Milwaukee arts organization Arts@Large will display Milwaukee’s civil rights history as art this weekend at Gallery @ Large, 908 S. 5th St. as part of Gallery Night in Milwaukee.
The exhibition will consist of multimedia projects based on historical events, including visual art, small theatrical works by students, poetry recitals and video of archival footage provided by UW-Milwaukee.
NOVA High School students worked with and interviewed a host of local activitists including Margret Rozga, widow of the late Father James Groppi; Dr. Shirley Butler-Derge, Vel Philips, Prentice McKinney and Dr. Jay Larkey to learn about the fair housing issues for African-American in 1960s Milwaukee. The exhibit is the culminating research and learning experience of the students.
“Ultimately, this exhibit will serve as a valuable resource to the Milwaukee education community and allow many other teachers the opportunity to bring an often overlooked element of Milwaukee black history into the classroom,” saic Kelly Di Giacinto, NOVA teacher. “At the same time, my students are learning valuable twenty-first century skills that will follow them into the work world, giving them a sense of pride and speaking volumes on a resume or college application.”
The gallery night exhibit is the first part of a larger project by Arts @ Large that will include a Walking and Virtual tour of historical civil rights landmarks through the city. The exhibit will be on display Friday, April 20, from 4 to 8 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
