Milwaukee Teen Bike Camp – Art Exploration
This year’s 2026 Teen Bike Camp: Art Exploration, offered teens a chance to experience the art scenes of Milwaukee by bicycle and create their own work through various hands-on workshops. Different themes of art were encountered all across the city. In addition to making a piece at each workshop, the teens documented their own journey through photos and sketches alike.
The first day included a trip to the Mitchell Park Domes, where the students had a chance to explore the Domes and hear from the Artist-in-Residence and how she curates the show domes. The students were excited to learn how each show dome came to be. After the talk, they journeyed outside and were led through the process of mud-stenciling and got to create their own mud stencils on the sidewalk in front of the Domes.
The next day was “Film and Photography” day. This started with a direct animation workshop at UWM, where students got to create their own hand-drawn animations on 16mm film. This was then spliced together to be projected at the final showcase. From UWM they biked to the Oriental Theatre for a tour from the lead projectionist Kelsey Parks. Kelsey led the students upstairs to the balcony and projection booth, where they got to see how the films were projected and they each got to handle film reels of various sizes. They heard the history of the theater while being led through the main house. The students noted how going from hand-drawn animation to the big screen theater created a connection for them.
The students then went to Kenilworth studios where they were led through the film lighting studio, with a demo of props, sets, and lighting setup, as well as the puppet studio where current puppet and animation projects were on display.
The following day started with a trip to Cactus Club. While there, Gosha Ananchev showed students how to use the Risograph printer, and they got to collaboratively collage their own poster to be riso-printed.
After the riso, students saw Cactus Clubs’ new accessibility ramp outside, where artist Kate Klingbeil created the railings and mosaic on the side and stairs. This showcased to students that art can be both functional, accessible, and beautiful. They then took this inspiration down the Oak Leaf Trail to Sheridan Park, where they collected rocks and shells from the beach to create their own mosaics.
Fashion and Textiles were the next day. Starting off by visiting various thrift stores, students had a small budget to buy clothes they could mend, patch, and up-cycle. A workshop was held at the Indoor Outdoor Exchange, where students were taught various ways to make their clothes more visible for biking. They each got the opportunity to create their own high-visibility patch that could be ironed onto their clothes. This taught students how fashion and bike safety could be intertwined.
The last day was the final showcase, where students reflected on their experiences throughout the week and what they learned, while also writing, drawing, and displaying their work. They were able to think about how to layout their work as if in a gallery setting, and lead adults through their week of art exploration!