Photo by Tyler Crandall
Mya Giuliani and River Press
Mya Giuliani sitting on the front stoop of River Press
A new art studio, store and gallery, River Press, opens its doors at 2351 N.Humboldt Blvd. this Saturday, Aug. 2. The space is a one-stop shop for the Riverwest neighborhood’s creative spirit, featuring fun and accessible art of many different mediums exclusively by Milwaukee artists. The River Press kickoff celebration on Saturday goes from 11 a.m. till 7 p.m. and will feature coffee from pop-up shop Ellas Café and flash tattoos in partnership with nearby Patchwork Collective as well as a tintype photographer and baked goods.
Owner Mya Giuliani describes the River Press mission, “We’re for working artists in the city to have a sustainable career making art. There’s never going to be any single stream of income for a professional artist under the context that we live in right now, but I can help out a bit with this space. I want to work on art consistently every day, and I want to build this not just for me but for my friends.”
Adorned by a custom neon “OPEN” sign made by Rosie Phillips, River Press features work from over 40 artists for sale, comprising prints, stickers, jewelry, clothing and more. “I think we have the biggest sticker selection in the entire city,” Giuliani reckons. “For every five you buy, you get a freebie!”
Rotating Mini Shows
Photo by Mya Giuliani
River Press - Shop
Locally-made art for sale at River Press
The space’s Micro Gallery will feature solo miniature art shows rotating every three months, starting with Sarah Jane Sutterfield’s Life Should Make More Sense Than This, open from August 29 through November.
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“It is a series of cosmic autobiographical monotypes,” Giuliani notes about LSMMSTT. “It’s been really cool to watch this process with a friend who’s also an artist I admire, and see her work go from processing grief and disillusionment into the pride and hope that comes forth.”
River Press is already booked out with exhibitions for the next 15 months. After the kickoff event, the store is open Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m., plus River Press will be participating in Doors Open Milwaukee.
“We’ll have workshops here too,” Giuliani mentions. “We also do poster services, so I’ll be connecting local events and bands with professional analog printmakers who are good fits for them.”
Giuliani has been vending and selling art for over 10 years. The idea to have and share a retail space of their own came as a fever pitch in 2023 while Giuliani had been working full-time in theater.
“It was a crazy schedule of early mornings and late nights, while also vending both days every weekend,” they recall. “I never really had a day off, so I started formulating how I could continue making art at the volume I was but also have a life, and also so that my friends could have a day off sometimes.”
Giuliani has been working out of the space since July 2024, beginning the paperwork to open River Press in January. “We are finally putting a pin in that chapter right now,” they affirm. Follow River Press on Instagram @riverpressmke.
