Clockwise from top left: Ryan Laessig, founder Milwaukee Makers Market, Jason Krukowski’s studio, Artery Ink, Madeline Martin
Bay View Gallery Night
When: Friday, September 26th, 2025
Where: Bay View
By Marie De Garo
Bay View is the place for artists. Creativity is bubbling from every nook & cranny of this lively neighborhood. From music to digital art to murals & everything in between, Bay View births some of the most unique finds.Bay View Gallery Night is a bi-annual event hosting festivities that treat locals & visitors alike to share in local cuisine, shops, & the inspired works of artists & makers.
The Crown Jewels of this event are the Milwaukee Makers Market & Scout Gallery inside the Hide House. The Milwaukee Makers Market hosts over 50 local vendors for shoppers to enjoy. Just beyond the small business offerings, there are a few galleries displaying works from local artists. If you happen to like a piece, or even a few—the art is available for purchase as well.
Supporting local small businesses & artists help our communities flourish.If you’re looking for a lively scene-Bay View is where it’s at. You’ll find that familiar Midwest Milwaukee charm with a chic edge no matter what neighborhood spot you choose
Left to right: "The Subtraction of Children” by David Najib Kasi, “Wild Bill” by Brent Schoonover and Hannah Tews
Doors Open Mural Festival
When: Saturday, September 27th
Location: Black Cat Alley, E Ivanhoe Place, Milwaukee WI
By Nicole Baillargeon
As a part of Milwaukee’s Doors Open event, vendors filled the street corner as a part of Mural Fest. There are 9 new murals to find in and around the iconic Black cat alley. A common theme within some of the artwork is family, community and the things which unite us as a city. These art pieces have brought new color, light and perspective to Milwaukee’s East Side.
One such mural is “The Subtraction of Children” by David Najib Kasir. The image uses geometric shapes to display a mother holding her child close to her. This mural stands out because of the current anxieties around our immigrant neighbors that make Milwaukee the beautiful diverse city we love. The painting reminds one of what a privilege it is to hold our loved ones.
Another mural “Wild Bill” by Brent Schoonover and Hannah Tews, depicts an amine style portrait of two-time all-star Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contraras. In the background of the painting, you can see at least two iconic Milwaukee symbols, the Milwaukee Art Musem and of course the American Family Field. The unique art style makes it pop among the other paintings.
The Dry Points
When: On View now thru December 15th
Where: MIAD'S Frederick Layton Gallery, 273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee, WI
By Anna Rose Menako
As a Milwaukee native, The Dry Points exhibition, curated by Max Yela, felt like stepping into a living collage of historical figures whose names have been in the air for as long as I can remember. The men featured in the portraits built legacies that continue to shape the city’s identity and live on in its infrastructure, whether or not we ever asked for their presence in our lives.
The portraits on display, drawn from 19th- and early 20th-century steel engravings, remind us that the faces of power in Milwaukee were overwhelmingly white, male, and wealthy. That reality is an elephant in the room that this show doesn’t shy away from. By reworking the engravings with contemporary motifs and mischievous interventions,The Dry Points poke fun and punch up at these moguls of yesteryear, inadvertently holding their cultural dominance up to the light and acknowledging their lingering relevance in our city’s infrastructure and memory.
What’s most compelling is how personality creeps into the reimagined works. The original steel engravings, created with the painstaking practicality of its time, left little room for individuality or warmth. Here, flamboyance, humor, and idiosyncrasy are brought in, as if the artists are resurrecting subtleties that time and technological limits once flattened.
Much like a sonic rock band, The Dry Points bring together distinct artistic voices to form a sum that is richer and more nuanced than what any individual artist could create. Their mashup of historical gravitas with enigmatic, pop-cultural irreverence transforms these portraits into a collaboration across time. More specifically: a collaboration that examines who we immortalize, how we remember them, and who today might be building the kinds of legacies that will loom over Milwaukee tomorrow.
Anna Rose Menako
annarosemenako.com
