Creative MKE

In this episode of the pod, we re-introduce the show as “Creative MKE.” Moving forward, episodes will feature a shorter format, have a focus on the creative economy of Milwaukee -- and will be sponsored by the Shepherd Express.  

This episode finds Elisabeth in conversation with the Co-Founders of LoCo+, Kate Atwood and Megan Matousek. LoCo+ is a streaming platform that seeks to engage creators in specific communities (Atlanta, Denver, and now, Milwaukee) and enable them to leverage their intellectual property in a more direct way. Unlike models of streaming like YouTube and Spotify, LoCo+ offers artists the opportunity to host and merchandise their work through paywalls, ticketing, and more. It also gives the artist access to the data of fans and followers who engage with them. Through LoCo+, unlike all other streaming services, users can seek content through the lens of location. Matousek describes the LoCo+ UX experience as Netflix on the front end, and YouTube on the back end. 

Throughout the discussion, the group touches on art as a form of storytelling — and a vehicle for human connection and growth, Milwaukee’s position as an under-the-radar hub for arts and culture production, the disempowerment that artists face when attempting to build fan and patron bases everywhere at once, and the concept of the LoCo+ platform being a mechanism to “teach emerging creators to fish” for their long-term financial success through leveraging technological tools.  

LoCo+ is hosting a Creator Launch Mimosa Mixer on Saturday, Oct 29, at NO Studios in conjunction with NEWwaukee and MKE <--> LAX. 

Bio Links:  

NEWaukee  

MKE <--> LAX 

NO Studios 

Kate Atwood 

Kate’s Club 

Choose ATL 

Megan Matousek 

LAIKA 

Lucasfilm Ltd 

Industrial Light & Magic  

AEP6 from Americans for the Arts

Nesha Nycee

This episode of ITP finds host Elisabeth joined by team member Rachel Shields Ebersole for a conversation with the Executive Director Jaymee Harvey Willms and Senior Curator Phoenix Brown from the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Museums. In the conversation, they dig into some of the changes they have implemented and plan to implement to evolve the programming at, and experience of, attending the museums.  

Drawing inspiration from Sarah Allis’s will, the CAVT of today still seeks to “delight, educate and inspire.” The current staff at CAVT is made up of creatives, including Harvey Willms and Brown. As Harvey Willms reflects, “Artists are problem solvers...we are people who look at a system and see where it needs to be interrupted or supported.”  

In alignment with the goals of Milwaukee County, CAVT is focused on thoughtfully stewarding taxpayer dollars to contribute to the local culture as an art and civic institution that is a driver to public health outcomes by increasing access to art, shared histories, and public green space. CAVT also wants Milwaukeeans to see themselves in their spaces and programming—and provide opportunities for respite. Brown and Harvey Willms hope their vision can help the institution become more relevant to support not only physical health but also the mental health of Milwaukee citizens.  

CAVT is committed to becoming a more active player within the creative economy and becoming known as a museum that models new practices for supporting emerging and local artists. New museum stores will feature local makers, a revitalized residency programming has launched, and the organization is making investments in emerging artists. Brown hopes that through their vision, CAVT can demonstrate to Milwaukee that contemporary art is accessible. They also hope to keep funds in the local creative sector—by creating opportunities for artists and cultivating a cultural exchange where local artists are more supported—and continue to invest in Milwaukee.  

Follow the CAVT Museums on Instagram @charlesallisartmuseum and @villaterracemuseum 

Jaymee Harvey Willms 

Phoenix S. Brown 

John Michael Kohler Arts Center 

Anselm Kiefer 

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Washington County 

CIVAL COLLECTIVE 

MIAD 

Cincinnati Art Museum 

Milwaukee Art Museum 

Milwaukee County’s Healthy County Initiative 

Museums for All 

Fredrick Law Olmstead Parks in Milwaukee 

America’s Black...

