Introducing Culture & Couture: The Dynamic Duo Of Bronzeville Week 2026

PRODUCER AND CREATOR OF FASHION SHOW, KENVOGUE STRUTTING DOWN THE RUNWAY

Festive holidays grounded in being surrounded by your bloodline, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, are not the only celebratory events highly anticipated each year. The city of Milwaukee stopped playing when it came to African-American legacy and the perseverance of it 13 years ago, and has stood on business ever since. On August 17th, 2013, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs declared the first eight days of August Bronzeville Week. For many throughout the city, it felt as if Alderwoman Coggs was the heavyweight champion who had just won the sweet victory of the visibility and ultimate recognition for who black people are and what we stand for. The intentional and detail-oriented jamboree provides more than a quick snapshot of not only our history but also how the bronzed legacy of African-Americans is strengthening during the present day. While it is true that Bronzeville Week honors the past economic, social, and creative hubs of African-American history, one event in particular was new on the block and turned heads immediately.

model @sheEsomiera, working the runway photography credit: TAHJAY BLACKMON

Last Thursday, August 6th, 2026, the Where Culture Meets Couture fashion show was held at America’s Black Holocaust Museum [401 W North Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53212]. Ken Vogue, an established model, producer, and Milwaukee creative, carefully curated the dynamic fashion show and made sure she incorporated the foundation of Bronzeville Week as the pulse that kept the show going! Her goal was to give everyone who was up for the challenge a chance to showcase their talents and work the runway in every way they possibly could. The bold and rare opportunity was not just signed, sealed, and delivered to only aspiring models, but also to skilled designers, hungry entrepreneurs, and rising content creators. From the moment the door opened, the reigning question of the night began pouring out of everybody eagerly. That question being, “What type of fashion are we about to witness, and who are the hands behind the designs?”

MODEL, @SHAMISHOTZZ GIVING THE AUDIENCE HIGH ENERGY photography credit: TAHJAY BLACKMON

After viewing the handcrafted and unique designs being displayed in such an intricate runway style, it didn’t come as a shock when I saw the star-studded line-up of designers who were the driving force of the fashion. I’m telling you /CW Fam this line-up is better than the 2001 Queens Of Comedy Stand-Up Special. The Culture Meets Couture 2026 Fashion Show Designers were: Keziah Carter, owner of WhyKNOTCouture; Demetria of DesignsByDeme; Carlos Vergara of Aesthetic; and Erica of E.B. Couture. Let me just tell you, each and every one of them understood the assignment when it came to creating the perfect blend of high-end couture pieces while also having that swaggy flair that exudes cultural impact. The audience, as well as I, fell in love with the essence of not knowing what outfit was going to be making its way down the runway next. The element of surprise and the designers all tapping into different color schemes and textures from one another definitely kept the engagement at an all-time high throughout the entire night! You didn’t know if a sexy bodycon dress was coming up next in the spotlight, a Harlem-Renaissance-inspired outfit, or a matching set made completely of crochet. Every piece immediately sparked conversation in the crowd [More than ooohs and ahhhhs] and left everyone in their seat wanting more.

photography credit: TAHJAY BLACKMON

Producer and creator of the fashion, Ken Vogue, knew exactly who to call to host this event effortlessly. The emcee of the night was none other than entrepreneur, professional host, and Milwaukee creative, Yanna Danielle. It was interesting picking her brain about how she prepares for epic and high-energy creative events such as this one. This was the talented emcee’s response:

“I like to know what type of crowd I’m going to be in front of and understand the purpose of the event first. I go over the schedule, designers, names, and any important information I need to mention. I also don’t like to over-rehearse because I want it to feel natural. A lot of hosting is being able to read the room, keep the energy going, and think on your feet. As the host, I feel like my job is to connect everything together and keep people entertained even during transitions or unexpected moments.”- Host, Yanna Danielle

She also emphasized the significance she felt that the venue of the jaw-dropping event has.

