Since working for NNS, I’ve covered different types of stories. But what I have been drawn to most is reporting on the artists and creators of color who craft, celebrate and illuminate the pulse of their communities. 

Milwaukee’s Culture Makers is a visual series that follows artists, musicians, chefs, designers and other types of creatives at work, capturing not only what they create but why they create.

In this ongoing series, we will introduce you to new and longtime artists of color whose extraordinary creativity and community pride is shaping Milwaukee.

Meet some of Milwaukee’s Culture Makers

Ernesto “Neto” Atkinson: Opened in 2024 by Atkinson, The Catacombs of Neto Art Museum was designed as a space for conversation and connection but not silence.

RedNationBoyz: The Nahwahquaw brothers formed the drum group to connect local Indigenous boys, ranging in age from 10 to 20, to their roots.

Tia Richardson: For more than two decades, Richardson has helped residents transform not just walls but how they see themselves and their communities through collaborative murals.

My ask from you

I’m looking to hear directly from our readers: 

• Who are the cultural makers of color in Milwaukee you believe deserve to be seen and celebrated? 
• How is their creativity shaping the city of Milwaukee and its residents in meaningful ways?

Email me your nominations, including how their work has impacted you, to help us recognize and uplift the people creating culture and connection across our neighborhoods.

It’s been an honor to help tell their stories and I look forward to sharing many more.

To read more articles about Milwaukee’s Culture Makers, click here.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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Inside a classroom at Milwaukee Marshall High School, the sound of Lego bricks clicking together filled the room as children leaned over tables covered with colorful pieces and half-finished builds.

As they pieced together their creations, Nealita Nelson, the instructor behind the popular Milwaukee Recreation Lego classes, moved from desk to desk encouraging students to keep building. 

Nelson, a Milwaukee native known online as “Builds by Nene,” began teaching Lego-building classes through MKE Rec after appearing on Season 4 of Fox’s “LEGO Masters” in 2023 alongside her brother, Paul Wellington.

Jeff McAvoy, whose 7-year-old son has been attending Nelson’s classes since they began two years ago, expressed his admiration for her teaching style. 

“It comes down to a simple shared interest in Lego and building, but she approaches it with such care and interest in what each of the kids are doing,” McAvoy said.

Nelson’s classes are typically divided by age groups, welcoming everyone from young children to adult builders:

• LEGO Open Build (Designed for ages 3+): Focuses on beginner basics, open building zones and simple challenges.
• LEGO Adventures: Encourages participants to step outside their comfort zones with complex, guided builds.
• Learning LEGO (Designed for ages 13 to adults): Covers the history of Lego, advanced building techniques and creative design.

For Nelson, Lego-building classes are about much more than play or building toys.

“I see the need for help, and I see the need to get these kids out from in front of screens,” Nelson said. “I feel like it was my duty to give back to my community that helped me when I was younger.”

Raised on Milwaukee’s North Side, Nelson and Wellington spent a lot of their childhood building together, before their almost 10-year age gap inevitably drew them apart.

Their close relationship became an advantage on “LEGO Masters,” where the siblings advanced in the competition, becoming third-place finalists.

“We’re both very different people. It helps bring out our best qualities and we’re able to work together well,” said Wellington, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alum. “I’m very timid. She pushed me to believe in myself and that led us to succeed.”

The siblings competed again, this time internationally, on “LEGO Masters: Grand Masters of the Galaxy” in Australia in 2025. They also were the first all-Black team in the U.S. version of “LEGO Masters” to win a challenge.

Nelson said they intentionally incorporated a few references to the city and state into their builds throughout the competitions.

“When we were doing the TV shows, we tried to incorporate something from Milwaukee or something that symbolizes Wisconsin as a whole,” Nelson said. “In the first episode, we did the dairy boat.”

While Nelson currently works in health care, she continues to build her public identity through her social media presence and Lego-building classes with MKE Rec.

“I felt like this was my calling, this is my passion. I love Lego,” Nelson said.

Registration for Nelson’s summer Lego-building sessions are open now until the first week of classes on June 22. You can register here.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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With summer slowly approaching, a new 55-foot-wide mural by Luna Creative Collaborations is coming to life outside Paleteria Yayo, 1727 W. Lincoln Ave. The art project was commissioned by the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Luna Creative Collaborations supports artists of color in and around Milwaukee that produce public art, exhibitions and community-centered collaborative projects.

Rene Adan and his wife Galy Montes, the owners of Paleteria Yayo, have built good relationships with area artists, and with the Milwaukee Brewers and some of the other local sports teams.

“We’ve been the first paleteria inside the Brewers stadium and the Bucks stadium,” Adan said.

According to Aisha Valentín, a co-lead muralist on the project with Luna Creative Collaborations, Adan can always be seen repping Brewers merch at the paleteria.

