Black Cat Alley: A Community Built Around Art
The art scene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has always been present. But the last few decades have witnessed many of the historic wards being revitalized by mural projects and other outdoor exhibition events. The East Side is one of these revitalized areas. Once the epicenter of Milwaukee’s counterculture movements in the ‘60s and ‘70s, it is now considered the melting pot of Milwaukee, with young professionals, college students, and hipsters alike all mingling at a diverse array of bars, restaurants, and shops. Framed by historic architecture and the signature cream bricks, there are many nooks and crannies of art and culture spread throughout this region of the city.
Black Cat Alley, Walker’s Point Creative Collective. Photo courtesy of Black Cat Alley.
One such niche of the East Side has become home to a cluster of murals by artists from all over the world. What started as a humble art project has now blossomed into a little gem of the city known as Black Cat Alley.
Black Cat Alley was developed back in 2015-2016 by a group of community members and artists in partnership with Wallpapered City LLC, and the East Side BID (Business Improvement District). Although it had humble beginnings, it now contains 21 murals by 24 artists from Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Columbus and Berlin, truly having become a small cultural hub stretching far beyond the Cream City.
Photo courtesy of Black Cat Alley.
Photo Courtesy of Milwaukee Independent.
Brent Schoonover and Hannah Tews, Wild Bill, June 2025. Photo Courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers.
This year there have been many exciting new additions to the alley, such as Wild Bill by Brent Schoonover and Hannah Tews. Depicting the beloved Milwaukee Brewers All-Star catcher “Wild Bill” William Contreras, it is a happy marriage between the comic book skills of Schoonover, and the whimsical colors and lettering of Tews.
The Milwaukee Brewers helped bring this mural to life through their Beyond the Diamond community engagement program, which aims to create a stronger bond between the Brewers team and families with the broader community through charity events.
Alain Poma and Ryan Laessig, Veridian Kaleidoscope, June 2025. Photo courtesy of Charlie James Photography.
Located just around the corner from Black Cat Alley in the Ivanhoe Plaza is this sprawling ground mural by Alain Poma and Ryan Laessig. This stain-glass-like floor covering uses bright greens to bridge nature with the urban structures and even includes a small yellow trail reminiscent of the Yellow Brick Road to lead you to Black Cat Alley.
Adam Melster, And Now You’re Here, Spring 2025. Photo courtesy of ACM Designs.
A bold and mysterious mural, And Now You’re Here, by local illustrator Adam Melster is both bubbly and inspiring. A reflection of the artist’s own experiences moving through life, this painting is a reminder to keep treading and not let the vastness of possibilities prevent you from progressing and growing.
“As I get older and acquire more responsibility,” Adam shares, “I understand more and more that we actually have very little control over what happens around us. Uncertainty and struggle plague our day to day, however big or small, regardless of who you are. So I’d like to think that if you could have any level of control in your life as to what happens, that you’d climb however high to make that happen for you. Understand gratitude in the gift of what you can control and navigate perseverance in what you cannot.”
David Najib Kasir, The Subtraction of Children, July 2025. Photo courtesy of Andre Saint Louis.
While many of the murals in the alley are lighthearted and fun, there are also a number that strive to reach further toward real-life issues in order to evoke more emotion and contemplation in the viewers. David Najib Kasir’s The Subtraction of Children, does just that. Incorporating his Zellige-inspired pattern work, Kasir has created an intimate scene between parent and child. However, there is also a strength in their stoic expressions that belies the delicacy of the patterns and alludes to the seriousness of the figures’ situation, bringing awareness to world conflicts and those that are caught up in them.
While this alley may be small, it has become full of big ideas and stories from many different creatives in an effort to bring the East Side community together. And not only has it reached people in the neighborhood, but it has also brought in artistic talent from other states and even other countries. It interacts with the public not just through the beautification of the city, but also through organized events to create a wide appreciation for the arts and the important messages it can share.
Black Cat Alley does yearly calls for artists during the warm seasons, so it is good to stay up to date via their website and social media. They also sometimes hold special events with live art and other installations which are further opportunities for creators. Artists can also submit their work to the East Side BID.
Stella Koslowski
En Plein Air Co-Editor, MADE IN BED