They lift your spirits, prompt you to think, make you feel grateful and inspire you to do more. They connect you to our community, shining a spotlight on what's good about our city. They're stories that are Uniquely Milwaukee, sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library.
The outside of Third Space Collective MKE is hard to miss: a black door with vibrant colors streaming down, as if the paint was striving desperately to spill out onto the sidewalk.
The goal of Third Space Collective MKE is something that hasn’t always been easy to find in Milwaukee: an art gallery that also serves as an incubator for creatives, particularly in the Merrill Park neighborhood.
Owner Amelia Mitcham put it this way at the mid-September grand opening: “What better way to bless the space, to open the space for the public than to do exactly what we set out to do from the beginning, and that is featuring and creating a space, an affordable space, for local emerging artists.”
When the centuries-old building once owned by the city of Milwaukee started its new chapter, the community gathered to celebrate as part of Near West Side Week — a multi-day neighborhood festival hosted by Near West Side Partners. Alderwoman Sharlen Moore kicked off the ribbon-cutting ceremony by sharing about the impact of a creative business like Third Space Collective MKE on the community of Milwaukee.
“When we talk about making sure neighborhoods are safe, guess what? It's about having businesses with good business owners that are bringing events and bringing opportunities to our neighborhoods,” Moore said. “That's what makes safe neighborhoods. And I'm so honored that Amelia chose to be right here in District 10, right on the corner of 29th and Clybourn, where we'll continue to support her.”
In addition to the week-long festival, Near West Side Partners had another reason to be in a celebratory mood at Third Space Collective’s opening. The organization partnered with Mitcham to open the venture, in a sense helping shoulder the challenges that come with getting a new business up and running.
“I am absolutely honored to be up here alongside Amelia Mitcham — the brains, the brawn, the beauty behind this awesome redevelopment,” Near West Side Partners executive Director Lindsey St. Arnold Bell said at the ceremony.
“Three years ago, Amelia and I had a chance to meet when she purchased this building from the city of Milwaukee. And over the last three years, over obstacles and challenges, she has persevered to make this a truly beautiful space for our neighborhood, and we could not be more proud of it.”
Prior to this, the building didn’t elicit many positive feelings, let alone pride. The former tavern laid bare for many years and steadily fell into disrepair. Mitcham lived nearby and drove past it countless times before discovering it was up for sale. And it turned out she wasn’t the only one.
“I used to pass the space, probably religiously every day — going to work, going wherever it is,” Alderwoman Moore recalled. “And so I was always thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, what's gonna be here?’ When I heard that Amelia was working to put this artist space together, I was absolutely ecstatic.”
Fueling that reaction was the fact that the building would be in the hands of someone who truly knew the neighborhood. Mitcham has lived in Merrill Park for more than a decade, giving her ample opportunity to imagine the possibilities.
“ After driving past, this place, this building, this dilapidated building for many years, I just did a cursory look and found out that it was actually for sale,” she said. “And then slowly but surely, it was just kinda about envisioning what the space could potentially be.
“I thought, ‘Hey, it would be a great opportunity for it to be just an incubator, an incubator of local homegrown talent. And why not feature Milwaukee's artists, individuals that call Milwaukee home as well?’ … As a result, after many ups and downs and obstacles, Third Space Collective MKE came into being.”
The once-barren building is now filled with art, starting with a showcase from its very first featured artist: Eryn Turner, a visual artist based in Milwaukee. She covered the walls with portraits of herself, her daughter Bella and other family members. Most are in black and white while a few are in color, and Turner placed some of the photographed objects around the room for a more interactive element.
“My artwork is based off past feelings, emotions, and just … bringing them to life and sharing them with other people that may share the same experiences that I did,” Turner explained.
As the grand opening wrapped up, Mitcham reflected on how community members came together to welcome the new gallery.
“This has just been phenomenal. It's been amazing,” she said. “I just checked in with my counter and there have been 126 and counting individuals that have just walked through the space over the course of the last couple of hours. It’s just a testament to when we come together, we are stronger, and we’re better together than we are apart.”
Third Space Collective MKE has rotating monthly exhibitions of local Milwaukee artists that can be viewed by appointment.