“I think Rene is a big Brewers fan because every day he’s got the hat, a jersey, without fail,” Valentín said.

Adan also spoke about the pride he feels having a Major League Baseball team support the work of his small business. 

“Being an immigrant here in the United States, having such a huge company see us and work with us is nice,” Adan said.

Before painting began, the project’s co-leaders, Whitney Salgado and Valentín, visited a couple of fourth grade classes across the street from the mural at Lincoln Avenue School, 1817 W. Lincoln Ave., to get input from students. 

They asked the students to draw their idea of “play,” what they see in their neighborhood and what they like to do in the summer.

“Even before we talked to the students, I had very similar concepts on focusing on youth and nostalgia,” Salgado said.

The color palette of the piece is meant to tie the mural to the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers City Connect jerseys. Both feature a similar gradient designed to represent Wisconsin’s summer sunsets and the state’s natural beauty.

The owner and creative director of Luna Creative Collaborations, Katie Avila Loughmiller, plans on hosting an official unveiling in the coming weeks, once the mural is complete.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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Inside Greenwood Park Gallery and Framing, 4233 W. Fond du Lac Ave., attendees gathered for a Mindful Mondays MKE event. There, a display of intricately carved fruits drew people in for a bite, as Imani Raiyne, founder of Kreative Fruitz, educated visitors on what fruit could become.

“I always say (it started) in my mother’s womb. I know that may sound crazy, but I was the only one of my siblings that my mother made a watermelon creation for her baby shower,” Raiyne said. “She didn’t do it for my other siblings.”

Mindful Mondays MKE is a community initiative that brings together residents and local business owners through events focused on networking.

Raiyne’s introduction to fruit art began at home with her mother, Gina.

Following her diagnosis of lupus at 11, one year after her mother’s own diagnosis of lupus, she became homeschooled. 

As a part of her new curriculum, her mother taught her fruit art, combining nutrition lessons with art classes.

“January 2017 is when the lupus took my mother away from me, in the physical form,” Raiyne said. “It definitely was a very, very dark and rough time for me.”

Six months later, while creating a fruit display for her father’s retirement party, Raiyne found a renewed sense of purpose.

“I felt reconnected with my mother, and at that moment, I knew that this is what I needed to do. It saved my life,” Raiyne said. 

What started as a special activity with her mother grew into a business. Raiyne officially launched Kreative Fruitz, offering catering, fruit arrangements and hands-on workshops designed to make healthy eating more engaging. 

Almost nine years later, she’s still doing what she loves despite her limitations. 

“I’m not able to just work a regular nine-to-five job because of my health. Doing fruit art has given me an outlet to be free to do what I want to do, when I want to do it and how I want to do it,” Raiyne said.

Through her work across Milwaukee, Raiyne said she has seen first-hand how unfamiliar people can be with fruits. 

“I have been blown away at the amount of people that I’ve come in contact with in my nine years that have never had fruit before, but they try it with me,” Raiyne said. 

Raiyne completed her National Nutrition Educator certification recently, with her goal being to help bridge the gap by making fruit approachable and creative for people, while remaining nutritious and educational. 

“I’m not a magician or a medical doctor or anything like that, but I just try to help make people feel better,” Raiyne said.

Chrishella Roché, founder and owner of VIBEZ Creative Arts Space, recently had Raiyne teach a workshop on fruit art and nutritional education through the Together We Create program. 

VIBEZ Creative Arts Space is  for the community to explore art through all different mediums.

“She was very intentional and the kids really enjoyed it,” Roché said. “One of the fruits they tried was dragon fruit. It was new to some of the students, and that’s really what we enjoy, especially healthy snack options.”

As she expands Kreative Fruitz, Raiyne said she hopes to educate and empower Milwaukeeans, one piece of fruit at a time. 

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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In a warm church basement, a new mural taking shape on Milwaukee’s South Side is more than just a work of art, it’s a reflection of the people who helped create it. Muralist Tia Richardson said that is her goal.

Richardson, founder of Cosmic Butterfly Design, has spent more than two decades creating over 50 collaborative murals across Milwaukee. She uses her art as a tool for connection, healing and self-expression, for both herself and all those who view it.

“I came up with the name ‘Cosmic Butterfly’ to represent transformation,” Richardson said. “It’s a symbol for what I’m trying to do with my work: transform spaces and how we feel about ourselves, our communities and nature.”

She founded her business in 2003 as a freelance graphic designer. Over time, her work expanded into teaching opportunities and community collaboration.

“Teaching has always been a passion of mine,” Richardson said. “My work evolved as I evolved.”

That evolution grew from her personal experiences. Richardson said she struggled with isolation and depression as a teenager, but found comfort through art.

“Art was something I had that helped me with that,” Richardson said. “I find that a lot of people struggle with the same things.”

