Meet Milwaukee: Visit the city with Google Arts & Culture
Did you know that Milwaukee is nicknamed the City of Festivals, and hosts 60 in the summer alone? Or that it was called the “Midwest’s Coolest and Most Underrated City” by Vogue? This summer, Visit Milwaukee is one of 16 institutions partnering with Google Arts & Culture to introduce the world to the Brew City. While our celebrations may look different, we’re bringing our festivities to you. From murals and manufacturing to breweries and fine art museums, here are five reasons you should visit our quirky, dynamic community:
1. The people
Milwaukee is alive. The moment you start speaking to Milwaukeeans you encounter people who are curious about the world around them and proud of their city. Radio Milwaukee offers a platform for all sorts of creatives, including female poets during National Poetry Month and high school musicians through their music lab with Grace Weber. Imagine MKE gives us a glimpse into the creative process of Milwaukee artists like muralist Ken Brown or poet Dasha Kelly Hamilton.
2. The places
One of the many things we do at Visit Milwaukee is help Milwaukeeans celebrate the city’s culture of beer gardens and breweries, giving a nod to the wave of German and Eastern-European immigrants whose beer-brewing culture still shapes the city today. Sculpture Milwaukee takes us to the city streets, reminding us via world-class sculpture to be thoughtful and to keep a sense of humor during our daily journeys through the city’s downtown neighborhoods.
3. The masterpieces
Discover the city’s unique museums from the Milwaukee Art Museum (which houses one of the largest U.S. art collections!), to the Grohmann Museum (home to the world’s most comprehensive art collection dedicated to the evolution of human work). Explore the Haggerty Museum at Marquette University to see 52 works digitized by Google Arts & Culture (including The Philosopher from Rembrandt’s workshop), and tour the Charles Allis Museum’s collection of gem-like paintings (such as Rosa Bonheur’s Head of Roebuck).
4. The performing arts
Between extraordinary performances of actors and musicians in lockdown from the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, fun action shots from First Stage performances like “Mariposa” and “Roald Dahl’s Matilda,” and stories from the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra celebrating their students and their community, music and theater lovers make their mark in Milwaukee.
5. The history
Park systems are not only maintainers of outdoor space—they’re the keepers of our collective histories, as well. Milwaukee County Parks gives us glimpses into city life at the turn of the century, and paintsfamiliar places in a new light through its newly-digitized collection of historical postcards and photographs. Milwaukee County Parks is joined in their exploration of history by the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear, whose stories of daily life in the 20’s and 30’s let us peek at everything from grocery stores to immigration. Finally, the Milwaukee Public Museum teaches us about Native American history around the Great Lakes and the role native plants played in their societies.Curious to see more? Stroll around 10 places you wouldn’t expect to be in Milwaukee, or get to know the city’s alphabet by visiting g.co/Milwaukee, downloading the Android or iOS app or visiting Google Arts & Culture.
Visit the Milwaukee Art Museum, one of the most architecturally extraordinary museums (the “wings” of the Calatrava building open and close) as well as one of the largest art collections in the country.
Discover the history of Eastern-European immigrants and the brewery culture they brought with them with Visit Milwaukee.
Dive into the past with historical postcards and photographs from Milwaukee County Parks, and see how Milwaukeeans lived at the turn of the century.
Listen and learn from female Milwaukee poets as they read their work out loud and give you a glimpse into their community, thanks to Radio Milwaukee.
Listen to Milwaukee muralists and creatives like Ken Brown discuss their work through Imagine MKE.
Watch iconic artist Keith Haring paint a construction fence at the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University.
Check out public sculpture and explore the different work that each year brings to Milwaukee’s streets with Sculpture Milwaukee.
