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The Riverwest Art Cart Race: “View of a Born Loser”

by Mark Lawson / photos by John Ruebartsch

Yes, I’m a loser. A “Born Loser” to be precise. I’m a member of a team that has the most consistent record for losses in the little known genre of push cart racing.

This colorful and exotic sport is alive and well here in Riverwest. It has been the kickoff event for at least four Artwalks. This year it will be the opening event for Center Street Daze on September 20.

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Public Art

by Mark Lawson Perhaps no other genre of art provokes more controversy and strong emotional responses than public art. At the same time, it is a category little understood, even by many artists themselves. For most people, public art is art that is in public spaces. Since this is a democracy, it is generally assumed […]

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Group Efforts

Recently in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel there was a lengthy article about Milwaukee’s collaborative visual arts groups. In part, this article was a response to a Jan. 19 article in the New York Times, “Doing Their Own Thing,” which identified Milwaukee as one city where artists made their own art scene through collaborative efforts.

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Why Doesn’t Riverwest Have an Arts Complex?

Riverwest has always been home to artists and galleries. However, the disappearance of most of the affordable studio space in the neighborhood due to economic development is threatening the neighborhood’s viability as a place where artists can afford to live and work. One possible answer to this ongoing problem would be the development of a large arts complex somewhere in the neighborhood.