Season 5 of Imagine This Podcast kicks off with the acknowledgement of a bittersweet announcement from CEO David Lee. In the (admittedly long) banter, the crew talks about changes to the pod—including a new thematic structure. The group digs in by exploring how the arts and culture sector in Milwaukee is innovating and testing new solutions in this time of unprecedented change. The team also takes a few (sappy) moments to reflect jointly on David’s incredible tenure as the first CEO of the organization.  

Starting around 20:00, Amy Salat, the Managing Director of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre joins the crew to reflect on her organization’s upcoming season, which includes performances that present a mixture of classic, socially important theatrical works, as brand-new multiform productions that will include original music by local artists including Klassik. In addition, this season, MCT endeavors to present new avenues for reaching new audiences, supporting local artists, and rethinking processes to draw in audiences with flexibility and a new sense of welcome—all spearheaded by an inspired, focused, and inclusivity-championing staff who are “walking the same path.” Though MCT has historically had a rich history of inspiring young audiences through programming—the team at MCT are excited by their pivot towards creating more opportunities for local multidisciplinary artists while platforming a diversity of voices and perspectives. Salat closes the episode with an urgent call for increased public funding for the arts.  

Follow Milwaukee Chamber Theatre on Facebook and Instagram. 

The Sound of Music’s “Do-Re-Mi" 

University of Minnesota Twin Cities Department of Theatre Arts and Dance 

Chicago Opera Theater 

The Florentine Opera  

Where Did We Sit on the Bus? 

Nicole Acosta 

Hoops 

Klassik 

BFree 

Laura Gordon 

Jim Ridge 

In this final episode of the season, the team speaks with Ben Balcom, a local filmmaker, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, and the co-founder and co-programmer of Microlights Cinema. The show kicks off with Lindsay, David, and Elisabeth reflecting on formative artistic influences that allowed them to see new possibilities within the mediums of film, music, and dance. Ben joins the crew around 10:30. 

Since 2013, Ben has been presenting experimental films in Milwaukee through Microlights Cinema, and has recently started hosting screenings again after pausing during the pandemic. In the conversation, Ben reflects on early pivotal exposures to experimental film, including a Stan Brackidge work. The material made him understand for the first time that as a filmmaker, a film could mean “what you insist it means,” and a metaphorical light went on for him.  

As a musician in his early life, Ben found a creative home in filmmaking upon realizing that many of his interests could be simultaneously served and explored through making films—where art, music, literature, and performance all come together. He discusses how creative practices, including filmmaking, might be impeded by approaching with a sense of expertise rather than an openness to explore, and willingness to “make material work.” As an instructor, he presses his students to consider working with mistakes and asks them what would it mean to make “failed” material work?  

Throughout the conversation, Ben shares his thoughts about Milwaukee as a destination for the whole spectrum of filmmaking—from commercial to experimental. He laments a scarcity of funding opportunities for artists in the city, and the need for artists to commodify their practices as a means of survival. He sees the future of film production in Milwaukee flowing from the artists themselves. Rather than aiming for flashy outside production partners like Netflix, Ben feels that artists should have the freedom to pursue their projects authentically—and that if they are better supported to realize their visions independently, their work has the potential to generate powerful interest from the ground up.  

Follow Microlights on Instagram at microlights_cinema 

Dani & Jo 

Wong Kar-wai 

John Cassavettes 

Terry Malick 

Josh Weissbach  

Abraham Ravett 

Stan Brackidge 

Hampshire College 

UWM Milwaukee Film  

This week, we welcome back David from the fog of San Francisco. With his return, there is the promise of illegal sailing, and of a game of chicken to see who will introduce the pod episode. During banter, Lindsay, David, and Elisabeth discuss the power of film—specifically documentary film, to inform and evoke-- empathy? Hopefully.

Santana joins the crew around 12:15, to reflect on her trajectory being made as a filmmaker in Milwaukee. Shaped as a young person by the film Friday, starring Ice Cube, and a pivotal career fair in middle school (or, was it a dream?), Santana has gone to work at 371 Productions and The League.

