Creative MKE

This week on the pod, we welcome Barbara Wanzo and Dimonte Henning to share about Black Arts MKE's production of "Black Nativity," coming up December 9 through 12.

Barbara is the Executive Director of Black Arts MKE. She has invested over 25 years in the corporate sector employing her leadership expertise in new business start-ups, technology, sales and marketing. Making the move to the arts nonprofit sector in 2012, she worked to help organizations with modest resources, enhance their social footprint, brand value and achieve significant community impact and scale. Barbara seized the opportunity to launch a new nonprofit arts organization when hired as Executive Director for Black Arts MKE. Black Arts MKE’s mission is increase the availability and quality African American arts and culture. Working with more than 100 performing artists of color each year, the organization’s goal is to be a catalyst for advancing racial equity and inclusion in Milwaukee, bringing people of all backgrounds together to create a more culturally vibrant and growing community.

Dimonte Henning is honored to be the Director of Black Nativity. He is a passionate believer in Black Theater and providing access for more artists of color to share their story on stage. Dimonte is a proud native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and serves as Artistic Director for theater-arts organization Lights! Camera! Soul! and is a Founding Member of the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival. Dimonte received his formal theater training from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with additional training from the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Emerging Professional Residency Program (2015/2016 season). His previous directing credits include: The Colored Museum (Lights! Camera! Soul!), The Niceties (Forward Theater Co.), and Pretty Fire (MKE Black Theater Fest.). Dimonte’s regional theater credits include: The Island and Deathtrap (Milwaukee Chamber Theater), Stick Fly (Writers Theater), Skeleton Crew (Forward Theater Co.), Our Town, A Christmas Carol, and Dreamgirls (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), The Wiz (First Stage), Black Nativity (Black Arts MKE). TV and commercial credits include: Guest starring roles on NBC’s Chicago PD (Seasons 4and6), Disney’s Encore!, UBER, Inpro Designs, and Harley-Davidson.

This week, we have a very special show: during our Summit on Tuesday, November 16, we invited attendees to step up to a StoryCorps style booth and record a conversation. They responded, in pairs or solo, to questions pulled from a deck. We start the episode with reflections on the outcome of the Summit with Lindsay, Mac, and David. Then:

18:10

https://www.instagram.com/lollylollyceramics/?hl=en (Lalese Stamps) and https://www.instagram.com/firstgenstudio/?hl=en (Reva Kashikar)

https://lollylollyceramics.com/ (LollyLolly Ceramics)

“https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/style/ceramics-mug.html (Gotta Have That Cute Mug? Act Fast)” (NY Times)

“https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/2021/06/21/lolly-lolly-ceramics-moving-columbus-milwaukee-wisconsin/7679389002/ (This Milwaukee Native is Moving her Famous Ceramics Business to her Hometown),” (Journal Sentinel)

https://marantaplantshop.com/ (Maranta Plant Shop)

“https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2021/07/15/milwaukee-plant-shop-owners-embrace-other-black-brown-entrepreneurs/7878953002/ (Not Just a Plant Shop): Two Milwaukee entrepreneurs grow a business while impacting Black and brown communities,” (Journal Sentinel)

20:46

https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/catherine-miller-bastille-days (Cate Miller)

21:55

https://mikeycodyapollo.com/ (Mikey Murry) and https://soundcloud.com/genesisrenji (Genesis Renji)

https://www.facebook.com/DreamLabMKE/ (Dream Lab)

25:30

https://www.artworksformilwaukee.org/ (Terry Murphy)

“https://shepherdexpress.com/culture/supporting-milwaukee-arts/terry-murphy-executive-director-artworks-for-milwaukee/ (Supporting Arts and Culture)” Shepherd Express

26:50

https://mam.org/ (Kailee Evans) and https://www.ubunturesearch.com/ (Mikey Murry)

30:56

Lindsay and Antoine

Music Transition: “Milwaukee Strong,” Shonn Hinton, Featuring the Milwaukee All Stars

The Milwaukee Arts, Culture, Creative Industry Summit today is sold out! If you can't join us today at the St. Kate, we've put together a compilation of 32 Arts and Culture Czar segments from the three seasons of our podcast.

At our Summit, we will be asking the 200-plus folks to tell us their Arts and Culture Czar proclamations. You can play along at #ImagineSummit.

Jim Neuner, Sunstone Studios, 5:20: Collaborate and use under-utilized resources like schools

Megan McGee , Ex Fabula, 8:30: Fund and value local arts and artists

Rosy Petri, Artist, Co-Chair Public Policy Work Group, 10:09: Make beauty and public art accessible

Michael Hostad, Light the Hoan, 11:08: Create a culture where creative people can make cool things

Ian Abston, Light the Hoan, 13:30: Take the opportunity to “finish” and build Milwaukee

Kristina Gomez, Milwaukee Public Library, 15:00: Incorporating food access into cultural production

LaShawndra Vernon, Artists Working in Education, 16:19: Tax hospitality for neighborhood arts development

Wes Tank, Tank Think, 17:20: Share, collaborate, and make dope things

Pat Buckley, Buckley and the Russian General, 19:16: Flood the zone with funding for creatives

Ray Nitti, Sharp Creatives, 21:26: Talent Retention and invest in neighborhoods

Que El-Amin, Young Enterprising Society, 23:32: Tax Credits for creative industries

Mikal Wesley, Urbane Communities, 24:24:00: Tax Incentives in local talent

Bobby Drake, Independent Artist, 24:52:00: State funding coming through a creative council

Anne Basting, TimeSlips, 25:55:00: Social Rx and Artist in Residence in City and County

Eric Tillich, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 27:54:00: Increase state and local funding

