July 06, 2021

Black Cat Alley looking for women, LGBTQ and BIPOC artists to create new murals

Milwaukee's Black Cat Alley is looking for Wisconsin-based artists to create three new murals. Women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists will be prioritized, according to a news release from the East Side Business Improvement District.

Black Cat Alley is an installation of murals, many by local artists, in the alley between East Kenilworth Place and East Ivanhoe Place on the city's East Side.

You can read the full article from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here

Milwaukee's Black Cat Alley is looking for Wisconsin-based artists to create three new murals. Women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists will be prioritized, according to a news release from the East Side Business Improvement District.

Black Cat Alley, which opened in 2016, is an installation of murals, many by local artists, in the alley between East Kenilworth Place and East Ivanhoe Place on the city's East Side.

One new mural will be painted in July, the second in August and the third in September. Organizers plan to coordinate the last mural painting with Doors Open, which takes place the fourth weekend in September, the news release said.

Interested Wisconsin-based artists or artist teams who are 18 or older can submit one design per wall, but no one will be selected for more than one wall, according to the submission requirements in the call to artists.

The artists or artist teams who are selected will receive a stipend.

Submission requirements include a brief artist bio, examples of previous works, the proposed design, and contact info.

The submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. June 21. Applicants will be notified if they were selected by June 28.

The new murals will be replacing "some of the earliest murals" in the alley, like "Flyboy" and "Best Witches," the news release said.

For application and stipend information, and for a look at the walls that will be painted, visit blackcatmke.com/call-to-artists.

EAST SIDE ART LOT RETURNS

The East Side Art Lot, which was created last year to address the need for increased outdoor seating for nearby restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is returning this month.

The lot, located at 1915 E. North Avenue, will open June 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. with a happy hour and music by DJ Fuzzy Logic.

Last year, artists were selected to paint the lot's picnic tables. This year, the Milwaukee-based artists who were chosen include Mi Salgado, Olivia Bergh, AJ (Alhaitham Jassar), Celeste Carroll and Hattie Grimm, Emily Moore, Maria Spengel, Lindsey Yaeger, Kiersten Wohlgemuth, Cate Elsbernd, and Ryan Laessig, the news release said.

To bring even more "life, vibrancy, and feeling of place" to the lot, murals will be installed on the walls surrounding the lot on June 18 and will be on display through Oct. 31.

The lot, as well as Black Cat Alley, will feature programming this summer, including yoga, East Side Art Markets and more. The East Side Art Markets will be held in the East Side Art Lot from noon to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth weekends of June through September.

The lot will remain open through Oct. 31.

For more information on the East Side Art Lot, visit theeastside.org/happenings/east-side-art-lot.html.