In early days in filmmaking, she was part of Strive Media, and attended UW- Platteville, where she boldly decided to make a documentary film as an independent project, without much experience. Though her school did not have a film program, over the years, they began to expand their offerings to include a minor in film studies. Through trial and error, and support from pivotal instructors, Santana was able to complete her first documentary film as a Sophomore—exploring the process “for the love of it.” After graduation, she found her way to an internship at 371 Productions, and worked towards a co-producer credit on When Claude Got Shot.

Now that she’s “in it” professionally, she's trying out different roles, embracing humor and lightness, as well as the setting of Milwaukee as inspiration for fiction work, while she supports the completion of When Claude Got Shot. Meanwhile, she’s trusting a higher power to help her navigate next steps.

In the course the interview, Santana is asked the question she's long imagined being asked in an interview, and reflects on throwing herself a red carpet premiere party, and instituting film tax incentives program to encourage film production in Milwaukee.

Through her work, Santana hopes to be part of effecting social change, showcasing a different view of Milwaukee to the wider world, and raising awareness of the complexity of gun violence through inviting viewers to see more deeply into the layers and lives of those touched by acts of gun violence. Santana is aligned with Imagine's hope and wish to explore how to help filmmakers better realize their visions in this city, while contributing to a wider, meaningful economic impact.

Follow Santana Coleman @santanathecreator on Instagram

Santana the Creator

371 Productions

When Claude Got Shot

The “Ho Ho” scene in Ice Cube’s Friday After Next

Milwaukee PBS

The Emmys

SXSW

Gun violence in the U.S.

Gun violence in Milwaukee

The League

Heal the Hood...

This episode of the pod once again finds Lindsay and Elisabeth holding down the banter fort as David is away on vacation. They begin the episode by discussing their outdoor adventures over the holiday weekend. Next, they imagine purposes for underutilized spaces in their own neighborhoods of Brewer’s Hill and Bay View. They also touch on Green Talks at the Lounge—an event series centered on environmental justice and wellness in Muskego Way, which is a collaboration with Muskego Way Forward, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, Safe & Sound, Data You Can Use and Imagine MKE. This lays the groundwork for the guest, Yesi Pérez, a local artist who serves as the Neighborhood Revitalization Coordinator at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.  

Yesi joins the crew around 9:00. In the conversation, she reflects on her own development as a multidisciplinary creative who reflects her experience and identity through her artwork. Yesi speaks on the formative, magical experience of witnessing Aztec dance at Mexican Fiesta on the Summerfest Grounds as a child. As the daughter of two immigrants from Mexico, Yesi then had the opportunity to travel back to their home and witnessed traditional dance as more of a ritual, and less of a performance. As a result, she experienced a resurgence of creative inspiration, and was inspired to study Aztec dance and “be part of that world”. In addition to dance, Yesi has also been a lifelong visual artist and was also studied the cello for over ten years. Today, she explores her creativity through facilitating programming and engagements with residents in the Muskego Way neighborhood. She also creates marketing materials for Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, and has been a featured mural artist at various locations around Milwaukee. She talks about the intrinsic connection between creativity and wellness—and how creativity allows people to access different ways of communicating and being in community, in small ways and big ways.  

Follow Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers on Facebook.

Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers

Mexican Fiesta 

Aztec Dance 

Bruce Guadelupe Community School 

Walkers Point Center for the Arts 

Latino Art Strings Program 

Marquette/MIAD 

Muskego Way Forward 

Safe & Sound 

Data You Can Use 

Active Streets 

Pete’s Fruit Market 

UMOS  

This week’s episode finds Lindsay and Elisabeth holding down the banter fort after David (not so mysteriously) disappeared. The guest this week is Imagine MKE’s Public Ally Sindie Ho, who is wrapping up his time with Imagine this month. Lindsay and Elisabeth reflect on Sindie’s storytelling power, thoughtfulness, unbridled passion for seafood buffets, and comfort standing up for people and attracting the trust and vulnerability of others. Elisabeth and Lindsay speculate on Sindie’s future career, and what a hypothetical Sindie Ho tour of Milwaukee would entail. Starting around 9:15, Sindie joins the crew to reflect on his time in Milwaukee and at Imagine MKE. 

