About Project

Landing on Mitchell Street

“I lost my ego at the Modjeska theater and I hope I never find it again.” -Amanda Johnson

Milwaukee is filled with rich communities and neighborhoods — enough for a lifetime of exploration and creation — so what brought this project to Mitchell Street?

First, a little background on the artists:

Sonja Thomsen is an American artist whose multifaceted practice combines photography, sculpture and site-specific public art to create spaces that recalibrate our perceptions and platform embodied knowing. 

Adam Carr works at the intersection of community and communication, intentionally and specifically in Milwaukee, WI. His work brings him into collaborations across many communities and his storytelling spans audio production, writing, tours, filmmaking and journalism.

Together, Thomsen and Carr have collaborated to create two site-responsive public art projects (on Milwaukee’s North and South Sides) with a process and product that fuses their two practices. 

In 2012, they created here, mothers are in the Amani neighborhood. During that moment in the city’s history, the public narrative about Amani was dominated by foreclosure. Yet, the community had no shortage of deep-rooted stories spanning generations of family. Thomsen and Carr collaborated with the Dominican Center for Women to meet mothers and families in the community for interviews. Images and voices from those domestic spaces became an installation on a foreclosed home and adjacent City of Milwaukee popup gallery. A series of lawn signs with a prompt “here, mother’s are _______”  were filled in and distributed across the Amani neighborhood.

When they started exploring the potential of Mitchell Street, the size and scale of the architecture pointed to layers of history. While both artists grew up in Milwaukee and had quintessential Mitchell Street experiences, neither was an expert. However, walking down the street, they felt a kaleidoscope of culture and an energy like no other place in the city.

Following the Breadcrumbs

The research process of Listening to Mitchell lasted over 15 months.  

The artists found their first three interviews in 2013 to be special, drawing out themes that would become core to the project — the struggles and success of immigration, relationships of fathers and sons, tension between past and future.

After the first trio of interviews, Thomsen and Carr sought out prominent voices and regular folks, with one conversation leading to the next.

The tapestry of experiences collected was astounding. As the downtown of Milwaukee’s South Side, Mitchell Street has seen generations of immigrants and migrants, each wave making its own mark.

People go to Mitchell Street for a reason, oftentimes for the ordinary, but also for the exceptional — births, baptisms, first communions, first dates, quinceaneras, breakdance battles, concerts, iftars, weddings, funerals and everything in between. 

Each interview drew out precious memories from a dizzying range of eras on Mitchell Street. The artists heard about a handful of different “golden eras:” when the street was home to a handful of grand theaters or the birth of hip hop on Milwaukee’s South Side. They also heard different ideas about what “decline” means, usually when the place the speaker knew in their youth was no longer.

Mitchell Street has belonged to so many and the interviews could have continued as long as the street lasts.

“I arrived. I didn’t have any money. I had 25$ in my pocket. I had a sweater I was wearing, a couple of shirts, pair of pants and three books.”

German Diaz was a third grade teacher at Allen-Field Elementary who came from Columbia to Milwaukee as a seminarian. His arrival featured some unexpected drama on Mitchell Street — he arrived at St. Anthony’s in the middle of the night and he had to improvise his way in. While we spoke to him in his backyard, he shared his uncommon devotion to philosophy and knowledge, as well as the ups and downs of adjustment to life in Milwaukee.

“It is not because of religion, but social tradition. Carry on and on and on, from father to grandfather to great grandfather.”

Amrit Patel is a businessman who runs both AP Foods, an Indian grocery store, and a successful accounting firm. He has become an important part of the Mitchell Street business scene, as well as a pillar in the Indian community. Because his store and tax operation bring him in contact with so many South Asian Milwaukeeans, he has become instrumental in organizing community events and celebrations.

“Furs are like clothing and shoes; you get good bad and indifferent. We always had high-end furs — 95% of my merchandise is made in North America. It’s getting harder and harder to find makers. Good makers.”

Conrad Holzman grew up on Mitchell Street, eventually taking over his father’s fur company, Holzman Furs. One of the last remaining furriers in Milwaukee, he keeps alive a business that’s been going since 1925. We spoke to him in his retro showroom surrounded by luxury furs, exploring both the street’s past, how he’s adapted to the street’s everchanging present and what he thinks will come next. 

Installation and Activation

“If it was fixed up, it could be amazing, amazing, amazing. It’s still pretty amazing though.” - Felix Martinez

Listening to Mitchell landed on Mitchell Street in the summer of 2014 from May to September.

Listening to Mitchell was an invitation to slow down and engage with the street. The project was scattered throughout seven city blocks, like a scavenger hunt spread across wall sides, interiors of stores, marquees and display windows. While seeking out the images and stories of Listening to Mitchell, the artists encouraged viewers/listeners to encounter a great deal of Mitchell Street’s depth and texture in between. 

Someone experiencing the project might engage with a few artworks/stories or spend hours exploring multiple locations throughout the street. 

Culmination

“We gotta keep going… We gotta stay here. We work here so we gotta do what we gotta do to keep the festival going.” – Tony Gonica

Listening to Mitchell was intended to be temporary but the artists were committed to finding a way for the spirit of the project to live on. 

They believed the project could open spaces for artists and community practitioners to engage with the street. In fact, with excellent buildings for studio space and an ever-evolving cultural richness, the street has long been a home to artists.

In mid-2015, the Milwaukee Public Library announced a new branch was coming to Mitchell Street. Soon after, Thomsen and Carr began brainstorming with them on ways Listening to Mitchell could act as a seed for future creative, cultural and community engagement in the library. In 2017, Listening to Mitchell along with Milwaukee Public Library, Artists Working in Education and Ex Fabula, won an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for a project named Gathering Art, Stories and Place.

Artists Sonja Thomsen and Adam Carr have stated the greatest accomplishment of Listening to Mitchell was opening the door for all the work created by Gathering Art, Stories and Place. This project was a platform for incredible artists-in-residence at the library, vibrant cultural programs, artistic discoveries and much more in 2018-2019 and beyond. 

Speaking of which, you can explore GASP in much greater depth here.