"Celebrate the Arts" is located on the corner of North Avenue and 7th Street. (All photos by Adam Carr)
With the restoration of the “Celebrate the Arts” mural, the gateway to Bronzeville is alive again with brilliant color. The extensive painting project was completed by a team of artists, including prolific muralist and artist Reynaldo Hernandez, who led the original project.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by artists who worked on the mural more than 30 years ago, many of whom were students at the time. The event also featured an art exhibition by local artists, African drumming and commemoration speeches from Alderwoman Milele Coggs, Mayor Tom Barrett and Jayme Montgomery Baker from Friends of Bronzeville.
Completed in 1984, the mural was commissioned for the west-facing wall of the Inner City Arts Council, located on North Avenue and 7th Street. The building is now home to the Milwaukee office of Impact Seven, a Wisconsin-based Community Development Financial Institution, which raised funds for the restoration efforts.
This is so awesome! I am the woman that’s pictured in the mural so many years ago. I keep in touch with the journalist that wrote the first article. I am so very excited to see that it is still standing and that it has been touched up. This makes me very pround