Sindie Ho is a multidisciplinary artist from Rockford, Illinois who graduated from MIAD in 2020. During his service as a Public Ally, Sindie has contributed invaluably to Imagine’s culture, and has supported everything from Neighborhood convenings and contributing to Imagine This Blog, to demonstrating the best kite flying technique.  

To kick off the interview, Sindie reflects on his recent art performance installation project—a “secret exchange” that took place at Bay View Gallery Night at Voyager Books. Sindie graduated from college during the pandemic, and had to negotiate carving out community and an artistic trajectory through this time of dramatic isolation. Despite the limitations of COVID, over the years, Sindie has expanded his network, his idea of Milwaukee, and perception of the art world. Sindie reflects on the profound experience of being embraced and cared for by Milwaukee communities. He shares gratitude for many of the ways in which Milwaukeeans share and connect resources, and look out for one another. In his experience, he's been rewarded for exploring and expanding his horizons and connecting to others from different walks of life.  

Through his explorations and his time in his first professional non-profit role at Imagine, Sindie has grown confidence and a feeling of agency and ability to step beyond his comfort zone, and contribute to the arts ecosystem in Milwaukee. From here, he imagines a life in Bay View, where he can dig into cultivating a vernacular artist environment, possibly as a contemporary incarnation of the spirit of Mary Nohl. As arts leader of Milwaukee, he questions how groups who are not officially non-profits might be better resourced in the future.  

The episodes ends with reflections about Sindie’s strengths, and a dramatic reading of an “exquisite corpse” poem that the Imagine team crafted for Sindie.  

Follow Sindie on Instagram @puppie.party 

Milwaukee Pubic Market  

Xankia  

MIAD 

School of the Art Institute of Chicago 

Public Allies 

Voyageur Book Shop 

Anja Notanja Sieger  

Bay View Bash 

Cactus Club 

In this episode of the podcast, the crew has “magic on the mind,” and Elisabeth, Lindsay, and David dig into magic in a variety of forms. Their banter covers a range of topics including recent magical performances in Milwaukee, the magic of physics and great guacamole, the hypothetical burden of reading minds, the possible UFO hotspot where Elisabeth was raised, and David’s freaky premonition.   

Luka joins the crew for an interview beginning around 18:30. He starts the conversation off by talking about how he got into magic. Leaning into a childhood summer tradition of going to the library, he took to reading books on magic tricks. After college, Luka worked as a video editor and a banker. Then, in his mid-twenties, he decided to take a risk and jump into working in magic full-time. After building up a small repertoire of gigs and making connections, Luka joined a group magic show in Branson, Missouri. Upon returning to Milwaukee several years later, he became a resident performer at the Safe House and developed his show “Deceptions,” which he launched in 2021.   

In the conversation, Luka reflects on how he brands himself as a “deception artist” rather than a magician for kids. He also highlights the ways in which magic is an art form— as long as the magician portrays and conducts themselves as an artist. Luka compares the art of magic to the art of making and performing music. It involves writing, workshopping, acting, comedy, and more. But according to Luka, there is no direct path to get into magic—rather, “magic finds you.”  

Lastly, as the “magician of arts and culture” Luka amazes David by, almost verbatim, invoking the same imaginary policy as the poet laureate and previous ITP guest Dasha Kelly Hamilton.  

You can find info about Luka's shows at Deceptions and SafeHouse 

Son Lux 

Everything Everywhere All at Once 

Rafiq Bhatia  

Cactus Club 

Chill on the Hill  

Tosa Tonight 

Them Coulee Boys 

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra 

Milwaukee Community Sailing Center 

The “Magic” or Physics of Sailing 

Encounter at Buff Ledge 

Black Obsidian 

In & Of Itself 

Harry Houdini 

This episode of the pod begins with Lindsay, David and Elisabeth comparing public arts funding (and also the number and/or quality of lakes) in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The trio are excited for the long awaited coming of Milwaukee summer, and all the live music opportunities therein.  

