Back Alley Warehouse & Gallery

Fri: 5-10 PM, Sat: 11 AM-7 PM
415 S. 3rd St. (alley behind heavy hitters)

Back Alley Warehouse & Gallery Debut Show

Gallery media featuring Jeff Demet’s rare collection of Tibetan Thanka paintings (over 200 on display); artworks by Adolph and Suzanne Rosenblatt (never before shown in Milwaukee); Ericks Johnson’s abstract paintings; and Ava Gromacki’s realistic lithos and painting by Eli Rosenblatt.

Arts @ Large

Fri: 5-9 p.m.
1100 S. 5th St.

Embody Democracy

Join us as we celebrate the opening of Embody Democracy, an exhibition by Milwaukee artist Niki Johnson that will anchor her residency at Arts@Large this fall into winter. This year, we find ourselves reflecting on the unfinished work of building a better future. Democracy is not static; it is a living practice, renewed each day by many voices willing to imagine and work toward artful futures. Johnson’s participatory practice invites us into an honest encounter with democratic ideals, making space for dialogue, dissent, empathy, and belonging. We look forward to the collective possibilities that emerge when we make art together.

Clementines Tavern

Fri & Sat: 6 a.m.-2:30 a.m.
3143 S. Clement Ave.

Final Girl Hunters

Featuring Anna Rodriquez, visible artifacts, Burton Gross, The Paintress, Adam Matthew Ink and POMA Art.

Contemporary Art Corridor

Walker’s Point’s walkable gallery district …

Visit Milwaukee’s Contemporary Art Corridor.

More than 10 art venues in walking distance, along a five-block radius (unless marked with an asterisk).

Ruth Arts Project Space, 325 W. Florida St. (New show opening Dec. 11)
Var Gallery, 643 S. 2nd St.
Magic Box and Brothers Studio, 600 S. 5th St.
Melon Books, 423 W. Pierce St.
Hawthorn Contemporary, 706 S. 5th St.
The Suburban, 723 S. 5th St.
Back Alley Warehouse & Gallery, 415 S. 3rd St.
Grove Gallery, 832 S. 5th St.
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, 839 S. 5th St.
Portrait Society Gallery, 900 S. 5th St.
Arts@Large, 1100 S. 5th St.
*Real Tinsel, 1013 W. Historic Mitchell St.
*One-Off, 1013 W. Historic Mitchell St.
*Mitchell Street Arts, 710 W. Historic Mitchell St.

Grove Gallery

Fri: 5-9 p.m., Sat: 12-4 p.m.
832 S. 5th St.

Celeste Contreras – Nocturnal Sunshine

Artist Celeste Contreras is pairing up with Grove Gallery to unveil a collection of carvings and relief prints. This body of work began in 2021 and explores the idea of “nocturnal sunshine,” a moment when night itself provides inspiration for an individual spirit’s creativity to grow. The collection of relief prints will encompass wood, linoleum, and rubber and raw unprinted wood cuts. “I have complete loyalty to the solitude of night for fostering ideas and dreams into matter,” said Contreras. “These are drawings made through carving different, specific points of my printing journey that share nocturnal sunshine.”

Hawthorn Contemporary

Fri: 6-9 p.m., Sat: 12-5 p.m.
706 S. 5th St.

DRAWINGS FOR THE NEW PSYCHIC WORLD: RACHEL COLLIER

te our shared consciousness. Repeated abstract forms anchor familiar psychic landscapes to our physical world, stirring the spirit in preparation for advancement or departure. While referencing the languages of maps and topography, her compositions deconstruct from the grid to imagine transcendent space.

Mitchell Street Arts (MiSA)

Fri: 5:30-8:30 p.m.
710 W. Historic Mitchell St.

Athena On My Mind

Author/artist Christine Welman combines painting and poetry to consider the Goddess Athena as symbol for the courage it takes to grow into yourself and keep creating. Friday at 7 p.m., come write negative words from your life … then shatter them during “Smashing Expectations.”

On and On MKE

Fri: 5-8 p.m., Sat: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
1031 S. 5th St.

Cozy Season at On and On

Browse the fall collections of our 40+ artisans and vintage curators.

Owen’s Place – National Avenue

Fri: 5-7 p.m., Sat: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
504 W. National Ave.

