Creativity and community on tap at Kenilworth Open Studios on Milwaukee Day

MILWAUKEE __ Art and Milwaukee make for a dynamic, hands-on collaboration on Saturday, April 14, when the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hosts its largest annual event, Kenilworth Open Studios, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 2155 N. Prospect Ave.

This year’s event happens on 4/14, otherwise known as Milwaukee Day, the citywide celebration of the history, culture, people and places that make UWM’s vibrant hometown unique. To that end, Kenilworth Open Studios will feature over 100 faculty and student artists from across the creative spectrum who strive to better Milwaukee. Art exhibitions and film screenings, live performances, demonstrations and hands-on activities for all ages will be staged throughout the Kenilworth Building’s six floors. An elevator and accessible entryways are features of the building.

“The Peck School takes pride in the diversity of ideas and work presented at Kenilworth Open Studios,” said Rebecca Ottman, director of marketing for the Peck School and an alumna of the school’s master of music program. “Peck School faculty and student artists are committed to tackling challenging problems to positively affect – and engage – the greater community and the world.”

In a nod to the school’s growing expertise in community focused scholarship and art creation for all ages, Peck School art and design instructors Raoul Deal and Michael Bernard will unveil their Peace Banner, a collaboration with Project Ujima. Community art majors from the Peck School collaborated with youth leaders from Project Ujima, a violence prevention nonprofit affiliated with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin that supports local families who are dealing with trauma related to acts of violence that they have experienced. The banner will make its debut at the Peck School of the Arts before traveling to other parts of the city so that its blend of art, visual portraiture and testimony can be experienced around the city.

“We need to help folks to understand that we are all connected,” said Jermaine Belcher, the team lead at Project Ujima. “What happens in different neighborhoods affects all of us. Community violence is not just a neighborhood problem, it is my problem and a problem for all of us. We have to come together as a community and own this.”

Admission and activities at Kenilworth Open Studios are free. Attendees will have the opportunity to watch live art-in-the-making, meet and converse directly with artists and other guests, taste the new Milwaukee Day lager crafted by local Company Brewing (if they are 21 or older), and even register to vote with the League of Women Voters, who are just one of the community partners also engaged with the event. Kenilworth Open Studios is proudly presented by Shepherd Express, 414 Milwaukee Day and Milwaukee Record.

About UWM

Recognized as one of the nation’s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 25,000 students from 91 countries on a budget of $653 million. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin’s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2018 “Best Midwestern” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews, and the Sierra Club has recognized it as Wisconsin’s leading sustainable university.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.