ALIEN SHE + SCOTLAND + MARY NOHL FELLOWSHIP

As fall wraps itself around me I realized I haven't updated the blog in over a month with news that is exciting & fresh. My summer went by in a blur of travel perpetuated by the success of my most recent film Sign Painters. The end of my hectic travel schedule isn't quite in sight yet (details about screenings for Sign Painters can be found on the website) but there are a few special things I wanted to mention here that are related but deserve their own recognition.

Today I arrived in Pittsburgh, one of my favorite cities in the states, to celebrate the opening of ALIEN SHE, an exhibit I am so very proud to be a part happening at Miller Gallery located on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. From the show description:

Alien She is the first exhibition to examine the lasting impact of Riot Grrrl on artists and cultural producers working today. A pioneering punk feminist movement that emerged in the early 1990s, Riot Grrrl has had a pivotal influence, inspiring many around the world to pursue socially and politically progressive careers as artists, activists, authors and educators. Emphasizing female and youth empowerment, collaborative organization, creative resistance and DIY ethics, Riot Grrrl helped a new generation to become active feminists and create their own culture and communities that reflect their values and experiences, in contrast to mainstream conventions and expectations.

Riot Grrrl and it's surrounding scene on the west coast was unarguably a turning point in my early teen years. Never in my dreams would I expect to be showing my work along side such a powerful group of influencal artists including Ginger Brooks Takahashi (Pittsburgh), Tammy Rae Carland (Oakland), Miranda July (Los Angeles), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), L.J. Roberts (Brooklyn), and my old friend Stephanie Syjuco (San Francisco). 

This show is actually traveling for the next few years so if you can't see it here, it may be coming to you! For more information visit their site.

From Pittsburgh I fly to Scotland for my second visit to Dundee where I will be doing a bunch of programing at the Dundee Contemporary Arts including a screening of Sign Painters and a few lectures. That is followed by a day off in Edinburgh of exploring and THEN I fly home just in time for the opening of the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship show that opens on Friday, September 27th at INOVA in Milwaukee. At both the Miller Gallery and INOVA I will be showing photos from my on-going photo essay project of alternative, often off-the-grid communities from around the country. 

Bottom line, things have been really busy and really amazing and I am looking forward to this fall when my schedule turns towards hometime. Then I get to settle into my new studio I just secured in the new Brenner Brewing building. That is where the new chapter of making will begin to unfold.

OH and if you are in Milwaukee you should make sure to check out the newest show I curated at Sky High Gallery, CRYSTAL CAVERN with work from Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels (Brooklyn) + VnessWolfCHild (Detroit). It's one of the most fantastical environments I have been lucky enough to be inside. The show runs through December so you have time- but you may want to go more than once. 

Art vs Craft: the GRAND FINALE

Today I announced big news, 2013 will be the last Art vs Craft!

For those of you not familiar, AVC is a show I've been producing in Milwaukee since 2004 inspired by participating in the first Renegade Craft Fair in 2003. In the early years I produced 2 events a year, one in the summer and one in the winter. As the production for Handmade Nation began to pick up and occupy most of my time I prioritized a single show a year that has always fallen on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Each year AVC has grown and turned into something bigger and better than I ever could of imagined. We moved through 4 venues with our growing pains and will end the story at the Harley Davidson Museum where we hosted the event last year.

Why? Well I'm not a believer that things have to last forever and I want to end the event on a high note while we still have momentum. I see all these other shows happening around the same time of year in Milwaukee and feel like makers have other opportunities to take advantage of. Those shows will have room to grow, people can start new events who have drive and passion and those events will nurture new exciting work. On a personal note, I am really excited to free up the time it takes to make this event successful to explore new projects for myself. The time and commitment a show the size of AVC takes to produce is immense and I want to let it go with grace, not total burn out. 

 The first AVC flyer

Designed by Faythe Levine, 2004

A few people have already approached me about taking the event over, of selling the name of the event and it's not going to happen. When my ex-business partner Kim Kisiolek and I decided to close Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery in 2009 we made the same decision. This is based in the fact that our blood, sweat and tears are intertwined with the name. If releasing the name Art vs Craft to another would mean the potential of my name being attached to something I am no longer involved with I'd prefer to just lay it to rest. So anyone who is interested in that idea, I'm flattered, but it's so exciting to start something from scratch. Let's all remember Art vs. Craft as a show that brought Milwaukee's maker community a little closer in the long lineage of other art events.

