AWE’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program provides opportunities to engage youth in making decisions about land use, public space, and neighborhood revitalization through the creation of public art within their neighborhoods. Thriving neighborhoods are those where people have a sense of agency to make real change. Together, We Create inclusive & collaborative public art projects that align youth driven planning with broader community goals. Projects may create neighborhood infrastructure, contribute to neighborhood beautification, or tell a story about a pertinent community issue through public art.

THE TRUCK STUDIO provides meaningful, drop-in art-based enrichment activities free of charge to youth ages 4 – 14, with a focus on working with youth in Milwaukee’s under-served neighborhoods. We help young people become more inquisitive, creative, flexible, imaginative and confident while fostering a sense of community among children, artists, and neighborhoods. The Truck Studio provides valuable opportunities to explore tools, techniques, and creative concepts that many of our children would not be exposed to otherwise. These opportunities in turn provide a background of experiential knowledge and a basic confidence in skills that youth can capitalize on in many other areas of their studies and development. The Truck Studio program consists of a fleet of 4 very colorfully painted donated vans and a dedicated team of lead artists, college level interns, and high school level interns.