CopyWrite Presents: SS22 - A Streetwear Showcase | PROMO VIDEO + TICKETS

SS22

CopyWrite Magazine present:

Street Smartz: A Streetwear Showcase

On May 22nd from 6pm-9pm, The Vatofied Experience will be collaborating with the Designers of Brick Layers Club and Planet Marcellus to offer a dynamic show that presents Black Men in fashion, a more than trendy display on Urban wear, and the ever morphing nuances of modern fashion culture.

Check out this promo video to get a glimpse of how we will be rocking SS22.

Get your tickets here:

General Admission

VIP Experience

Join us on Instagram Live Today, May 19th 11am | Critics & Coffee

Today on Instagram Live!!!!

The “Out of the Picture” team will return on Thursday with the latest edition of Critics & Coffee, a quick, deeply personal and caffeinated conversation among art critics on Instagram Live. You can catch it all here tomorrow at @marylouises, 10 am MT/11 am CT ☕️

/CW

Feel the SHIFT! CopyWrite Magazine Issue 19: Shape Shifting | Official Drop 4-15-22

SHAPE SHIFTING | ISSUE 19 | COPYWRITE MAGAZINE | 4-15-22 |

SHAPE SHIFTING | ISSUE 19 | COPYWRITE MAGAZINE | 4-15-22 |

Are you ready to feel the shift?

Your official count down starts now!

CLICK HERE TO PRE ORDER YOUR COPY!

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Presents THE ISLAND | April 8th-May 1st, 2022

*info provided by Nicole Acosta, Marketing Director
nicole@milwaukeechambertheatre.org
414-276-8842 ext. 4

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Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Presents 

THE ISLAND 

By Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona,  

April 8th-May 1st, 2022 

Studio Theatre, Broadway Theatre Center 

MILWAUKEE, WI – April 5th, 2022 Milwaukee Chamber Theatre is proud to announce full casting and production details for THE ISLAND by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona, directed by Mikael Burke. THE ISLAND opens Saturday, April 9th at 8pm. Preview night is set for Friday, April 8th at 7:30pm. A Pay-What-You-Choose performance is scheduled for Monday, April 11th at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased via the MCT website, milwaukeechambertheatre.org/tickets or by calling 414-291-7800. 

Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona’s THE ISLAND celebrates the depths of human resilience and offers a scathing indictment of the injustice of white supremacy. Inside a notorious maximum-security political prison, two cellmates toil at brutal hard labor by day and rehearse Sophocles’ ANTIGONE for a prison entertainment by night.  When one is unexpectedly granted his release, envy and empathy, triumph and loss, and hope and despair all collide in the concentrated atmosphere as they dig into a two-thousand-year-old play that explores every human’s moral obligation to defiance of unjust government.  After a critically acclaimed run in MCT’s 20/21 virtual season, this modern classic from some of South Africa’s most esteemed theater-makers is back by popular demand for a live in-person run.  

“Dimonte and Sherrick were the first two Wisconsin actors approved by Actors’ Equity Association to rehearse in-person last season when we created our virtual production of THE ISLAND,” shared Artistic Director Brent Hazelton. “It is our honor to close our 21-22 Season by sharing their work in this remarkably moving production with an in-person audience who is able to react, respond, and engage in the conversations this play sparks." 

THE ISLAND is Directed by Mikael Burke, with Composition and Sound Design by Peter Goode, Costume and Makeup Design by Amy Horst, Scenic and Properties Design by Stephen Hudson-Mairet, Lighting Design by Ellie Rabinowitz, Dialect Coaching by Nathan Crocker, Stage Management by Kira Neighbors, and ASM/COVID Safety Management by Sydney Smith. 

“THE ISLAND speaks to our current American moment as if it were written yesterday,” said Burke. “These two men, Winston and John, are sent to the Island to be broken, to have their spirits broken. And even under the most extreme circumstances, these men manage to hold on to their spirits and conviction, through the power of art and story.” 

