September 7th, 2023

"The 53212 zip code has been my home since moving to Milwaukee in 2013. Before choosing to live and work in these neighborhoods, I attended the Riverwest 24 - a 24-hr long bike race and community party lovingly referred to as the Peoples' Holiday. One of the selling points for me was a block party style breakfast at All Peoples' Church. I remember thinking, "Wait, wait, wait, we eat *breakfast* together here?" and that was that.

I'm excited to be part of the team growing WaterMarks within the Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods, as a WaterMarks staffer, a Harambee homeowner, and a soon-to-be co-owner of a small business in The Connector Building.

Hope you enjoy this issue of the WaterMarks Newsletter - Thanks for your continued interest and support with WaterMarks!" - Ellie Jackson, WaterMarks Project Manager

Come celebrate the grand opening of The Connector Building!

Community Highlight: Riverwest & Harambee

WaterMarks provides a meeting place for Milwaukee's artists, residents, and scientists. In reflection of our 2022 walks and workshops in Harambee and Riverwest, we look forward to our upcoming artist and WaterMarker installations throughout the neighborhood.

Artist: David Najib Kasir

David Najib Kasir is a Milwaukee-based contemporary oil-painter who currently works out of his studio space at Var Gallery, located in the Walker’s Point neighborhood. David has been selected to create a mural on the Connector Building on the Beerline Trail.
David’s art is driven by his identities as an Arab American and a father. Being the son of two parents from the Middle East (Syria and Iraq), David has been especially concerned with the Syrian civil war. Having two daughters of his own, David recognizes the harm in Syria from his perspective as a father. David explains, “I don’t know if I was a good artist before I became a father, but I know I became a better one after.” Reflected in his art, David expresses themes of empathy for international refugees and displaced people.
Upon a trip to Syria in 1999, David discovered Zellige, an Arabic geometric design. Since then, David has used Zellige in his work to redefine public perceptions of Arab people by highlighting their abundant culture and humanity.
Click below to learn more about how David is challenging Arab stereotypes through his artwork.

Resident: Kavon "KJ" Cortez-Jones

Kavon Cortez-Jones, or "KJ" is a lifelong Milwaukee resident and prominent writer and poet who has spent most of his life between Harambee and Riverwest.
From growing up on the North side, to finding a vision along each side of the Beerline Trail, KJ is continuously inspired by the city that brought him up. “I feel I lived through certain different angles of Milwaukee, through the traumatic inner city and then diving into the community," KJ explains. KJ reflects on these experiences in *Club Noir*, a collection of poetry that KJ self-published in 2016. While his words are intriguing, KJ captivates audiences in his live performances. In 2022, KJ performed his poetry at the Bucks halftime show to kick of Black History Month.
Around the neighborhood, KJ is an avid biker, biking around 30 miles a day. With a love of Milwaukee and a motivation to connect with residents around him, KJ is a steward of his community.
Click below to watch KJ perform his piece *Love Letter to Milwaukee* at Snail's Crossing Park in Riverwest.

Scientist: Cheryl Nenn

Serving as the Riverkeeper of Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Cheryl Nenn has spent 20 years at the Milwaukee organization working to protect water quality and wildlife habitat in the Milwaukee River Basin. In 2022, she collaborated with WaterMarks to co-lead a neighborhood walk along the Beerline Trail.
Prior to Cheryl's arrival in Milwaukee, she worked with the U.S. Peace Corps and Crisis Corps, U.S. Forest Service, City of New York Natural Resources Group, as well as a Milwaukee-based environmental consulting firm. With a vast range of experiences, Cheryl continues to utilize her platform, as Riverkeeper, to speak for local waterways. Her role involves monitoring the Milwaukee River Basin, identifying community concerns, reviewing permits, and achieving collaborative solutions and unified solutions to issues affecting water sources.
Outside of her Southside Chicago roots, the time spent at her family cabin inspired Cheryl to "become a biologist and pursue this professionally."
Click below to learn more about how Cheryl became interested in water-related work.

Featured WaterMarks interviews and videos were completed by Michael Timm.

Recent Marker and Art Installations

Gather, Growth, Gritty: G WaterMarker at Green Tech Station

At the end of May, our G WaterMarker was installed at Green Tech Station in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor — a unique site that advances Milwaukee’s global leadership in green infrastructure technology and practice. The Marker at Green Tech Station has been in development dating back to 2020 — working directly with the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation (NWSCDC) to celebrate an oasis of green space intentionally designed on a remediated slice of abandoned industrial wasteland.
This marker is the first on the Northside and stands a beautiful educational amenity. The letter G is for gather, growth, gritty and the marker at Green Tech Station, an award winning project designed to capture over 100,000 gallons of stormwater every time it rains.

A Mix of Immigrants: Ñ WaterMarker along the Kinnickinnic River

Our Ñ WaterMarker was installed at the end of May, near the intersection of S16th Street and W Harrison Avenue — across from Pulaski Park. This marker has been in development since 2019 — working in collaboration with the KK River Neighbors in Action (KKRNIA), Sixteenth Street Community Health Center (SSCHC), and Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District (MMSD) to identify the location, letter, and develop the content.
The Marker stands a beacon of pride in the positive changes tied to a transformed river and a beautified Pulaski Park. The letter Ñ represents “A Mix of Immigrants” and was selected for this WaterMark site to reflect, celebrate, and recognize the Latinx community. When you see this WaterMark, the KKRNIA hope you share in their pride in a place that has welcomed hard-working immigrants from the days when the South Side was an ethnic Polish enclave to the present mix of Latinx and other ethnic groups.

Un Paseo El Agua: An Art Installation by Sarah Gail Luther

In Early August, artist Sarah Gail-Luther completed the installation of her Un Paseo El Agua installation — displaying a series of 16 road signs installed from 10th and Greenfield moving East towards Milwaukee’s Harbor District. The signs depict the unique and diverse landscapes of the Harbor District - illuminating its industrial past, its critical role in the transportation of people and goods, and its more recent development of spaces for public recreation and water access. Development of this work began after months of exploration and research for a virtual tour of the Harbor District developed in partnership with green builder and historian, Stephen Servais

Photo credit: Michael Timm

Community Events

WaterMarks isn't building an atlas of water alone. We get to work with countless organizations and individuals on this endeavor. WaterMarks Community-University Working Group is a collective of residents, artists, community-based institutions, and researchers who assemble to guide the future of water in Milwaukee.

Here are some upcoming events that WaterMarks or our partners are hosting: