Art Revolution MKE

“If a picture is worth a thousand words then we’ll paint a thousand pictures...”
-Illogic 

We put stories on walls
We put poems in pictures
We peacefully protest thru art

We award unsung heroes n community leaders, main stream media wont acknowledge

Black n Brown communities don’t own many media outlets tv stations or otherwise

Our art is often the only Voice We have
and we intend to use it to Teach , memorialize and Create New Culture.
We move with the
“Fierce urgency of now “ as MLK

We are story tellers n change agents of NOW

- Sam Alford

Our mission is to memorialize and to honor the victims of police brutality. The MIL Collective is working alongside private property owners to develop murals that reflect the community and culture in which they will be displayed. Creating to not only inspire but to bring awareness to the justices that these victims and their families desperately need.

We are creating an outdoor museum that is inviting to all of Milwaukee and the world to view. Art that is owned by the community and cannot be sold. We are currently experiencing a global pandemic and a revolution simultaneously. It’s now more important than ever that we as humans have a place to view art. With museums and galleries shutdown across the city, the MIL Collective hopes to provide art viewing safely and invoke conversations about systemic racism, while exploring the beautiful neighborhoods of Milwaukee and highlighting current events.

The MIL Collective is a group of volunteer artists dedicated to bringing justice and equity into the conversations of the viewers and the city as a whole. We are creating revolution through art. We are listening to what the people want to see in their communities, uplifting the voices of the unheard. Raising awareness through visual art is powerful and necessary. We believe Milwaukee is long over due. Let’s make this city as colorful as it says it is!!!

The Creative Director of the MIL Collective is Sam Alford Poet, revolutionary, and a very dedicated leader in the community. He sits on the board of the African American round table. Sam has worked alongside many other leaders to bring awareness and justice for BIPOC in Milwaukee. He is a true believer in the revolution, a thriver and a survivor. It has been a longtime dream of Sam Alford to create and curate an outdoor museum in Milwaukee. He works directly alongside artists to create workable spaces and find private property owners dedicated to contributing to our cause. 

Sequanna Taylor is the project manager for the MIL collective. She has dedicated her life to the community and justice. As one of the most powerful woman in Milwaukee she has organized countless events to provide safety, food, and help to the community. She has held and currently holds local, statewide, and national seats. Working alongside our artists she provides support. Sequanna will also be holding the funding and approval of funds within the MIL Collective. This will ensure that the entire group will be accountable while providing complete  transparency. 

Our focus at the moment is completing the buildings on Vliet in between 14th and 11th provided to us by the current property owners and business owners of Best Quality Furniture store. Abbas (property and store owner) is a wonderful person who is supporting our cause. Police brutality is something he is familiar with in Palestine, which is synonymous with what is happening in the US. Abbas believes that we should fight against these injustices happening all over the world. We are in desperate need of more property owners with hearts as big as our current supporters and wall providers like Ihsan and Abbas.

We are currently in the process of a Local Community Leaders mural and are underfunded. We are requesting help to buy more equipment in the form of utility vehicles, lights, generators, scaffolding, ladders, projectors, paint, and painting equipment. We also hope to eventually acquire a home base to work out of, to prepare murals and store equipment. 

After completing the Vliet St. project we will be moving on to other private properties including Dr. Carters pharmacy on 24th and Burleigh and some open walls alongside North Ave. between 6th and 50th.  In addition to some walls available on the South side and East side of Milwaukee.

Our permanent volunteer artists have helped to create many of the murals you have seen go up across the city recently. They are dedicated to keeping up the momentum and inclusive attitudes. We will be planning more community based events focused on getting the youth in the community to create murals working alongside professional art teachers who will volunteer their time. Seminars on portraiture will soon be available to help teach and uplift local artists interested in becoming muralists. We hope to work alongside other art organizers to provide paying jobs to BIPOC artists while supporting them through teaching, guidance, and providing resources such as paint and equipment so they are able to become successful muralists.

Any and all donations are extremely helpful and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you are able to donate any of the equipment or resources we are seeking please do not hesitate to contact either Sam at [email redacted] 414-429 or Sequanna Taylor via Facebook.

-Sincerely the MIL Collective    

        ~Muralists In Love~