THE ISLAND is presented by Executive Producers John Shannon and Jan Serr, and Producer J. Michael Reavis. 

TICKET INFORMATION 

THE ISLAND runs April 8-May 1, 2022, in The Studio Theatre located inside the Broadway Theatre Center. To purchase tickets, go to www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/tickets , call 414-291-7800 or visit in person at 158 N. Broadway in the Historic Third Ward. For more information about MCT, the 21/22 season, how to purchase tickets, and how to donate can be found at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org.  

TALKS AND EVENTS 

Pay What You Choose: April 11th 7:30pm 

Talk Theatre: April 20th 12pm 

TalkBacks: April 14, 21, and 28. All post-performance.  

For more information on talks go to  https://www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/continuing-the-conversation. 

COVID AND ATTENDEE EXPERIENCE 

Beginning March 28, 2022 the Broadway Theatre Center will no longer require proof of vaccination for admittance to the facility. Milwaukee Chamber Theatre continues to require masks to be worn at all times while inside the Studio Theatre. This policy is in effect for THE ISLAND April 8 - May 1, 2022. For full details of our health and safety plan, go to https://www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/safety 

ABOUT MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE  

Founded in 1975 by Montgomery Davis and Ruth Schudson, guided until 2020 by Michael Wright and Kirsten Finn, and now led by Brent Hazelton and Amy A. Salat, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) partners with other arts organizations, community-based organizations, and universities to produce thought-provoking productions and innovative outreach programs on an intimate, human scale. As a leader in developing Milwaukee and Wisconsin’s theater community, MCT provides regular employment and a stable artistic home to local theatre professionals through a five-play subscription season, the Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), and the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series (MDPDS). MCT performs at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward and is a proud Member Group of the United Performing Arts Fund. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to make a donation please visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org. 

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

Corridor & A Little More | An Interview with creative Weléla Mar Kindred on her life & forthcoming local Indie Film “Corridor”

We had the awesome opportunity to virtually sit down with actress, dancer and artist, Weléla Kindred. Weléla wears so many different creative hats and has ample years of experience creating, living, and funding her own dreams. She is also the founder of the Chicago studio, ‘THE LVMB COLLECTIVE’ as you’ll find out in our interview. It was honestly humbling to myself finding out what goes into someone’s creative form simply meaning, finding out what it took [behind the scenes] to understand what she lets us experience today. You guys will get to discover ‘which hat fits when’ in our new exclusive interview with Weléla about her life and her experience in playing ‘Maria Grey’ in the new forthcoming Milwaukee-based indie-film, “Corridor.”

Want to know more about Weléla? Check out her website: https://www.lvmbcollective.com

Want to know about ‘Corridor’? Check it out here:

https://www.corridorfilm.com

Keep it easy,

/Imani for CW

Partnership Content - Artist Eats: SistaStrings at Villa Terrace

Partnership Content - Artist Eats

SistaStrings at Villa Terrace

We met in early May 2021 at Villa Terrace. The unusually cold day was even colder as we were situated on Milwaukee’s east side across the street from our lakefront. 

On this particular day, Monique Ross (older by 2 years) and Chauntee Ross are exhausted but ecstatic. Just 2 days prior, they announced their farewell show before moving permanently to Nashville, TN. Their departure is a harsh reminder of the importance of creating and cultivating an arts community that allows artists to flourish and get paid. 

Their farewell show sold out in 72 hours. Another reminder of how incredible their contribution is to Milwaukee’s music scene and how much we’ll miss them. As of today’s writing, they’re doing well in Nashville including recently sharing the stage with Thee Brandi Carlile. 

Not too shabby for the Queens of Strings. Not too shabby at all.

It’s hard to encompass all that is SistaStrings in a 10-minute video. Our conversation over FlourGirl and Flame pizza and drinks from Vibez Creative Arts Space navigated the journey of 2 black women who’ve made a home in classical music with a bit of gospel and a bit of soul. 

Here’s our interview.

