About

Mitchell Street Arts was founded by Rew Gordon in 2021. The origin story of the organization is rooted in a series of conversations with local residents, artists, and community leaders. We asked: what does the Southside need to have a thriving arts and culture scene? Those conversations have served as the backbone to our mission. Our home on Historic Mitchell Street serves as the base for our programming, and encompasses contemporary art gallery and community makerspace.

Our central purpose is to make bridges: to utilize art as a vehicle for cross cultural connection. We do this by collaborating with community organizations and artist groups from around the city. Our stage hosts interactive theater troupes, spoken word poetry, open mic nights, community dialogues, and more. Programming is multi-lingual and takes place in English and Spanish.

In addition to hosting performing arts, our makerspace contains a wood shop, ceramics studio, photo darkroom, and more. It is a place for professional artists to collaborate, and a classroom for our community to learn new skills. Through an artist-in-residence program, we provide free studio space and gallery time to local artists.

We aim to foster arts access and creative place making projects in this beloved city of ours.

Our commons is inspired by a means of community based economic and social support practiced within a vast variety of cultures, regions, and time periods: The sharing of resources.

For many folks, especially members of historically marginalized communities, sharing money, food, living quarters, supplies, and more is how they gained access to the resources they needed to not only survive, but flourish. Through sharing resources, we are able to reduce costs and other barriers that served as hindrances to finding support for our work. 

We Host A:

  • Public Arts Stage (theatre, slam-poetry, standup comedy, dance, jazz shows, and more)

  • Artist in Residence program (for both local and non-local artists)

  • Creative Makerspace (includes a wood shop, ceramics studio, photo darkroom, street art room, and more)

  • Gallery (promoting the work of local professional artists)

  • Event venue (host your own event here)

Our Commitment
Flourishing is the ability to determine and define, both individually and collectively, the questions, challenges, and joys that define your vision and work. As a result, our community is committed to combating language, beliefs systems, structures, and practices designed, whether by intention or accident, to oppress or impede the path to flourishing and vision.

We celebrate diversity and practice inclusion. We accept members into our community who are committed to their purpose, capable of working collaboratively, respectful of different cultures and differing perspectives, and dedicated to advancing the collective flourishing  of our community and beyond.*

*our beliefs on Flourishing are inspired by the Social Impact Commons of Philadelphia

 

Mission

Mitchell Street Arts promotes creative abundance. We contribute to making a better world through the art of sharing resources and sparking conversations across differences. As a progressive beehive, MiSA promotes the Mitchell Street Community in designing our own tomorrow.

Vision.

We envision a Milwaukee defined by creative and economic abundance. We aim be a recognized force for actualizing that vision, and interwoven with the other amazing organizations in our city pursuing to lift all boats.

 

Values

  • Respect

  • Vulnerability

  • Diversity

  • Decolonization

  • Collective Impact Strategies

  • Mutual Aid

  • Commoning

Promoting Arts Education

MiSA builds relationships with Milwaukee schools to strengthen creative curriculums. Children are our future. Arts education allows students to explore a wide range of human values and interests. Access to creative classes promote creativity and self awareness - something we all know the world needs more of.

We believe making and tinkering are necessary components in every student’s learning. We further this ethos by offering classes in our makerspace to local schools. Students can be trained on the fundamentals of our tools and technologies - ranging from Raspberry Pi’s, CNC-routers, laser cutters, ceramics, analog darkroom, wood shop, and more. We believe students succeed most when they have the freedom to explore self-directed learning in a motivating environment of mentors and peers. MSAC will offer classes to students on a variety of creative-business fundamentals. 

The nonprofit is dedicated to collective impact strategies and participating in the cradle-to-career pipeline for the near south-side. As such, MiSA is looking to cultivate additional organizational/corporate partnerships to promote career trajectories for our youth.