“I think having it at America’s Black Holocaust Museum made the event feel even more meaningful because of what that space represents for Milwaukee’s Black community. It’s a place centered around Black history, education, culture, and preserving stories that deserve to be told. Having a fashion show there during Bronzeville Week brought history and present-day Black creativity together in the same space.” -Host, Yanna Danielle

She kept the night flowing with laughs, questions, and making everyone in attendance comfortable. The audience, as well as the designers and models, loved her energetic and carefree spirit as she hosted throughout the night! Working a crowd and reading the room for consecutive hours on end is no cakewalk, but Yanna Danielle could’ve fooled all of us. From hyping up each model as they gave their sassiest strut, spotting audience members whose aura screamed supermodel, and utilizing the stage as the layout for her own impromptu mini comedy special, she deserves an award for the level of professionalism & authenticity that was given as a host.

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT TO TAHJAY BLACKMON

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT TO TAHJAY BLACKMON

After speaking with majority of those who were in attendance, I instantly recognized one normality that stood out. The Where Culture Meets Couture Fashion Show presented a different type of vibe that any of us expected from a fashion show. Host, Yanna Danielle, stated this:

“To me, the purpose was bigger than just showing clothes. It was about highlighting creativity within the community, giving designers and models an opportunity to showcase themselves, and bringing people together during Brownsville Week. It was another way to celebrate Black culture, entrepreneurship, art, and talent right here in Milwaukee.”-Yanna Danielle

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT TO TAHJAY BLACKMON

For many, this was one of the highlights of Bronzeville Week 2026. It was the perfect reminder that talent towers this city, and it is often overlooked when conversations are about impact and the fashion industry. There has been this debate brewing around Milwaukee about whether you have to leave Milwaukee completely to reach success and your highest potential. This is proof that everyone who has dreams, talent, and a hunger for success does not have to abandon MKE or change their environment. This celebration of black culture, entrepreneurship, art, fashion, and talent awakened and inspired those in the audience that you never have to wait for your dreams to happen on their own; you create the opportunity and body it in your own unique way. Comment down below your favorite look of the night!

Desriana Gilbert/ Entertainment & Social Journalist for CW

YOU ARE INVITED TO BRONZEVILLE WEEK 2025 | GOOD NEIGHBOR COMMUNITY BLOCK PARTY

Creative’s Making Impact By Lifting Other Creatives w/ The Creative Collab | Bronzeville Artist-in-Residency Mentor Program

Creative’s Making Impact By Lifting Other Creatives w/ The Creative Collab | Bronzeville Artist-in-Residency Mentor Program

[A mentoring-focused Artist-in-Residency program that connects youth with a professional creative]

Creativity is best cultivated through collaboration. However, opportunities for creative collaboration can be sparse depending on age, locality, and personal network. Statistically, we know that “28% of surveyed Milwaukee-based creatives are strongly considering relocating to another city due to a lack of creative opportunities, jobs, and support here” [Imagine MKE, 2023]. Retention of talent [cultivated locally] will always be a problem unless we address it intentionally, constantly, & economically supported.

Under the leadership of Jazale’s Art Studio, Vedales Art Studio [Vedale Hill], and /CW Creative Studios + Shop [Owned by CopyWrite, Magazine, Media & Design, Lexi S. Brunson] we have cultivated the collaborative means to propel many creative career paths while navigating Milwaukee’s economic & opportunity disparities in the creative sector. From fine arts to media, fashion to performance, and all the intersectional practices of creative entrepreneurship in between, we have found a methodology that can help creatives excel in their personal and professional goals.

Today, we launch THE CREATIVE COLLAB | BRONZEVILLE ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY MENTOR PROGRAM is a mentoring-focused Artist-in-Residency program that connects youth with a professional creative. Each youth participant will have access to mentors across the creative spectrum in their area of interest. Participants will be immersed in a diverse creative environment, where they will witness everyday practices of creative professionalism, methods of creative production, problem-solving, the proper methods of documentation, and how best to utilize their specific skill sets. This program will provide mentors & mentees stipends to emphasize the value of creative practice while navigating the economic necessities of a quality & sustainable practice.

MAGE BY COPYWRITE MAGAZINE VIA /CW SUMMER HIGH SCOOL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE | VISITING MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM -DERICK ADAMS, OUR TIME TOGETHER EXIBIT

“We have to understand that creative success directly correlates with access to resources & a creative network. A big piece of that narrative is funding.  An artist should no longer be asked to starve. I know I don’t starve well! If we can help young creatives understand their value to society, while giving them the professional tools to navigate this industry, then as a community we all will reap the reward”, said Vedale Hill. 