2022? We will be here, doing all the things we do!

No speech this year. You see the world. We see the world. Shit. . . Anything could happen. But one thing for certain, we will be here doing what we do! 2022 we will be staying focused on our mission with humanity in mind every step of the way.

/CW

" 21, 21, 21 ": A 2021 Perspectives From The CopyWrite Team /CW Fam

As 2021 comes to an end we would like to share perspectives from our Team [Family] at CopyWrite. This year has been a world wind of “Ohhhhhhhh my worrrrrrddddd”, “Aint that ‘bout a b’thch” and “Wont he do it!?!”. So for this years perspective we decided to just let the “21, 21, 21” (in our 21 Savage voice) come and out by each member of the Fam sharing 21 things with YOU, our community. It could be 21 of anything. 21 words, 21 pictures, 21 hashtags, 21 ways they got you messed up, etc. This is what we like to call experimental research. By taking on the “21, 21, 21”, they way you respond and what you shares lets us understand each-other a little better. And in this time and place in humanity. . . isn’t that what we need?

Love & All Things Urban,

/CW Fam

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Lexi S. Brunson - /CW Owner & Editor-in-Chief

‘21 Gems - Things We Should Remember

I say deep things. But that’s because I experience the world as if it was always teaching me something. So here are those gems that weigh me down and make me sparkle in all the right ways.

/Lexi

1. Remorse is not regret. Learn from hardships by taking time to reflect.

2. Be a student of your craft. But remember it's not "who" did it, it's "how".

3. Quality is not a prerequisite to success. But you still have to stomach your gains.

4. "No good deed goes unpunished". So praise yourself.

5. Most people need some sort of validation. Be mindful of where you receive yours from.

6. Your intention may not always show in your execution. Don't jump in the ring if you can't take a few hits.

7. Don't forget to mention the joy. Even the heaviest of circumstances has joy.

8. Give people grace, even when they forget to give it to themselves.

9. Sometimes you have to lose it all to gain what was really meant for you. 

10. Codes switching is an art. It's when you change the message that you become a poser.

11. Everybody can not be a boss. Somebody has to be a worker. You have to know your role and do it well.

12. Context is everything. Character is the only thing. 

13. Being loyal to a fault is worse than not being loyal at all. 

14. When people tell you who they are, believe them. When they show you who they are, they do not believe what you see.

15. Don't poke holes in people who pour into you.

16. Virtual reality can not fix humanity.

17. Assimilation is not cultural integration. "STILL N*GGA"

18. Don't lie to yourself. Some things are just funny. Laugh!

19. That euphoric feeling you get when you're doing something you love; chase that.

20. Value the human experience. We need each other more than any of us will ever admit. 

21. Slow in the right direction is better than fast in the wrong one.

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Carie Mahone - Head Entertainment Journalist

21 Slide Show

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Naomi Rea’ - Intern Content Creator

21 Words that describe My 2021 experience

When I get passionate about explaining, describing, or sharing in general, I get very WORDY which is why I chose this way to describe how 2021 was for me. Also with ending the year as a blogger for CW, I thought that this was fitting…

21 Words that describe My 2021 experience:

1. Team Building

2. Servitude

3. Humbling

4. Foundational

5. Revealing

6. Musical

7. Paced

8. Friendly

9. Mature

10. Obscured

11. Energetic

12. Shifting

13. Compatible

14. Emotional

15. Finalized

16. Preparational

17. Monumental

18. Crisis

19. Faceted

20. Purposeful

21. Confrontational

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Vato Vergara - /CW Fashion Editor + Creative Director

21 Words to Reflect on the Year

To know who you are, brings the joy of life. Taking what you have and making the world understand. That’s POWER! 

/Vato

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Imani Ortiz - Specialized Content Journalist

21 things that made a little more sense this year that’ll probably resonate with you as well:

1. It’s okay to disappear some times. More often than not, we tend to jump to the way *others* will react to us taking time to ourselves when they're not the ones who need the focus. Just disappear and come back later. You’re not missing as much as you think. Everything will still be there when you come back.

