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Milwaukee Arts Board: $28,500 Wisconsin Arts Board regrant awarded; annual report and public art updates accepted
Summary
The committee accepted the Arts Board’s annual report and approved acceptance of a $28,500 Wisconsin Arts Board regrant for local arts regranting; staff described sustaining grants, public art projects, and a public artist‑in‑residence pilot.
The Community Economic Development Board voted to adopt the Milwaukee Arts Board annual report and accepted a $28,500 regrant from the Wisconsin Arts Board to support local arts grants.
Sally Svedik, Neighborhood Business Development Specialist with the Department of City Development and staff to the Arts Board, gave the presentation and said the Arts Board’s work is grounded in a city code provision (updated in 2022) that directs the board to promote culturally diverse arts programming responsive to historically underserved communities. Svedik told the committee the Wisconsin Arts Board increased Milwaukee’s regrant award to $28,500 for 2025 — up from $24,000 in 2024 — which will fund at least one additional sustaining grant in the regrant cycle.
Svedik said the Arts Board received 62 sustaining grant applications in 2025; in 2024 the Arts Board awarded 47 grants totaling approximately $272,000. She described a range of projects supported by past grants, including internships, summer programs, theater premieres and public‑art conservation work.
The presentation also reviewed public art activity the board advised on, including a Karen Olivier public sculpture scheduled for installation in Veil Phillips Plaza in 2026 and a proposed bronze statue to be installed at Halyard Park contingent on local fundraising. Svedik summarized the Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) pilot, which embedded an artist in the Department of Public Works and Vision Zero outreach work; the resulting visibility patch printing and moving‑city art car were presented at dozens of community events.
Action taken: Alderman Dimitri Revich moved to adopt the resolution accepting the Wisconsin Arts Board regrant and the Arts Board annual report; the motion carried by unanimous consent and was ordered.
Why it matters: The regranting funds support dozens of arts nonprofits and public‑facing arts projects that the Arts Board said reach large audiences. The board said its selection criteria emphasize historically underserved populations and neighborhood engagement.
Follow‑up: Staff said sustaining grant awards will be announced in May and final reports for grant recipients are due June 30. The Arts Board will release the PAIR evaluation and other materials on milwaukee.gov/mab.