“Collectively, we have sat in rooms that have had the social capital and funding force that could fortify the creative industry in Milwaukee. However, time & time again, some people refuse to educate themselves on how creative talent enhances a communities cultural identity, promotes economic growth, and improves overall quality of life. If we take creatives out of the equation, there is no success in any industry. We want the next generation to have better opportunities than we have. So here we are attempting to do the right thing for all the right reasons. We hope that our community can support that in an active way”. - noted Lexi S. Brunson.

IMAGE BY COPYWRITE MAGAZINE VIA /CW SUMMER HIGH SCOOL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE | BEQUEST YOUTH LED FASHION EXPERIENCE AT /CW CREATIVE STUDIOS

As of today, May 16th, 2025, THE CREATIVE COLLAB | BRONZEVILLE ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY MENTOR PROGRAM applications are now live. Qualified applicants include Creatives 13-25, who are Milwaukee County residents, are enrolled in middle school, high school, or a post-secondary educational institution, with proof of exemplary creative skill sets. Financial needs are highly considered. Spring/Summer 2025 Cohort pre-screened participants will be notified of their acceptance via email by May 20th, 2025. Other applicants will be notified if they are accepted to a cohort on a rolling basis.

Special thanks to The Brewers Community Foundation for helping us pilot the program with their sponsorship contribution. We are still looking for additional funding sponsors for 2025 cohorts to further THE CREATIVE COLLAB's capacity, mentoring opportunities, and communal impact. [All sponsorships are tax deductible through Jazale's Art Studio's 501C Status]. If you are interested, please contact us at jazalesartstudio.org@gmail.com | copywrite.mke@gmail.com, Attn: The Creative Collab 

Want to be a part of our communal impact? Please consider donating at:

For Press inquiries, interviews, and other media-related requests, please contact Lexi S. Brunson, Editor-in-Chief of CopyWrite Magazine, at: Copywrite.mke@gmail.com 

/CW

The Pop-Up | /CW Creative Shop | Bronzeville Week 2023

CopyWrite Magazine + Jazale's Art Studio | Back To School Block Party 2022 [Recap Video]

HomeWorks: Bronzeville Development Initiative is "Re-imagining" Gentrification w/ Artist in Mind

HomeWorks: Bronzeville purchases City-owned foreclosure,

 reviving the decade-long vacancy as part of an artist housing cluster

As renovation will soon be on its way, the Press and community is invited to attend

HomeWorks: Bronzeville “Press Launch”, March 26, 2022 at 10:30am at the north east corner of

N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue & W. Meinecke Avenue.

“Community” development is at an all time high in Milwaukee's Bronzeville Cultural and Entertainment District. While this development spike has several stakeholders, critics, and polarizing advocates, its existence grants opportunity for communal investment that has not been seen since the disruption and displacement of the 1960’s. One group of creatives has taken on the idea of community development as a personal call to action, understanding the plight of gentrification with longing for urban life that respects new and existing neighbors. They call it HomeWorks: Bronzeville.

As of March 15th, 2022 the long anticipated acquisition of the final property in their piloted three building cluster has been achieved. The site was previously a City of Milwaukee foreclosure that has been vacant for over a decade. HomeWorks: Bronzeville can now begin its renovation of the south-facing duplex and quad demolition at 322-340 West Meinecke. The duplex will be rehabilitated into a two-story single, Artist Live-Work Space for Local and Visiting Artists (3-bedroom upper with lower level art studio) with initial tenant Alexia S. Brunson and CopyWrite Magazine. The quad will temporarily become Greenspace for year-round art installations and programs by Jazale’s Art Studio, MKE<->LAX, Food4All, I Am Milwaukee, and CopyWrite Magazine. 

“While others build a place and then find the people, we find the people and then build the place,” said Vedale Hill of Jazale’s Art Studio in discussing the need for this type of creative development.