2. It’s about the principal, not always the problem. The problem could be very minuscule but it’s the principal of the situation that matters in the long run. Problems can be solved, principals are non-negotiable. Your principals can solve problems on their own if you have the right ones. It’ll make the decision making process a lot easier. I knew this before but I didn’t realize how many others don’t have any principals and they’re okay with that. How odd.

3. Nothing will align with what you want until you get your sh*t together. Get your shit together. Nobody likes miserable people. If you can’t figure it out yourself, look into external help—like therapy. I liked it and I turned out fine.

4. Less talk, More do. You can talk until you’re blue in the face but unless you actually do what you say, you’re just talking.

5. Reevaluate your circle. You have your BFFs, close friends, regular friends, associates, strangers that you are vaguely familiar with, whoever it is, you know who you spend your time with. At the very least, make sure they are like-minded in a resourceful way. You should be able to profit mentally from everyone in your circle. Knowledge is power. If everyone knows all the same information, why are y’all friends? That relationship isn’t beneficial if it’s not transactional.

6. All money ain’t good money. That’s self-explanatory.

7. Odds are if you think it’s off, it’s off. Trust your gut and discernment, my friend.

8. Never stop learning. The moment you decide to stop learning, you’re deciding to be basic. Don’t be a basic b*tch.

9. Sometimes the road is less traveled because it f*cking sucks. Do you really wanna do things the hard way for the sake of saying you did things the hard way? Get over yourself.

10. Only answer the question at hand. By focusing on just the question at hand, It’ll kill the opportunity for oversharing. “Is the sky blue?” “Yes.”

11. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do for the sake of someone else’s feelings. You know better. If it makes you uncomfortable, comfortably say no.

12. Nobody cares until you do. So ask yourself, do you really give a f*ck?

13. Other people are dealing with their own sh*t. Even if it’s personal, don’t take it personal. People tend to project their insecurities and problems onto other people. If you know you’ve done nothing wrong, let it go. People have bad days and so do you.

14. Most things we care about are ego-driven. Odds are you don’t actually care about whatever “thing” it is but it threatens your ego—so you fake care until you feel avenged. Please stop fake caring for your own good.

15. If you sleep on yourself, why would people support you? It’s giving… you don’t want *it* bad enough.

16. Even then, everyone is not going to support you. And that’s okay. Find your audience. Market to them.

17. Networking is extremely important. Know somebody who knows somebody so you can know that somebody eventually. Patience is key, grass hopper.

18. Stop working for free. While a favor here and there is fine, stop working for people for free. It took time to know what you know and if people want to know about what YOU know, tax ‘em.

19. Do not cut corners with anything you care about. Don’t half ass anything you care about, whole ass!

20. Half full, never half empty. Life is always about perspective. The way you view and value your life dictates your reality. Remain positive and always look at the bright side even if it’s dimmer than usual. The glass is half full, never half empty.

21. Love yourself or you’ll settle. Read it and weep.

This is no by any means a self-help guide or no sh*t like that. Think of it exactly as what it is… “21 things that made a little more sense to me this year that’ll probably resonate with you as well.”

/Imani for CW

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Tanasia Shaw - Journalism Intern

Tanasia’s 21 in 21 words

2021 has taught me more than any other year in my life. To celebrate and remember 2021, I’ll be listing 21 words that encapsulate 2021.

1. Growth

2. Faith

3. Consistency 

4. Struggle 

5. Love 

6. Serendipity 

7. Truth 

8. Patience 

9. Veracious 

10. Humble 

11. Humility 

12. Pressure 

13. Trust

14. Guidance 

15. Community 

16. Following 

17. Intent

18. Believing 

19. Integrity 

20. Strength 

21. Urban <3

These words represent this past year, the good and the bad. Throughout the year and going into the next, I’m thankful for the CW/ team CW/. The community and support has opened doors for me(and many others) in 2021.