Malkia Stampley, Actor/Director, 28:44:00: Transition existing leadership

Kurt Ravenswood, Producer, 31:00:00: Film fund; get out of the way

Pardeep Kaleeka, Interfaith Conference, 31:33:00: Make more access to art

May Adrales, Milwaukee Rep, 32:10:00: Make Theater free and free coffee

Arvind Gopalratnam, Milwaukee Bucks, 33:36:00: Bring back the holiday folk fest

Kendra Ingram, The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 34:55:00: Arts and culture tax district

Briana Baurichter, Artist, 37:08:00: Integrate arts into education

Beth Weirick, Downtown BID #21, 38:34:00: Make kids travel and bring back culture

Jeffery McAllister, Fashion Sense, 39:44:00: Emerging neighborhood arts council

Wendell Willis, MPS Foundation, 40:57:00: New buildings/development must have an arts and design aspect

Dan Schafer, Journalist, 43:43:00: Equitable funding for BIPOC artists

Sarah Smith Pancheri, Summerfest, 44:40:00: Abundant arts education

Bob Babisch, Summerfest, 45:21:00: Ensure small arts eco system

Dasha Kelly Hamilton, Wisconsin and Milwaukee Poet Laureate, 45:57:00: Mandate arts experiences

Greg Bach, The Laughing Tap, 49:04:00: All arts respected; mandatory attendance

Kaitlin McCarthy, The Laughing Tap, 49:50:00: Arts funding in schools; reduce stigma in participation

Matt Kemple, The Laughing Tap, 51:36:00: More arts funding

This week on the pod, we're guest-less! Mac, David, and Lindsay talk all about Imagine's upcoming - first ever - Arts, Cultural, and Creative Industry Summit at Saint Kate next Tuesday, Nov. 16.

Register for the Summit: http://www.imaginemke.org/summit.php (www.ImagineMKE.org/summit.php)

Episode ephemera:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGhK0ZsnioE/?hl=en (MSG is the King of Flavor)

“https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/dining/msg-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-merriam-webster-dictionary.html (The Campaign to Redefine Chinese Restaurant Syndrome)” (NY Times)

https://vimeo.com/373228422 (Imagine MKE Launch Party video)

https://secure.everyaction.com/An2huaNtM02XSpqZPygKbA2 (Register for the Pre-Conference Orientation on November 10 at Noon)

This week, we welcome Jason Foster, Destination Crenshaw President and COO. Destination Crenshaw is a reparative development project and will be the largest Black public art project in the U.S. and quite possibly the world. Ultimately, the project will commission more than 100 works by Black artists who have strong ties to Los Angeles, creating a pipeline of work and jobs for emerging, seasoned and internationally renowned artists. Jason joins the pod at 15:00.

Follow Jason Foster:

http://destinationcrenshaw.la/ (Destination Crenshaw)

Insta: @DestinationCrenshaw

Twitter: @DestinationShaw

Episode ephemera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KALJy9fw2Q (All Growns Up)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGV8Kw7_oBE (Mork’s First Appearance on Earth)

https://www.iamnotastalker.com/2017/08/25/the-cunningham-house-from-happy-days/ (The Cunningham House on Happy Days)

https://shop.barebells.com/?gclid=IMKE (Barbells Protein Bars)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LA_Gear (LA Gear)

https://www.artforum.com/news/lacma-gifted-kerry-james-marshall-s-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-shadow-of-his-former-self-78657 (KERRY JAMES MARSHALL: "PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A SHADOW OF HIS FORMER SELF")

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-improbability-principlewhy-coincidences-miracles-and-rare-events-happen-every-day-by-david-j-hand/2014/02/21/4d94c5d8-718d-11e3-8b3f-b1666705ca3b_story.html (The Improbability Principle)

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13903132/bill-seeking-to-improve-pay-for-a-more-diverse-ca-arts-workforce-lands-on-governors-desk (California Creative Workforce Act)

This week, we welcome on Joost Allard and Pete Reynolds, co-founders of Learn Deep. Learn Deep is an independent initiative to drive the creation of a Milwaukee model for education that encourages connection between teachers and new community partners. This is driven by the knowledge that students need repeated opportunities for hands-on work across disciplines, an environment that rewards curiosity and collaboration, and a community that is willing to experiment and dare together to drive change for its students.

Follow: http://www.learndeep.org/ (Learn Deep) and on Twitter @LearnDeepMKE

Episode Ephemera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu-LVcLX6Ko (Chilly Willy)

https://eaglerockschool.org/ (Eagle Rock School)

https://www.aspeninstitute.org/ (Aspen Institute)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WasdQ2jhyie4Yxb2A (Big Hearted Misanthrope)

This week on the pod, we welcome Bobby Drake (stage name for Larry D. Brown II). Bobby started his career in Milwaukee as a spoken word artist, has been active working in community and political activism, and has been a Television Segment Producer with PBS Black Nouveau which led to an Emmy Award and a National Association for Black Journalists Award. Currently, he is the founder of an ecommerce workshop called Royalties Build Lifestyles, which teaches independent music artists how to build income strategies, and works as part of the Executive Committee at Courtier House.

This week, we welcome on Misha Siegfried – musician, producer, designer, and Creative Director at Neu-Life to talk about the organization’s upcoming Gallery Night pop-up exhibition created by students.

This week, we welcome on friends from Historic Milwaukee to talk about their recent Doors Open event: Grace Fuhr, Special Events Director and Julia Griffith, Program Director.

David and Mac start off the episode by roasting Lindsay in her absence. Then, Mac updates us on his creative life outside of work - a filming of a sketch piece involving official things like booms and green screens.

This week on the podcast, we welcome Matt Kemple, Kaitlin McCarthy, and Greg Bach - comedy masterminds behind The Laughing Tap, Milwaukee Comedy Fest, and many other things Milwaukee comedy.