Wraparound Art Show 2026

Young artists showcase their creativity and talent through paintings, drawings, LEGO® creations, sculptures, 3D objects, and installations. The event will also feature a young artist creating a live installation during the exhibition. Each participating youth lives in Milwaukee County and represents the creativity, resilience, and unique perspectives of youth within our community. Their artwork celebrates self-expression while highlighting the importance of providing opportunities for young people to share their voices through art.

Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art

Fri: 5-9 p.m., Sat: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
900 S. 5th St.

Bernard Gilardi: Re-New

Portrait Society opens its new space in Walker’s Point with a solo exhibition of paintings by Bernard Gilardi (1920-2008). Collected by David Byrne (Talking Heads) and Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, Gilardi quietly painted in his basement studio for 40 years, creating about 400 works. His inventive compositions touch on social issues, race, gender, religion, and life in Wisconsin. While PSG has frequently presented Gilardi’s work in New York, this is the first time in 15 years it has been exhibited in Wisconsin.

Red Maple MKE

Fri & Sat: 12 p.m.-12 a.m.
100 W. Maple St.

Kaiju

Featuring visible artifacts, The Paintress, POMA Art, Anna Rodriques & Adam Matthew Ink.

Rosenquist Fine Art

Fri: 6-8:30 p.m., Sat 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
1805 10th Ave., South Milwaukee

CLICK HERE FOR A MAP OF THIS LOCATION

An Invitation to Get Lost – paintings by Kurt Devine

Kurt Devine’s acrylic and watercolor paintings open a portal into worlds where mystery, memory, and imagination braid together. Raised on the shifting edges of Milwaukee’s once‑wild outskirts, he learned early to pay attention to both what reveals itself and what stays hidden. Those childhood wanderings … wetlands, prairies, forests alive with visible and invisible life … became the foundation of his visual language. As a painting student at UW‑Milwaukee in the 1970s and early ’80s, Devine began shaping those experiences into intricate, symbol‑rich compositions defined by unorthodox color and dense, surreal detail. Working today from his studio in the Marshall Building in the Third Ward, he creates layered environments where figures, flora, and imagined forms merge, unravel, and transform. An Invitation to Get Lost is exactly that. A chance to step inside Devine’s untended gardens, collapsing cities, and internal landscapes. His work encourages viewers to slow down, look closely, and embrace the creative power of wandering without a map. In these paintings, getting lost isn’t a misstep; it’s the point.

Small Works Gallery

Fri: 5-9 p.m., Sat: 12-5 p.m.
Lofted Gallery, 643 S. 2nd St.

Itty Bitty Featured Group Exhibition

For this featured show, we asked for them Itty Bitty! Artists were invited to submit any and all works under 3×3 inches to the Small Works Gallery, for this giant celebration of tiny works. Catch these little guys in person Gallery Night MKE, or shop all smalls online at varsmallworks.com/collection.

Var Gallery

Fri: 5-9 p.m., Sat: 12-5 p.m.
643 S. 2nd St.

Bridge Work 12

Bridge Work-Milwaukee is facilitated by Plum Blossom Initiative (PBI) and Var Gallery and Studios. In 2015, Milwaukee-based artist Jason S. Yi and Madison-based curator Leah Kolb formed Plum Blossom Initiative (PBI) as a vehicle through which to bridge the gap between the Madison and Milwaukee arts communities and to support local up-and-coming artists. Their collaboration resulted in the development of the first Bridge Work chapter. Thanks to a partnership begining in 2018 with Josh Hintz, owner and director of Var West Gallery and Var Gallery and Studios, BW-Milwaukee artists receive a free studio space for the duration of the program, along with Var’s artist-in-residence benefits, including access to a wood shop and kiln, free admission to events, the ability to participate in Var community exhibitions, and other perks.

Walker’s Point Center for the Arts

Fri: 5-7 p.m., Sat: 1-5 p.m.
839 S. 5th St.

34th Annual Dia de Los Muertos Exhibition + Featured Member Exhibition: Kristine Hinrichs

WPCA’s 34th Annual Día de los Muertos Exhibition returns as Milwaukee’s longest‑standing celebration of memory, culture, and community. This year features vibrant contemporary works, community altares, and intergenerational storytelling rooted in Embracing Community / Cultivando Comunidad. Alongside the main exhibition, WPCA presents a Featured Member Showcase by photographer Kristine Hinrichs, whose work captures the quiet poetry of Milwaukee’s landscapes and neighborhoods. Together, these exhibitions honor tradition, reflection, and the creative voices that shape our city.

Walker’s Point & South

Participants