ART Milwaukee Wedding @ Winter Gallery Night

Ride ART Milwaukees ART Bus and Stay Warm

Jan. 17, 2012

7:57 p.m.

Initiated in October 2010, Art Milwaukee developed as the brainchild of Jeremy Fojut and Angela Damiani. With degrees in International Business, Marketing, Journalism and Public Relations shared between the founders, the two seemed well equipped to launch their own organization that inspires a love for all the arts. Currently operating as the President and Vice President respectively, the officers\' official mission states: “To empower, enrich and inspire the community for art.”  However, in just over eighteen months, ART Milwaukee has exploded in the city with participants, members and planned events that optimize art and community into a fun social event. The 2012 new year named four more staff members in several critical areas such as Graphic Design, Sales and Volunteer Coordination. Their recent big bash MKE NYE held on December 31 sold out two weeks before New Year's Eve with 800 art fans in attendance that the website's video recalls in detail. In an interview before December 31, Fojut spoke to the great social experience Art Milwaukee creates around a specific event while incorporating local venues that might be overlooked. Planning around locations few people have experienced or know about to revitalize those underdeveloped places. The effort hopes to involve people from age zero to 65 in a way that will add comfort and accessibility to the local art community while they enjoy and begin to understand what art can be. Even though ART Milwaukee's core demographics reach those 23 to 35 years of age, the organization serves multiple populations through various programs: ART Reach (pre-schoolers and children), ART Jamboree (a monthly art/social event), Project F.E.E.D (connects starving artists to local businesses who can use their services), the ART Bus (a traveling social experience on quarterly art gallery weekends), the Die Brucke Society (to increase collectors of local Milwaukee art), and ARTernships (programs for college student to earn credits in various careers related to the organization). Other events and programs hope to be inaugurated in the near future.  Secondly, ART Milwaukee's goals include “fostering an economic contribution around the art community. Fojut explains, "For every one dollar that goes into ART Milwaukee, eight dollars goes back into the local community.” All the ART Milwaukee events propose to keep a local art movement vested in Milwaukee and the local economy. In the last year, ART Milwaukee sold over 225 pieces of art at every price point, and helped place the Couto Brothers colorful mural at Milwaukee\'s First Street and Pittsburgh. Continuing these goals will in turn, as Fojut believes, “change the valuation of art in the city.” To assist in reaching these goasl, this year Fojut accepted the position to preside over the “Year of the Arts” at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee\'s Peck School of the Arts for their 50th Anniversary. He'll be coordinating the programming beginning in September 2012 for the celebration in hopes to “dispel the belief that art, all the arts, are intimidating.”  Fojut and Damiani also plan to empower the city through their “collabatory” housed in the lower level of the Grand Avenue Mall, the ART Milwaukee headquarters. The 4200 square feet space features an art gallery, chalk board work table in the conference room, interactive spaces for meditation and relaxation, and a community room for local artists and organizations to use. The entire headquarters fosters a creative environment for all ART Milwaukee staff, supporters and volunteers in planning their innovative and interactive events. In the upcoming week, ART Milwaukee features an after gallery night event titled “Wedding” in the Pritzlaff Building from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. They will “marry” ten artists, two per the five canvases that will be created and on display for the evening in addition to making "wedding pictures" available through a photo booth and other wedding themed events. An interesting experience offered for a $15.00 admission price, and includes one guest. (Just like a real wedding, right?) The organization already sponsors ART Bus for winter gallery night, which has been continually sold out for the quarterly evening event.  The popular transportation travels through downtown Milwaukee, the Historic Third Ward and the Fifth Ward, so the bus riders participate in an interactive art project, enjoy complimentary beer and wine, and relax listening to a live singer. Looking for a way to meet new people and enjoy gallery night? Or wish to try their monthly ART Jamboree scheduled for Friday, February 2 at Flux Design from 8:00 p.m to midnight?  Become an ART Milwaukee volunteer? Fojut creates art photography in his spare time, while Damiani publishes as an author of books and magazine articles, so the two innovators practice what they enthusiastically promote. When talking to the two co-founders, its easy to see why ART Milwaukee thrives. Their personalities radiate their belief that all art has immeasurable value. Visit the ART Milwaukee website for more information on any of their exciting, upcoming art events. Visit <a href=\"http://www.artmilwaukee.com\">www.artmilwaukee.com</a> and click ART Bus. ART Jamboree or Wedding for information and reservation for these events. Choose to visit one or a selection of venues available on gallery night and day this weekend! <o:p /> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>

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