better late than never…
…The June 2016 MKE Creatives at Anodyne Coffee was really well-attended, and with great reason – our presenter was Stacey Williams-Ng, a talented painter, “recovering” graphic designer, and program director of the all-new Black Cat Alley street-art initiative!
In attendance were a CPA, a non-fiction graphic novelist, a wedding/event photographer, a creative business consultant, a travel/food writer, a character actor/storyteller, a voice actor/video editor, a fine artist (photography and painting), an IT consultant for small bizs, an educator and architect, a novelist, a writer/editor/game designer, and an artist/jewelry-maker/podcaster! Learn more about who the MKE Creatives are HERE.
Stacey, a well-known artist, feels pretty lucky to be involved with the Black Cat Alley. As she said, “I realized I like painting BIG, and what better way to get BIG than on the side of a building??” Street art/mural art has been pretty popular on the international stage recently and BCA is seeking to bring some of that attention to Milwaukee with a special event in mid-September. The artists who will be painting in the alley on Milwaukee’s east side are of a good variety – 60% MKE artists (including two student groups) and 40% from around the country and world. They received proposals from as far away as Brazil, and even Australia!
Notably, Black Cat was able to get MTO, a Frenchman, to come from Berlin to participate. Schedules conspired to make him come and paint his mural in July, but it’s going to be a great inspiration for the artists in September! He was in Milwaukee for a week going up and down on the Oriental Theatre, spray-painting the gigantic “glitch frog” on the wall. It was at this time that BCA had their fundraiser gala event, and people got to watch MTO at work!
One of the big challenges Stacey talked about was trying to bring street-artists – not used to much oversight – together with corporate sponsors – who are always very conscious of what their money will be associated with. There’s been much back-and-forth, but the project is moving forward, particularly with major sponsor, Pick-n-Save. They’ve also gotten sponsorship from other great local businesses like: Colectivo Coffee, Educators Credit Union, Villa Terrace Museum, Radio Milwaukee and others!
While BCA is off to a great start, they still need help. In particular, they’re seeking volunteers for during the event itself, and volunteers who have savvy biz skills and can help with that end of things.
Look here to see examples of Stacey’s work. Find Black Cat Alley on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and at their own website.
Find MKE Creatives on FBook HERE and more blog posts HERE.
