Uniquely Milwaukee

For three decades, Milwaukee has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday with a celebratory event hosted at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. The free program is packed with performances from numerous cultural arts organizations but at the core of the event, the main focus is the contest winners.

Within the Milwaukee area, one in three Milwaukee families who are renting spend over 50 percent of their total income on housing alone. According to data, residents living in Harambee, the median household income is roughly $20,000. The average price point for a small one-bedroom apartment is around $850, at it's lowest.

Ruben Flores grew up almost like every other kid in Milwaukee. He went to Riverside High School and became valedictorian. He loved playing the piano and was passionate about robotics. In 2009, during his senior year of High School, just like his peers, he was applying for college and had ambition but he was faced with the information that he was undocumented.

About 10 years ago, Lynn Tachick started her own pottery business and like most people who open up shop, she didn’t realize her home pottery studio would turn into a space breast cancer survivors to share their stories.

In 1984, Robert Berry, a Milwaukee public school teacher, helped to start a tradition at his Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts. He added a student-run dinner theater to its annual productions where students would serve attendees a catered meal before the opening night show. Even after switching schools a retiring, he is continuing the tradition alive at Clement Avenue Elementary. Meet Mr. Berry...

Where do people go in the daytime if they are homeless or in a housing crisis to work and improve on their situation?

The year 2015 was the year of self-publishing blogs. It was during that period of time anyone can make something or say something as long as they have the means to connect to the internet. That’s exactly what Julia Nusbaum did, she found an avenue that was untapped and decided to roll with it. Nusbaum is the founder and editor of chief of HerStry, an online literary magazine that provides a platfo...

Have you ever watched a good film and think to yourself, “I wonder how that was made? Who are the brains behind this project?” If you’re anything like myself, you might go on a tangent and start thinking about local filmmakers, how they might make it to the big screens and how they could walk among us waiting for the big opportunity. Now you don’t have to wonder because Saint Kate Hotel presents a...

Black Arts MKE is a non-profit organization that collaborates with artists and art organizations here in Milwaukee. Executive Director, Barbara Wanzo said the main goal of the organization is to spread representation by providing a space for African American artists to be creative.

The Milwaukee initiative to add colorful lights to the Hoan Bridge keeps moving forward. Thanks to a major gift from an anonymous donor via the Greater Milwaukee Foundation last month, the organization Light the Hoan is about halfway to its more than $4 million fundraising goal. Learn how it is tapping into young local talent to program how the lights will respond.

This past weekend, The Milwaukee Public Library hosted an event called “The story of Menominee with Richard Plass” to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Plass is a Menominee, Stockbridge/Munsee Indian from northern Wisconsin who was raised on the Menominee Indian Reservation. His Menominee name translates to the one who changes feathers.

Although the weather outcast was rainy, chilly and gloomy, it was balanced by the cozy atmosphere within the 10th annual hovercraft market, Milwaukee’s annual holiday shopping extravaganza. Located inside the Pritzlaff Building there were more than 100 local vendors selling goods that ranged from pottery, prints, jewelry and many more. The filled space was booming with energy and community.

Afternoon host Ayisha Jaffer and Nate Imig traveled to the Schlitz Audubon Center to learn about its raptor program, featuring hawks, owls, eagles and falcons. Go behind the scenes.

Milwaukee's eviction crisis continues

If you only had three minutes to grab your personal items from your home before fleeing your country, what items would you grab? Would you grab documentation? Would you grab sentimental items like your grandfather's watch or a family photograph? Can you even pack up your life in three minutes? What about half an hour, is that enough time?

Social roles and norms are the root substance of Vaughan Larsen’s work. Larsen is a Milwaukee based artist and photographer, primarily focusing on self-portraiture dealing with queer identities and relationships within society with their latest project being Rites and Parenthood.

Victress Vibes, co-founded by Courtney Hellendrung and Alaina Landi, is a sustainable hand-printed clothing brand aimed to share the stories of women.

More than one million immigrants arrive in the United States each year and Milwaukee's diversity is because of the immigrants that live within our city. This year we partnered with Ex Fabula and No studios to bring Community Stories Live event called “Coming to Milwaukee, Immigration Stories”, where multiple Milwaukeeians share their experiences with immigration. Iuscely Flores is a UW-Milwaukee s...

The COA Youth and Family Center, established in 1906, has been serving low-income families and children in Milwaukee for 113 years. The center is divided into three divisions; early childhood development, youth development and community development. The youth development sector focuses on preteens and teens through afterschool and summer programs, one being the Kohls Explore Your Future Program, a...

torically, Hmong people were once a stateless group living in the mountains of Laos and Thailand. In the mid 70s, The Hmong people were political refugees in the United States as a result of their involvement with the American military. Roughly more than 130,000 refugees settled in the States after being sponsored from schools and churches.

First Stage presented the production “On the Wings of the Mariposa” by Alvaro Saar Rios on Oct. 18. The play is an adaptation of the children's book “Ghost Wings” written by Barbara M. Joosse and follows 10-year-old Pilar who struggles with the passing of her Abuelita. Pilar uses the associates the scent of her grandmother's scarf in order to keep her memory alive.

Libraries are an integral part of a community. Beyond just storing thousands and thousands of books, Milwaukee Public Libraries, across 13 branches have programs that cater to everyone.

Helium books, co-founded by Jacob Carlson and Ian Buchanan, is a free library book delivery service here in Milwaukee. Just like the name Helium, their mission is to uplift readers through the power of reading.

Next time you're at the Milwaukee Art Museum, be sure to stroll through a temporary exhibition on view now through February. It's called Portrait of Milwaukee and features more than 100 black and white photos from 20th century Milwaukee. Learn how one set of photos were miraculously salvaged from a massive fire in this community story.

Filipino cuisine probably can’t be defined under a singular term or even a few terms. A reason why is because it’s hard to pinpoint a sole description when the Philippines consist of roughly seven thousand islands. However, Meat on the Street, a Milwaukee family-owned Filipino storefront, and food truck bring some of the flavors of the islands to you.