Photo Courtesy of Lana Holman
On May 25, 2020 police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the back of George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Floyd died and protests erupted around the country. Chauvin’s trial has begun in Minnesota.
Photo Credit: Lana Holman
In Milwaukee, artist Lana Holman felt she could offer something in addition to those marching and protesting. She began simply, her creativity started with a portrait of George Floyd on the sidewalk—the concrete square her canvas. In the year when everything changed, her project took a life of its own with her husband, musician Elias Holman writing biographies to go along with the portraits she created.
Photo Credit: Lana Holman
How did the idea for the neighborhood project come about?
I found myself in quarantine, cheering the protests that spread across the country and the search for justice that they championed, but also feeling like there was more I could do than simply march and donate. In late May 2020, I grabbed my pastels and did my first portrait of George Floyd on a square of sidewalk outside of my house.
The street I live on, Oklahoma Avenue, is a very busy street. I’m a block from Bay View Community Center and Humboldt Park. I talked to many people while I drew. Many protests came right past my house. My 4-year-old son, Judah, sat and drummed while 15,000 people, including Mayor Tom Barrett, walked past our house.
I realized the impact art could have on the people walking by and ended up drawing 43 more people of color over the Summer and Fall 2020. I wanted people to enjoy them and learn about people that they may have never heard of yet had a powerful impact. I learned about so many great human beings. My husband wrote the biographies and I drew their portraits.
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Photo Credit: Lana Holman
Are you a Milwaukee Bucks Fan?
I am a huge Bucks fan, starting from the Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell time. I dedicated an entire section at Aloft Hotel, “In the Paint” to my deep love of our beautiful, small market NBA team. I’m so grateful to how much the new owners (Marc Lasry, Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan & Mike Fascitelli) and their general manager Jon Horst have embraced Milwaukee.
I’m so proud that the Milwaukee Bucks marched with protesters and that they were the first in the NBA to stand up and boycott a game last year.
I love going to Bucks games. I watch nearly every game. It’s beautiful to watch them give their talent to our great city. I love basketball and want to do a better job of supporting women in it too. I’m hoping to get to my first WNBA game when it’s safe.
I specifically painted a portrait of DJ Shawna Nicols (the Milwaukee Bucks official producer/ DJ and a former professional basketball player) to highlight women in sports.
(Nicols, a Pius XI graduate, recently spun tunes for the NBA All Star game in Atlanta. As a prep athlete, she was the 2000 Gatorade Wisconsin State Player of the Year. Injuries cut her hoops career short UW-Madison.)
How did the Bucks pick up on your artwork?
I actively post on the Milwaukee Bucks sub on Reddit. I love the community there and attend the yearly Reddit meet up/Bucks Game.
I also frequently share my portraits of Bucks players on the sub. The moderators tweeted my Bobby Portis watercolor painting on the Reddit MKEBucks Twitter account. Bobby Portis saw it and then retweeted. The Milwaukee Bucks have also put my chalk portraits on their Instagram story.
Photo Credit: Lana Holman
Earlier this year, Aloft Hotel near the Bucks home at Fiserv Forum, selected Holman as artist-in residence. Her series “In the Paint” is one of the Milwaukee-themed sets on display.
What has the Aloft Residency been like?
I’m so appreciative that Aloft understands the impact of Art in the city of Milwaukee. They have been amazing and very easy to work with. We are amidst an art renaissance in Milwaukee because many channels of communication have been muted with this pandemic. The year 2020 has most definitely taught artists how important our voices are.
