Author: Staff

A stage director, playwright, theatre educator and performer, Sheri Williams Pannell has been a long-standing member of the Milwaukee theatre community. Two years ago, Bronzeville Arts Ensemble (BAE) and Milwaukee Repertory Theater (The Rep) joined in partnership through which BAE would become a resident theater company of The Rep. This unique pairing was designed to strengthen both companies with the ultimate goal for BAE to have a long-term, sustainable path given the tremendous challenges that face emerging theater companies. “Bronzeville Arts Ensemble is fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in partnership with Milwaukee Repertory Theater over the...

Governor Scott Walker and Foxconn Founder Terry Gou signed a vaguely worded Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Milwaukee Art Museum on July 27. Both signatories noted the symbolism of the Art Museum’s wings, designed by Santiago Calatrava, had special significance because the project to bring Foxconn to Wisconsin was called “Flying Eagle.” Under Governor Walker’s plan, $3 billion in state tax breaks would be approved in August as an economic incentive package for Foxconn. The Taiwanese company has not specified a location, other than Southeastern Wisconsin, as the site for its new factory. The manufacturing facility is estimated...

The world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics, Foxconn Technology Group, announced on July 26 in Washington DC that it will invest $10 billion by 2020 to build a world-class manufacturing campus in Southeastern Wisconsin. As a global center of manufacturing for decades, Milwaukee saw its industrial base implode as businesses abandoned the city for lower taxes outside of the County and eventually inexpensive labor overseas. News of the Foxconn deal illustrates that, within a generation, the rural Wisconsin labor force is now cheaper than Asia’s. The reality is that the type of technology manufacturing produced by Foxconn has been...

Milwaukee PBS and WUWM Radio will present a community gathering to discuss what many believe are the underlying issues that provoked frustration and violence in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood in late August 2016. 10thirtysix host Portia Young and WUWM’s LaToya Dennis look at what is making a positive difference, and the work still needed in terms of housing, unemployment, education, community pride and police relations. A panel will also talk about the impact all of these issues have on neighborhoods and residents beyond Sherman Park. Reggie Jackson, head griot at America’s Black Holocaust Museum, will be part of the...

The Friends of Juneau Park launched a fundraising campaign in May to restore two historic statues in the park, Milwaukee’s first mayor and its first postmaster Solomon Juneau and the young Viking Leif the Discoverer. The organization is aiming to raise $150,000 to cover the costs of cleaning, applying new coating and patina and repairing damage from ice and water. As of July 11, $109,173.64 of the needed $150,000 has been raised from government agencies, private foundations, corporations, and individuals. Delayed maintenance and neglect of many kinds of art work, architectural features and other structures in Milwaukee’s parks have...