Thanks so much to everyone who has made 2012 another successful year for Milwaukee Artbeat!  We’ll see you again in a few months for our Spring Artbeat show!

Please remember MUSICAL GIFTS & ART SUPPLIES when donating children’s gifts for the holidays!  Paints, paintbrushes, art & construction paper, clay, art scissors, crayons, chalk, colored pencils, glue, glitter, and other materials for art projects (buttons, popsickle sticks, stencils, etc)!!!  Low-cost musical gifts can also be an option: harmonicas, recorders (plastic), drums and other percussion instruments for kids, a glockenspiel or xylophone for kids, there’s so many options!  Kids do better in school when they have art and music as a part of their leaning experience!

Dear Milwaukee Arts Supporter,
Community support for the Center Street Artists Relief Efforts has been
inspiring so far. We ask for your financial donation now to reach our goal.

*We have raised $10,000 of our $25,000 minimum goal for the Center Street
Artists Relief Fund. We intend to release the first wave of this funding
directly to the affected artists by Friday, August 24, 2012, and encourage
your contribution by that date.*

The Center Street Artist Relief Fund is being distributed as direct
financial support for immediate relief to the artists who were affected by
the fire and who sustained space in the building. A council including Sara
Daleiden, Mark Lawson, Polly Morris, and John Riepenhoff is overseeing the
distribution in collaboration with MARN.

On July 17, 2012, a tragic five-alarm fire quickly spread throughout the
631 E. Center Street building in Riverwest. The Center Street building was
a progressive hive of artists live-work studios, galleries and project
spaces which existed symbiotically with Joe’s East Coast Auto Shop and
other small businesses.

The Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) initiated the Center Street
Artist Relief Fund to provide
emergency support to these artists displaced by the fire.

Over twenty artists had professional artist studios within the building.
Eight of these artists lost their homes. Seven of these spaces regularly
hosted exhibitions, performances and other projects.

“The material loss resulting from this tragedy is still being tallied, but
the cultural loss is cataclysmic and its impact is more difficult to define
for the city, the neighborhood, and the community of artists who inhabited
this hub of creative practice.”

— John Riepenhoff, artist
and owner, The Green Gallery

The Green Gallery had its storage space for artists with national and
international reputations including Peter Barrickman, Santiago Cucullu,
Nicholas Frank, Michelle Grabner, Scott Reeder, Tyson Reeder and David
Robbins. The Green Gallery West, an experimental branch of the gallery, as
well as gallery owner John Riepenhoff’s studio, were the backbone of the
art center. More testimonials from local and international supporters can
be found at The Green Gallery .

While the loss is still being assessed, the value of artwork and artist’s
property in the building is estimated at a minimum of $500,000. Most of
these artists had the majority of their artwork housed in the building, as
well as art equipment and supplies. Several of these artists had
significant investment in build-out of their studios.
Affected artists include Peter Barrickman; Katie Belongia; Sara Caron of
Small Spaces; Pegi Christiansen, IN:SITE; Sara Daleiden, MKE<->LAX; Brittany
Ellenz, Liza Pflughoft, Alec Regan and Oliver Sweet, American Fantasy
Classics; Brad Fiore, James Pederson and Jessi Schleis, Nomadic Art
Gallery; Cody Frei, Tyler Roberts and Michael Sinise, CENTER; Allison
Heape; Ashley Janke, nAbr gallery; Sarah Luther; Ben Miller, Plum House; Joe
Riepenhoff, Good Day Sir Studios; and John Riepenhoff and Jake Palmert, The
Green Gallery

In the weeks to follow, fundraising events are being organized by leading
arts organizations and the local community to further support these funds.

While MARN is focusing the emergency fund on affected artists who do not
readily have access to insurance and other financial support, we recognize
the deep loss suffered by the building owners, the auto garage workers,
other residents and workers, and their families. We are grateful to the
building owners for the thoughtful consideration extended to the artists.
The Riverwest Neighborhood Association has started
a fund to support all the residents and workers in the building, including
those associated to the auto garage.

“A thing thrives when it is thriving, and is gone when it is gone. The loss
of 631 E. Center St. is not only of homes and studios for artists, and of
venues for their work, but of a flourishing subculture, rare for any city.
What doesn’t have to be lost is the potential of the place. It’s important
to recognize that a new generation of young Milwaukee artists had decided
to invest their considerable energies, ambitions and hopes *here*, rather
than *elsewhere*, which is a significant development unto itself. My hope
is that the loss of momentum is not permanent, that these folks don’t end
up having to scatter to the four winds, that these venues will find new
homes in proximity to each other and continue their programming, and that
this significant investment in our local culture can be rewarded with
continuing vitality.”