Today, her murals are specifically designed to bring people together. Through community workshops, participants identify challenges in their communities and imagine solutions. Participants are encouraged to create drawings that help shape Richardson’s final design.

“It reflects a much broader perspective than just what I, as an artist, see or want,” Richardson said.

Richardson describes her work as “living art,” created through participation and shared energy. She recalls one early project when a participant said the mural felt like “it was giving her a hug.”

“People actually get to touch the art and paint,” Richardson said. “It’s very therapeutic.”

Her latest mural reflects that same approach.

The mural, which will be installed at The Table, 5305 W. Capitol Drive, is for The Greater Milwaukee Synod led by Bishop Paul D. Erickson.

“We’re focusing on the theme of collaboration this year, so we wanted a project that we could work on together,” Erickson said. 

Erickson selected Richardson based on her previous work for some of their congregations, who said they enjoyed her community-centered process.

Richardson held a design workshop on Feb. 7 where community members contributed to the mural’s concept. About 40 people attended a follow-up event on March 7 where they helped paint the base layers of the mural.

Working alongside Richardson was Luciano Lucente, an 18-year-old high school student who trained under her through a program Richardson did with the Milwaukee Christian Center.

“It’s a really great opportunity for an artistic person like myself,” Lucente said. “I get to participate in my community and see different parts of the city.”

For Richardson, the impact goes beyond the finished mural.

“We want unity. We want young people to feel better about themselves,” Richardson said.

After more than 20 years, she continues to see her work as a way to build pride and possibility.

“When we come together, we have collective power,” Richardson said. “It’s about self-esteem and community pride.”

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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A community of artists has transformed the historic Marshall Building, 207 E. Buffalo St., into a hub of galleries and creative spaces. On the second floor, Anthony Brewer, also known as Kashes, operates his gallery and studio, Kashes Collection.

“Kashes” is derived from the middle name of his son, Louie Kash Brewer, blended with a nod to the late boxing legend and humanitarian Cassius Clay. His son also loves to paint. Brewer said he wants Kashes Collection to be for his son one day, if he chooses to carry on the business.

Brewer has built his work around the idea of breathing and mental health. In many of his paintings, there are circular swirls throughout that represent his breaths.  

Growing up in the Midwest, Brewer became familiar with the visible breath of winter, an image he now tries to echo in his work.

Brewer did not originally set out to become an artist. During the pandemic, he and his wife, Betsabe Brewer, were living in Chicago. Wanting to keep her husband from spending too much time playing video games and also find an emotional outlet, Betsabe encouraged him to paint.

“There was no expectation,” Betsabe said. “It was more about release through creativity.”

What began as stress relief quickly became something more. Brewer sold his first painting for $2,000, an unexpected moment that shifted his perspective on his art and future. Then, he sold out his first show in Shorewood. He quit his tech job the next day.

The family later moved to Milwaukee to be closer to relatives. With his tech career behind him, returning home made sense.

Three years into full-time painting, Brewer describes his style as “controlled chaos.” In his canvases, shapes that touch the edges represent exhales, and shapes in the center signify inhales. The rhythm reflects his belief that presence, even in anxiety, creates a balance.

His son, Louie, has also influenced the technique that defines his work. One day, Brewer handed him a paint roller covered in different colors. Louis rolled it across the surface, creating a gradient effect his father had been trying to master.

“He found the technique and aesthetic I was looking for,” Brewer said.

Brewer tells clients each painting is meant to serve as a reminder to slow down and breathe. Collectors have shared how his work helped them through difficult days. A lung cancer survivor once stood in front of his painting and cried, grateful for the simple act of breathing.

“It’s the first thing you do when you wake up,” Brewer said. “We shouldn’t take it for granted.”

Rejecting the “starving artist” narrative, Brewer calls himself a “20% artist, 80% entrepreneur.” By selling directly to collectors and keeping prices accessible, he hopes more people can own his art.

Brewer said he feels grateful to have found work that feels purposeful. Besides painting, he mentors emerging artists and plans to launch a podcast focused on art investment and ownership.

Above all, Brewer wants his work to serve as a reminder to breathe.

“In order to do the impossible,” he said, “just take the breath that you need.”

Editor’s note: Bevin Christie, Anthony Brewer’s mother, is a staff member at NNS.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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After visiting art museums across the globe, Ernesto “Neto” Atkinson realized their large, cavernous spaces and smell reminded him of his time as a child working as a tour guide in the catacombs of Antigua, Guatemala. 

That’s when the idea came to create The Catacombs of Neto Art Museum.

“I realized that the museum is a cemetery for art,” said Atkinson. “Art is dead, without anyone seeing it.” 

The Catacombs of Neto Art Museum opened in October of 2024 in the lower level of  the Marshall Building, 207 E. Buffalo St. 

