn more about Welman on her website. Find more information about MiSA on its website.

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