I hope you can all join us for the last year, it's going to be fantastic. Check out show details and the 2013 vendor list on the website. 

SKY HIGH: celebrating 25 years!

My cup runneth over with work and apparently I'm not good at blogging any more. During this 22 hour stint home between cities on tour with my movie I wanted to make sure an blog about the 25th Anniversary of my partner Aaron Polansky's skateboard shop. As you may know I have had my gallery posted up in the back of his store since 2010, which has been amazing for me (it's two blocks from our house). But way more importantly are the things that Aaron has accomplished over the years with Sky High. His endless energy to connect with kids, do community outreach and make shit happen amazes me daily. I mean this guy picks up the garbage on his way to work everyday on the street. Unreal. CAN YOU IMAGINE YOUR BUSINESS TURNING 25?! I am so proud to say the least. If you happen to be in Milwaukee July 6th, please swing by and celebrate with us! 

Before you read the history of Sky High below (which you should because it's amazing) I wanted to mention our current exhibit in the gallery with Kyle Ranson just got a little write up on Juxtapoz and my movie, Sign Painters just got a glowing review in the Boston Globe. 

SKY HIGH SKATEBOARD SHOP: AN ABRIDGED HISTORY 

1988 George and Dimitri Dimitropoulos open Sky High on Douglas Avenue in Racine, both were still in high school. This location was the first skate only skate shop in the area.

1990 George Dimitropoulos convinces the Racine YMCA into renting out a room in the basement for an indoor skatepark during the winter months. It was a big deal, in those days the nearest skatepark was in Rockford, Ill. The Sky High skatepark runs until 1997.

1991 the shop moves from Douglas Ave to a larger space on Main Street in Racine, operated now singly by George Dimitropoulos. Current owner Aaron Polansky gets hired.

1993 Sky High opens another new location at 4649 S 108th Street in Milwaukee. The Racine location is soon shut down.

1995 Sky High holds a massive skate jam at Cass St  Playground, co-hosted by professional skateboarder Al Partanen’s organization, People Uplifting People In Life (PUPIL). Over 200 people attend.

1999 George Dimitropoulos sells the skate shop to current owner Aaron Polansky.

1999-2005 Polansky buys a trailer and fills it with wooden ramps, in effort to recreate the PUPIL jam of the past. Because of this the legendary Cass Street jams are held every month through the summer season.

2004-05 Polansky buys a building in Bay View and moves the store to its current location of 2501 S Howell Ave. Polansky felt the neighborhood possessed the qualities of a community he wanted to be a part of. A neighborhood where business owners and residents considered each other more and were interested in making things happen. The Howell St location provides the space for block party events and Polansky moves the Cass St skate jams to Bay View.

2006 To promote local independently owned businesses, Sky High produces limited-edition skateboard decks designed by the following Bay View shops; Fashion Ninja, Solid State Tattoo, Cactus Club, Fasten Collective, RushMor Records, Luv Unlimited, Paper Boat Boutique and Hi-Fi Café.  Not long after the Bay View series Sky High releases a skateboard deck dedicated to the Brew City Bruisers. The entire collection is on view at Classic Slice Pizza. 

2008 The shop turns 20 and celebrates with a historical photo exhibit at Paper Boat Gallery.

2010 Polansky partners with local curator Faythe Levine and they create Sky High Gallery located in the back of the skate shop. Together they also curate the outdoor Temporary Mural Project on the building that features local artists for 3 month durations promoting positive messages for the community.

2011 Polansky partners with Classic Slice Pizza and local car club The Cheaters to host “Wheel Night” in Bay View. The bi-monthly summer event happens the second and fourth Wednesday of each month and celebrates all things with wheels. 

2013 Sky High celebrates 25 years as a small business.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sky High history written by Aaron Polansky
There is so much more to tell....ask him for stories.