– Nicholas Frank, Milwaukee-based artist and writer
Over 20 Riverwest Artists Forced to Start Over After
Fire
Fox 6, July 18, 2012

Riverwest Fire Relief Efforts Culminate on Gallery
Night
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 27, 2012

*Please Donate to the Center Street Artists Relief
Fund
.*

–
Melissa Musante
Executive Director
Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN)
414.732.2121 office

By local writer Kathy Nichols

Photos of the event, taken by Sackie Krikorian, will be posted soon!

The spring edition of Artbeat, held on Friday, 11 May, at MOCT showcased a wide variety of talents from the visual art, film, spoken word, music, comedy, and dance worlds.

The 6pm Artbeat Gallery featured a spectacular display of 13 local visual artists ranging in style from abstract soft sculpture to portrait-style African paintings, and everything in between.  Local artists we enjoyed on May 11th will have their work up at MOCT until this coming weekend (May 19 & 20), and they include: Stacey Ball, Leah Borkenhagen, Robert Burns, Matt Formanek, Marcia Hero, Artbeat Curator Amanda Iglinski, Jenny Janecke, Brent Oudeans, Jennifer Schoenholtz, Sara Risley, Debbie Callahan, Angela Laughingheart, & Marcia Hochstetter.  (One can find links to these artists on Facebook at: http://ow.ly/aTUaD)

Opening the 8pm show was Artbeat creator (in January of 2009), Annie B. on vocals and guitar with Dave Miller on harmonica. Annie’s emotionally charged vocals included a bluesy feel and perfectly complimented her solo/acoustic alternative-folk style on guitar.

Next up was Timothy Kloss, host of Poets’ Monday at Linneman’s . His acrylic scenery paintings adorned the stage and created a visual backdrop for the passionate expression of his own poetry (as well as one he shared written by his father). Timothy is the son of Gerald Kloss, former “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel” writer of humorous satire column “Slightly Kloss Eyed”.

Filmmaker Genevieve Davis screened a few clips from her movie “Secret Life, Secret Death”, which premiered locally at Farwell Avenue’s Oriental Theatre 10 May and will be shown again in Cedarburg on 1 July. Relating her Grandmother’s experiences in 1920s gangland Chicago in the bootlegging and prostitution world, watchers are given insight into a slice of life many of us cannot truly comprehend.

Mustachioed improv comedian Tim Higgins related humorous tales and was then joined onstage by Annie and Artbeat co-host Nick Ramsey for a game of “Dr. Know-It-All”, in which an audience member asks a question, inaudible to the trio onstage, and Tim, Annie, and Nick provide an answer, rotating at the speed of one word at a time. Higgins does regular shows at ComedySportz and teaches his craft to the next generation at Sunset Playhouse.

Guitar-strumming flutist Daniel Nathan‘s music allows the listener to explore his classic rock influences . This local talent, currently working on a new album, is also a singer / songwriter and has performed in bands including Well Informed Citizens, Reckless Life, Daniel Nathan Band, and Lovanova.

Closing out the night was belly dancer Dimitra who floated across the floor barefoot and in a traditional bellydance top, skirt, and veil. Her use of zills (finger cymbals) complimented the music coming from the bellydance coins attached to her ornate costume as she flowed across the performance area, shifting her hips in time with the music.

We enjoyed appetizers compliments of Cafe Centraal and Oreo truffles from Cin’s Sweet Creations, and a “Basket O’ Goodies” including lots of fun stuff ranging from a poetry book to his & hers Artbeat T-shirts was given away at the end of the event.

One interesting aspect of ArtBeat is that the hosts have a question and answer session with the performers, so the audience is able to “get inside their heads” and understand a little more of what goes on behind the scenes, offering audience members a greater understanding of the significance of the works and/or a little insight into how and why they were made.

Artbeat was created in January of 2009 by producer Annie B. in an effort to raise monies for arts programs for Milwaukee’s youth, as well as to bring attention to local artists of many varieties. Each event has a different theme and features a variety of different artistic mediums.

The next edition of Artbeat is ARTBEAT IN THE HEAT Music & Arts Festival, at the Hide House at 2625 South Greeley Street in Bay View on 4 August from noon-9pm, Rain Or Shine.  To find out more about this event, or for local artist vendors who may wish to have a booth this event, please visit www.MilwaukeeArtbeat.org.

Block party vendor application 2012