A new multimedia initiative that aims to create a shared understanding of the past, present and future of Milwaukee is kicking off in Sherman Park this week.
In collaboration with the Sherman Park Community Association, Milwaukee Vision Project is hosting “A Gallery of Sherman Park Voices, Building a Vision of Milwaukee” on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
At the gallery, visitors can explore and interact with quotes, photos and audio compiled from interviews with Sherman Park residents at their own pace.
There will also be refreshments and opportunities for residents to contribute their own written perspectives.
‘Perspectives on the city’
“It’s not necessarily people’s individual stories, it’s more their perspectives on the city,” said Carley Mostar, founder of Tandem Narratives, a project and research firm leading the project.
The project is funded through a Reasons for Hope MKE microgrant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
Mostar said she plans to continue conducting interviews for years until the project has a representative sample of the city’s population. The resulting data insights and findings could be used to inform how the city approaches problems and creates solutions.
“What we all discover together as our answers is what’s exciting to me,” she said.
As a resident of Sherman Park, Mostar was already connected to the Sherman Park Community Association and thought it would be a good area to start the project because of its history and reputation as a “microcosm” of Milwaukee.
The gallery will feature materials from 13 interviews with Sherman Park residents that ranged from 30 minutes to an hour. The residents are from the ages 12 to 80 and are a mix of races, genders and occupations.
They were asked questions along the lines of “What is Milwaukee? What could it be? How do we get there?”
“Even though it’s a small group, we were already finding some patterns and trends,” Mostar said.
For more information
Milwaukee Vision Project is sharing quotes and materials from the initial resident perspectives on its Instagram, milwaukeevisionproject, and will eventually add more information about its interviews and findings to milwaukeevisionproject.com.
“The idea is that eventually it will be a growing, living project that people can follow along with,” said Mostar.
Milwaukee Vision Project is interested in working with more hyperlocal community organizations, partners, artists and designers on the project.
Anyone interested in being interviewed for the project can attend the kickoff event or email carley@tandem.narratives.com.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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