HomeWorks: Bronzeville is a development initiative based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that emphasizes community development in its physical, economic, and social form by way of authentic arts and culture applications. At the foundation of this initiative are co-owners Vedale Hill, Sara Daleiden, and Mikal Floyd-Pruitt, who are all active members of the arts community. Their collective experiences in navigating real estate for their professional, communal, and personal creative practices have helped them form an effective ideology on creative placemaking and developing community holistically.

HomeWorks: Bronzeville centralizes their development efforts on specific qualities that are meant to challenge traditional practices and emphasize niche community needs including:

• Client Specific - artist and community cultivators who are also entrepreneurs

• Creating Ownership - providing opportunities to add + retain economic, cultural, and influential value 

• Stability - building directional infrastructure for communal longevity 

• Reimagining Gentrification - by changing the “how” not the “who”

• Narrative Shifting - focusing on ownership as a tool for stability and growth

• Transferable value - facilitating experiences that elevate authentic community practices + interest via a creative economy

• Retaining creative talent pool - through genuine opportunity and consistency for artists

“It’s crucial that our shared values and aspirations frame and guide this initiative. If goals and practices aren’t part of the process, they won’t be part of the product. It’s as simple as that.” - Mikal Floyd-Pruitt, I Am Milwaukee

Their collective ideology through real world experience of displacement, eventually led them to find a location in the heart of Bronzeville with a three building cluster that they will turn into the anchor home they all envision [located at the corner of W. Meinecke Ave & N. Vel R. Phillips Ave]. This will be a place that will hold all the programmatic elements of their respective organizations and businesses, residential property for artist housing, rental studios, and community space. As of 2018, HomeWorks: Bronzeville has completed its first fully developed property in the cluster co-developed with Strong Blocks; a fully gutted duplex turned two-story artist live-work space designed for Vedale Hill and family, featuring a public gallery space on the lower level.

“We seek to cultivate Bronzeville by concentrating on properties that surround America's Black Holocaust Museum in the Harambee neighborhood portion of the district. We honor the re-emergence of the museum as a beacon for change and an archive of pertinent history for this community” - Sara Daleiden, MKE<->LAX

Homeworks: Bronzeville notes that without active collaboration reviving the site's decade-long vacancy under this type of incentive would not have been possible. Collaborators include the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Preservation Fund, Thurman Grant Architect, CopyWrite Magazine, Toki & Associates, Darren Hill, Jeff Lamar Brown, Gray Development Group, Food4All, Strong Blocks and other cultural leaders from the district and the city. The project has also been guided by City leadership including Alderwoman Milele Coggs, the Bronzeville Advisory Committee, the Department of City Development and the Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation in connection with the City’s Bronzeville Redevelopment Plan, the Bronzeville Artist Housing Report and the Art and Resource Community Hub (ARCH) Loan Program. 

Through support from the City’s ARCH Loan Program, Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Wisconsin Preservation Fund, HomeWorks: Bronzeville is actualizing on this artist housing cluster, in alignment with the neighboring America’s Black Holocaust Museum.

As renovation will soon be on its way, the Press and community is invited to attend HomeWorks: Bronzeville “Press Launch”, March 26, 2022 at 10:30am at the north east corner of N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue & W. Meinecke Avenue.

Always learning from the world around them, challenging the systems before them, and advocating for authentic progression in creative place-making, HomeWorks: Bronzeville believes “Community thrives on cultures.”

HomeWorks: Bronzeville is currently looking for investors for their future development projects. You can support them through their non-profit financing partner Wisconsin Preservation Fund.

Press Inquiries

Lexi S. Brunson, CopyWrite Magazine, Media Relations

copywrite.mke@gmail.com

General & Development Inquiries

Vedale Hill, Jazale’s Art Studio, Co-Owner

(414) 403-3000

Sara Daleiden, MKE<->LAX, Co-Owner

(323) 630-7272

home@homeworksbronzeville.com

www.homeworksbronzeville.com

About: 

HomeWorks: Bronzeville is a development initiative based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Titled by its namesake, the Bronzeville Cultural and Entertainment District, this initiative emphasizes community development in its physical, economic, and social form by way of authentic arts and culture applications. Learn more at: https://homeworksbronzeville.com/CHARTER