As you know if you saw my recent progress report on the ThriveOn Collaboration project in the old Gimbels-Schuster’s building on King Drive and Garfield Avenue, you know it’s a beautiful space.
But as you can see from the rendering above, renovation will leave it with lots of white space that will be begging for beautiful artwork both inside and outside the building at 2153 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr..
To that end, the Collab has announced a call for art from local artists. You can find all of the many relevant details at this link, but here are the basics.
The organizers hosted a series of sessions with community members last autumn seeking input on the artwork for the complex and the community will also be involved in the review and selection process.
“The collaboration seeks to incorporate art that infuses a sense of discovery into the spaces of ThriveOn King and reflects the rich history, inclusive community and thriving future of the surrounding Bronzeville area,” notes the call.
“This call for submissions focuses on art opportunities for the building’s first floor community space and its exterior parking structure.”
That encompasses a trio of art opportunities, including First floor window display cases and community space walls; exterior parking structure panels; and collaborative commissions with senior brand designer.
Check out this PDF for more detailed information on the sites.
Submitting artists are encouraged to check out the summary of the feedback from the community engagement sessions, which you can find here, when concepting your submission.
ThriveOn expects to have a total budget amount for these artwork opportunities of $325,000.
“Final budget amounts for specific artwork will be determined during the contracting process with the selected artists/artist teams based on the proposed work,” reads the call.
“Artist contract amounts will be inclusive of all costs associated with the project including, but not limited to, artist/artist team’s fee, consultation fees such as structural engineering consultation, tools, materials, fabrication, transportation, any building or site modification required, a contingency to cover unexpected expenses, and any other costs.”
The deadline to apply is noon on April 6 and the call is open to artists based in the greater Milwaukee area or who have significant ties to Milwaukee.
Again, complete details and contact information can be found here.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
