To celebrate the upcoming Art Hop Thru the 53212, several businesses and creative spaces in the post-industrial quadrant of Riverwest – including but not limited to House of RAD, Riverworks, the Riverwest Brewery Syndicate Shuttle and Sarah Sutterfield – have teamed up to create a Pre-Art Hop fundraiser on Friday, June 9 from 6-8 p.m.
On-site eats, drinks and dancing
The dinner party features a five-course dinner, curated by Chef Joel Lichosik, at the garden deck of Crops on Top, an urban farm found at 3700 N. Fratney St. that has re-purposed a disused surface parking lot. Each course is paired with new and rare releases from Amorphic Beer next door.
Lichosik, the co-owner of Crops on Top, is a former chef de cuisine at the Little Goat Diner under James Beard award and "Top Chef" winner Stephanie Izard and worked under Chef Tom Douglas (Dahlia Lounge, Serious Pie) in Seattle.
Tickets to the Pre-Art Hop dinner are highly limited and can be purchased from Amorphic Beer's website, under the Special Event Tickets link.
Additionally, your dinner meal ticket is good for the afterparty next door at the House of RAD. The afterparty will feature live music from Roxie Beane and DJ Mongo, light food and beverages. For those who are skipping the meal and going straight to the disco, tickets are $10 at the door. You can RSVP on Facebook.
Proceeds from both events will go towards support of the community and art events in the Riverwest neighborhood.
The Art Hop
All of these festivities lead up to the Art Hop, which follows a week later on Saturday, June 17 from 2-7 p.m. It has been billed as a "creative cruise through the 53212" and will feature over 20 locations, showcasing various artists and creatives. According to its website, the Art Hop "combines a gallery night experience with a maker's market throughout the businesses and breweries" of Riverwest.
Attendees will be able to travel between each gallery spot by foot, bike or by buses provided through the Riverwest Brewery Syndicate.
You can find more information at arthopmke.com.
Jason McDowell grew up in central Iowa and moved to Milwaukee in 2000 to attend the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
In 2006 he began working with OnMilwaukee as an advertising designer, but has since taken on a variety of rolls as the Creative Director, tackling all kinds of design problems, from digital to print, advertising to branding, icons to programming.
In 2016 he picked up the 414 Digital Star of the Year award.
Most other times he can be found racing bicycles, playing board games, or petting dogs.
