Charities usually pull our heartstrings to get at our pocket books. “Canstruction,” in contradistinction, appeals to our creativity and competitiveness. The international charity event challenges architects, engineers and recovering Lego fanatics to construct elaborate sculptures entirely out of canned food, which are then donated to local hunger relief organizations. Averaging 2,000 cans per sculpture and 300 structures per year, Canstruction donates hundreds of thousands of meals to needy families each year and, since its founding in 1992, has distributed more than 40 million pounds of food. Past winners have included a giant Buddha’s head, snails and a bull crashing through a wall.
Milwaukee-area architectural and engineering firms Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP, Eppstein Uhen Architects, GRAEF, Zimmerman Architectural Studios and Hunzinger Construction Company are participating in this year’s Canstruction. On Sunday, Oct. 30, the organizations will unveil their designs and begin the building process at Bayshore Town Center. The sculptures will be on display through the reception and awards ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 1, from 5:30-7 p.m.
“Familiar Strangers: The Street Photography of Scott Symes”
Studio 224
224 E. Main St., Port Washington
“For me, photography is all about capturing real, uncensored moments of life,” writes Scott Symes. In hot pursuit of these moments, Symes takes to the streets with an unobtrusive camera and unassuming air since the ability to go unnoticed is an essential skill for the street photographer. A selection of Symes’ studies of humanity, “Familiar Strangers: The Street Photography of Scott Symes,” opens with a reception from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28. The exhibition is on display through Feb. 19, 2017.
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“Forward 2016: A Survey of Wisconsin Art Now”
Charles Allis Art Museum
1801 N. Prospect Ave.
Every two years the Charles Allis Art Museum hosts a juried exhibition that offers a peek into the state of the arts in the state of Wisconsin. This year’s iteration of the biennale features 46 artists hand-selected by local curator/consultant Susan Barnett and artist Brent Budsberg. The jurors will speak about the difficulty of the selection process on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 6-8 p.m. at the exhibition’s opening reception where attendees can practice for Nov. 8 by voting for the Viewer’s Choice Award.
