By Everett Eaton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 

 

“Milwaukee’s Black art scene is fairly young, only about 60-70 years old,” Brown said. “A lot of common threads of ideas that came through were related to body and self-image, there was a lot of feminism going on during this time and people reclaiming themselves,” Brown said.

According to Dingwall, this time period also had the right conditions for Black artists to create independently and the financial opportunity to own their own work, through community efforts and available grants and other funds.

Some of the works were already preserved in archives by institutions like the Milwaukee Public Library, while others were obtained from private collections.

A selection of artwork was chosen by Dingwall, who is an art historian focusing on American and African American works from slavery to the present day.

He traveled around Wisconsin, talked to artists, and learned more about the history and importance of African American art in Milwaukee. Brown also helped curate pieces by selecting those that represent Milwaukee’s Black arts scene.

On Milwaukee’s historic Black arts scene

The Milwaukee Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s was part of the national Black Arts Movement with themes related to the Black Power revolution and self-expression exploring historical and cultural lineage which spurred from events like the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement.

Milwaukee’s Black Arts Movement, which lasted from about 1969 to 1981, differed from the national movement, which had hubs of artists in major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, according to Dingwall.

In those larger cities, Black art networks were well established, while Milwaukee had to grow its arts scene from scratch during the same time period.

“Back then you see artists as administrators and activists,” Dingwall said about Milwaukee artists. “It shows how dynamic this scene was.”

According to Brown, it was difficult for Milwaukee’s Black artist to show their work to an expansive audience because formal gallery spaces for Black artists were not readily available. They relied on pop-up and public spaces in locations like libraries, homes and businesses.

“It was very DIY and I think DIY is still in Milwaukee’s bones, but this is kind of the origin of it, which is Black people looking to show their work,” Brown said.

Artists like Evelyn Terry said the arts scene in 1960s Milwaukee was small and largely unrecognized by major institutions. Terry, a painter and screen print artist, was a prominent figure in the Milwaukee Black Arts Movement.

According to Terry, many Black residents at the time felt that being an artist was not a viable career.

“When I came into the arts, I really felt like I was the only Black artist on the earth,” Terry said. “When we studied the history of art, Black artists weren’t taught.”

To make art more accessible, Terry and a group of local artists created Wisconsin’s first Black arts gallery, the Gallery Toward the Black Aesthetics, in 1969.

The gallery expanded recognition of Black artists in the state until it closed in 1974, and the galleries that followed worked to provide the same exposure for local Black artists.

Ed Miller, who signed his work as Akinshiju, founded another space for artists, De Gallery, in 1975. Miller also launched a series of events called “Vibe Festivals,” at locations like Garfield Park in Bronzeville, where he encouraged artists to engage in the performing arts, according to Freida High Wasikhongo Tesfagiorgis, professor of African American Art History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BCA board member and featured artist in the exhibit.

With spaces like De Gallery, and community arts gatherings like Vibe Festivals provided space for artists to pursue a wide range of mediums.

Terry is one of several artists featured in the Building Bronzeville gallery with several of her screen prints on display and she also provided historic pamphlets to help illustrate what the era was like.

“I know that art is valuable part of our history and one of the reasons I know this is because African Americans were kept out of it,” Terry said.

The exhibit and when to check it out

The exhibit will celebrate its opening on Thursday, Sept. 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., featuring some of the artists speaking about their work and Bronzeville’s art history.

In the gallery, attendees can expect to see screen prints made by artists like Terry, lithographic prints, paintings, historic magazines and artifacts and original audio cassettes, according to the official exhibition guide.

After the opening night, the gallery will be open during the center’s normal business hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

When: Thursday, Sept. 24, starting at 6 p.m. to Friday, Feb. 26, 2027.

Where: 507 W. North Ave.

More info: To learn more about the gallery visit the Bronzeville Center for the Arts website.

Read the full story with images on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.