May 11th, 2023

Welcome to the WaterMarks Newsletter! Cassandra Flagg, CALL Community Engagement Project Manager, wrote the introduction for this Spring issue with a focus on Lindsay Heights, a WaterMarks partner neighborhood and future WaterMark location.

"Lindsay Heights is a vibrant neighborhood located in the heart of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with zip codes of 53205-53206. This community is known for its rich history, diverse culture and strong sense of community. It is home to approximately 8,000 residents, who live in a variety of housing options, including single-family homes, duplexes and apartments.

Lindsay Heights has a strong history of activism and social justice, with residents fighting for fair housing, education, environmental justice and employment opportunities, just to name a few. Today, the community remains engaged in these same efforts, working to improve access to healthy food, affordable housing and quality education for their children.

One of the defining features of Lindsay Heights is its vibrant arts and culture scene. The neighborhood is home to a number of community organizations that promote the arts, including the Walnut Way Conservation Corp, which operates a wellness center that approaches issues in a holistic manner and the Fondy Farmers Market/Park, which hosts a variety of cultural events and activities throughout the year.

Overall, Lindsay Heights is a unique and dynamic neighborhood that continues to evolve and grow. Its residents are committed to creating a vibrant, sustainable community that is welcoming to all."

Community Highlight: Lindsay Heights

WaterMarks provides a meeting place for Milwaukee's artists, residents, and scientists. In reflection of our 2022 walks and workshops in Lindsay Heights, we look to the second half of 2023 for our upcoming artist and WaterMarker installations throughout the neighborhood.

Artist: Yasmeen Henderson

Yasmeen (Yaz) is a multi-faceted artist that will be completing an art installation in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood during fall of 2023.
Yaz is a resident of the Riverwest neighborhood and has been engaged with creating art since her teens when she leaned on music as her main forum. As a survivor of intense family trauma, Yaz understands her artistic expression to be an outlet. After experiencing a brief period of alcoholism, Yaz reflects on how her sobriety journey led her to lean on drawing and painting as a new medium for her art. Yaz explained that “The longer my sobriety continued, the more intricate my art was getting, and I started painting more… That became a very positive outlook for me, something to focus on.” In her painting, she often uses vibrant colors to display the "masks" that she's worn throughout her life to suppress her emotions.
Click below to learn more about Yasmeen's artistic process.

Resident: Shamikka Smith

Shamikka moved to Lindsay Heights after she purchased a home in the neighborhood in November of 2021.
Feeling called by God, Shamikka quickly became an active resident in Lindsay Heights. Through fostering relationships between her neighbors and her church, Global Outreach, Shamikka has helped to create uplifting community programming in the neighborhood. With the understanding that churches are some of the most segregated places in the United States, Shamikka focused her efforts on uniting residents from differing congregations, with various ethnic backgrounds, to address the systemic challenges that the neighborhood faces. When explaining her motivation for transformation in Lindsay Heights, Shamikka says, “It’s the residents. It’s the people in their homes. The kids around the neighborhood. We want them to see something positive.”
Click below to learn more about Shamikka's ministry.

Scientist: Detaya Johnson

Detaya is a scientist who grew up around Milwaukee, however was brought to the Lindsay Heights neighborhood by Ras `Ammar Nsoroma, a local painter and artist who collaborated with Detaya to lead the WaterMarks Lindsay Heights Community Walk in May of 2022.
Detaya attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for her undergraduate and graduate careers, studying Geology. She has experience interning for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS), and the Racine Health Department, and spent years as a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant at UWM. In 2022, Detaya was honored at the third annual African American Pioneer Awards, hosted by Nearby Nature. Today, Detaya founded and owns Karma Community Garden (located on 35th & Lloyd) and is continuing to explore the intersection between art and science in the Washington Park area.
**Click here** to learn more about Karma Community Garden.

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: