Photo credit: Julian Gilliam
This week, Off the Cuff spoke with Milwaukee native Flow Johnson about his 10-month-old publication and event space, After Magazine & Gallery, 2225 N. Humboldt Blvd. We discussed his background, After’s mission and some of the artists, community members and charitable organizations that have benefited so far.
Please tell me about your background and how you decided to found an event space in Milwaukee.
I spent the last eight or nine years in Chicago basically doing event management. I worked a lot with nonprofits and River North Art District. Honestly, I’ve just been throwing parties and events so long that I’ve been wanting my own space, and I was finally able to make that happen here. Originally, I was looking for a live-work photo studio. After finding this space and seeing how big the basement is, I was like, “Looks like I’m going to do a little bit more than I thought!” [laughs] Basically, I’ve been doing this my whole life without realizing this was what I was looking to do.
Tell me about the magazine component.
It’s a completely artist submission-based magazine. I was sick of submitting my work to different magazines and publications around the world and not getting replies and feeling really trapped outside of an industry that doesn’t have that many opportunities. I wanted to create something where other artists feeling the same way could showcase their work in a professional publication.
Everything you can think to submit to a magazine you can submit. In our next issue, we’ve got poetry, art, a couple of great editorials and some interviews. Submission is open internationally. It’s released quarterly, and our fifth issue comes out at the end of March.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
How has the event space been used so far?
It kind of evolved on its own. I’ve had dinner parties here. I’ve had kid birthdays. I’ve had a fashion show. We did a fundraiser for Puerto Rico. We’ve had a holiday market. I really want people to recognize this as a community space.
We’ve had a lot of great musical performances here, too. Nathan Pflughoeft, Siren, Bear In the Forest, Amanda Huff… WebsterX performed and had his birthday party here. Our current visual art show [through Thursday, March 15] is Robert Sebanc. He is a professor out of Chicago from Milwaukee. We also have Bigshot Robot making our new mural and having a show that’ll be up on Friday, March 16.
Any other upcoming events you’d like our readers to be aware of?
College Creative Night. We’re doing that on Friday, March 16, from 6 p.m.-midnight, and it’s going to feature more than 30 artists from UW-Milwaukee, MIAD and Marquette University. We’re really trying to bridge the gap between the campuses and give kids the opportunity to be in a space where they would never otherwise be. Also, Lex Allen is going to be performing that night around 9 p.m.
How would you sum up After’s mission?
To inspire artistic collaboration, community involvement and social justice. It’s in the contract when people rent the space that a portion of proceeds go to charity. We also do events for the homeless every month, which have included #Lunchbag and clothing drives. We consistently donate to Repairers of the Breach, the Salvation Army and Attic Jams. For the one-year anniversary on Saturday, May 5, 40% of everything we make is going to go to Turnaround Arts—an arts program for Milwaukee Public Schools.
To learn more about After Magazine & Gallery, make a purchase, submit to the magazine or inquire about space rental, visit after.gallery. You can also find After on Facebook or Instagram.
