STITCH MILWAUKEE COMMUNITY MURAL PROJECT UNVEILING
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd, 2013
3 - 6pm
*POTLUCK! Bring a dish to pass
*POTLUCK! Bring a dish to pass
Aztec Ink Tattoo Shop (enter through back) 1230 S. Cesar Chavez Drive Milwaukee, WI
*As of 2014 Aztec Ink has moved to a new location! Find them at 2971 S. 13th St, Milwaukee, WI
*As of 2014 Aztec Ink has moved to a new location! Find them at 2971 S. 13th St, Milwaukee, WI
The STITCH Milwaukee Community Mural project began as a dream to bring people from different parts of town that normally don't cross paths together. It began as a series of summer open mics that began five years ago. This year the STITCH community wanted to do a collaborative mural project alongside the open mics. They created a video (here) to share the vision for a successful indiegogo campaign.
In July of this year after attending my first STITCH open mic I knew I wanted to be involved. I volunteered my time over the next three months to help co-facilitate the dreaming process with Jeannette Martin - a founding STITCH organizer - that happened between a number of participants who didn't initially view themselves as 'artists'.
We began by sharing stories in response to the questions: How has Milwaukee betrayed you? And, What do you personally do to heal? By building a foundation rooted in the Native American tradition of talking circles, we created a safe space where we began to share personal stories that reflected growing up in a city consistently ranked as #1 most racially segregated in America. Despite that statistic, what we learned was that by meeting consistently, 3 times per week and honoring each other's stories, we gave life to those stories and discovered a deeper meaning in the act of creation.
We were honored to have been hosted by the employees of Aztec Ink Tattoo shop for two months, in the back where they had ample space. Dedicated to the community themselves, we were shown so much support and appreciation by the owner Nuno and the other men that work there. I can personally attest to the mission of STITCH to bring people together because before this project, I'd never set foot into a tattoo shop before nor wanted to. That was just one of the ways this experience shattered some of my own preconceived notions.
STITCH on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STITCHMilwaukee