Five Milwaukee Artists Say ‘The Time is Now’ at Jazz Gallery

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© Niki Johnson

'Freedom' by Niki Johnson

'Freedom' by Niki Johnson

The gradual ascent toward progress has slid backwards. The norms of governance have been broken, and major institutions have retreated to safe corners. In the arts, it’s been left to smaller organizations to fill the gap created by the authoritarian anxiety.

In Milwaukee, the Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts (926 E. Center St.) has risen to the occasion with its upcoming exhibit, “The Time is Now: Milwaukee Artists and Our Political Moment.”

“Art can serve many functions. It can soothe and calm us, make us appreciative of beauty. But art can also raise ideas and help us to think about things differently,” says the exhibit’s co-curator, Barbara Miner. Her partner in this project, co-curator Josie Osborne, adds, “The fact that it’s visual opens up doors that words can’t always open.”

“The Time is Now” includes a small sample of work by five Milwaukee artists: John Fleissner, Chrystal Denise Gillon, Niki Johnson, David Najib Kasir and Nicolas Lampert. Their art addresses multiple issues: “Immigration, tariffs, authoritarianism, racism, misogyny, climate change,” says Miner. They work in various media. Johnson’s prints represent the large-scale panels she created as part of a community art project; Lampert contributes screen prints on fabric; Fleissner is represented by relief prints, Kasir by oil paintings and Gillon by 3D assemblages.

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Image courtesy Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts

'Multiple Fires on Land and Flesh' by David Najib Kasir

'Multiple Fires on Land and Flesh' by David Najib Kasir

In choosing the show’s artists, Miner and Osborne looked for breadth in subject matter and diversity of artistic approaches as well diversity in identity. The exhibit, Osborne says, will be “respectful, thoughtful and funny.”

Community Engagement

One wall of the gallery will be devoted to community engagement, allowing the audience to post small images and comments that speak respectfully to the exhibit’s themes. “We try to be relevant and timely with Jazz Gallery Center programming,” Osborne says.

According to Miner, “One of the advantages of being a small, volunteer-driven nonprofit is you can do things other organizations are wary of. We take advantage of that strength …”

“We’re scrappy,” Osborne continues. “We’ve seen in the last year that lots of arts organizations have shied away from exhibiting anything that could ruffle any feathers” from funding concerns. As a volunteer, community organization, the Jazz Gallery Center continues to be home to “a variety of voices,” she says.

“The Time is Now: Milwaukee Artists and Our Political Moment” runs January 24 through March 21 at Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts. There will be an artists’ reception on January 31, 4-6 p.m.