Around 10:00, Dr. Kantara Souffrant, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s inaugural Curator of Community Dialogue, joins the crew. In her role at the MAM, Kantara oversees adult programming and building sustainable partnerships between the Museum and the community. Her role was created in conjunction with the implementation of the recent Museum’s Strategic Direction, which was published in the fall of 2019.  

With a background in art, performance, art history, education and scholarship on Haitian art, Kantara was drawn to work in art museums because she developed a sense that she wanted to work in a public space where others’ diverse knowledge and perspectives would be honored. In her role, she does just that: acting as a shepherd and facilitator, she empowers people with the understanding that they have everything they need to fully engage with artwork no matter what kind of formal education they have had. In her facilitation and programming work, Kantara tries to create opportunities for vulnerability, and generate micro moments that foster engagement and a feeling of “being in community.”  

Throughout the conversation, the group discusses how measuring success for arts institutions might be served by first asking the question "how wide of a funnel can we build?” to invite people to find their own meaning in what’s presented. Other questions are raised, including: how do we measure the “transformational power of the arts? What is the role of Museums in society? How can Museums create both positive imprints and impacts within those who engage once or many times? How can art help people see other cultures as interconnected with their own experiences?  

Kantara reflects on how art is not only about learning to see yourself—but provides counterbalance in the form of new visual and poetic language to address social issues when rhetoric around such issues is toxic, politicized, and polarized.  

In the words of Haitian artist Philomé Obin, “Art is a record of who we are, what we believe what we did,” and in Kantara’s view, a really good art museum “should be able to document the shifts”—so that populations can look back, and also look forward.  

Email Kantara at [email protected]  

Instagram: @Mequitte  

Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund 

Chill on the Hill 

414 Day Video (2021) 

Samer Ghani 

Community Feedback at MAM about Milwaukee’s Hidden Gems 

Kim Robertson 

Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program 

This episode of the pod begins with David, Lindsay, and new host and producer, Elisabeth, discussing the kick off of Imagine’s Arts and Economic Prosperity surveying out and about at local cultural events over the next year. In anticipation of speaking with Milwaukee Makers Market’s creator and director Ryan Laessig, the trio reflects on what they would make if they were to moonlight as market makers. David has an on-brand vision of himself selling “momento mori” embroidered phrases like “In the midst of life...you’re in death.” Lindsay contrasts David’s morose aspirations by envisioning herself as a maker of cross-stitched phrases of lightness and inspiration. Meanwhile, Elisabeth’s hypothetical small business will draw on her talents for creating multimodal portraits, and tiny clay fish fry fabrications.  

Starting around 13:00, Ryan Laessig joins the crew to discuss Milwaukee Makers Market—a local makers market that is a “celebration of the city’s creators and our local community” and is hosted at Discovery World, Ivy House MKE, and at local breweries. In the course of the discussion, Ryan reflects on the ethos that drove him to graduate from artist and entrepreneur to becoming a leader within the maker scene, and building the beloved local festival as a platform to help artists thrive in our community. He shares about his motivation to become an organizer so he could sustain and improve upon models of makers markets that he experienced firsthand as an artist. And the MMM that has evolved is a truly local, free event—unlike some craft festivals run by distant corporations that charge covers and profit from Milwaukee talent, all the sales at MMM directly support makers and vendors within the local economy. Visitors to the MMM can also expect to get the benefit of engaging with the stories and personalities of the makers themselves. Though he is the leader and the face of the MMM, Ryan is foremost inspired to run the market as an engine for helping these local small business owners and artists to pursue and “achieve their dreams,” and contribute to a maker’s scene that Milwaukee can be proud of.  

Milwaukee Maker’s Market 

Follow Milwaukee Maker’s Market @milwaukeemakersmarket and @MilwaukeeMakersMarket 

Once again, we had an absurd number of shout-outs in this episode. Please enjoy the following (hopefully) comprehensive list of links:

Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s “L'Orfeo” 

David’s Death Playlist 

Milwaukee Miniatures 

Hovercraft 

Arts @ Large  

Discovery World 

Ivy House MKE 

Good City Brewing  

Milwaukee Brewing Co. 

Milwaukee...