This is the first bilingual art museum in Milwaukee, designed as a space for inclusion, conversation and connection, but not silence.

“Anybody can come here. Art is a language that speaks to all of us,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson grew up in Antigua, Guatemala, and lost his biological father when he was 7 years old. 

“My first encounter with death was my father dying in my hands,” Atkinson said.

To help support his family after their loss, Atkinson sold his art on the streets and did other odd jobs. Art became a way to process his grief and survive poverty.

Atkinson began his professional artistic training at North Dakota State University and went on to complete a master’s degree in art therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

In Chicago, he met his wife and business partner, Jenny Urbanek, who is a yoga instructor, artist and art educator.

Atkinson also has a private art therapy practice, Integration Healing/ Alivio Integral. He says the museum is like an extension of that work. 

Atkinson said he brings clients into the museum space to see healing in action. There he can show them examples of how he worked through a particular challenge through a piece of his artwork and encourage them to do something similar. 

“He often brings clients over here. I don’t know how many a week, but it’s very often,” Urbanek said.

Atkinson’s art therapy clients are not the only ones who can receive mental health benefits while visiting the museum. 

Urbanek recounts seeing people who may not usually feel comfortable around art finding meaning and confidence through talking with Atkinson.

“They’re usually old men who are kind of tough. By the end of the conversation, they’re both crying together,” Urbanek said. 

“And they come back,” Atkinson added.

Atkinson’s vision for the future of The Catacombs of Neto Art Museum is focused on continued collaborations and long-term sustainability. Plans include yoga classes taught by Urbanek, Milwaukee Museum Days and Gallery Night MKE. 

“My vision is that in a couple of years, (the museum) is not mine anymore. I want to give this to the community,” Atkinson said. “I want this to be for them.”

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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In a small church off East Oklahoma Avenue, impassioned singing, steady drum beats and the smell of incense emanate from its front doors. 

Brothers Isiah and Avery Nahwahquaw co-founded RedNationBoyz, a powwow drum circle, in 2024. They host their practices at Lutheran Church of the Great Spirit, 3127 S. Howell Ave., during the Milwaukee Intertribal Circle’s crafting Wednesdays. All funding for the RedNationBoyz comes directly out of the Nahwahquaw brothers’ own pockets.

The Nahwahquaw brothers formed the group to connect Indigenous boys, ranging in age from 10 to 20, in Milwaukee to their roots.

The president of the Milwaukee Intertribal Circle, Deanna Porter, invited the Nahwahquaw brothers to join them for Wednesday nights in their space at the church. The Milwaukee Intertribal Circle, or MIC, is a group dedicated to revitalizing the intertribal community of Milwaukee.

Porter, a member of the White Earth Nation Ojibwe Anishinaabe, remembers when the United Indians of Milwaukee was a central hub for the Native American community in Milwaukee. With the newly formed Milwaukee Intertribal Council, she hopes to emulate their impact. 

“We’re working to reproduce that, to be serving any Native person within the city of Milwaukee or surrounding area,” Porter said. “And it doesn’t matter your tribe, we will serve enrolled members and their descendants. We welcome anybody.”

The drum circle has expanded quickly from a few members to more than a dozen. The group is an intertribal drum circle, meaning anyone descended from any tribe can join. Members come from Ojibwe tribes, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and Oneida and Ho-Chunk nations. 

The RedNationBoyz have performed at several community events, including the Heart of Canal Street event at Potawatomi Casino Hotel.

The name “RedNationBoyz” comes from Avery and Isiah Nahwahquaw’s original drum group from their school days. When Isiah was 14, he was given a big drum from his mentor, and the brothers decided to form a drum circle with their friends. After finishing school, though, life got busy and the group stopped performing together.

Several years later, Isiah was offered a job at Indian Community School in Franklin where he worked as a youth drum instructor. Here, Isiah and his students connected. That relationship inspired him to bring back the name “RedNationBoyz” for this group.

“It was initially a job that turned to a bond and, you know, once you develop the bond, it’s hard to break,” he said. “And when I started being an instructor for these boys, I had to use the name again, because it was technically a family name to us, and we look at them as family.”

“So, that drum right there means a lot. That’s a spirit right there in that drum. It brings us all together, it brings a whole community together,” Avery Nahwahquaw says. 

By joining the drum circle, not only does a member get to learn about their Indigenous roots and play and sing traditional music, they also join a brotherhood. 

“I would describe the RedNationBoyz like family. These young men become like our nephews,” said Avery. “Not only is it singing, but it’s me finding out if you’re doing good in school, or if you got anything else you need help with in life outside of this drum circle.”

The Milwaukee Intertribal Circle hosts a crafting event on Wednesdays where members from the Native American community can come and be immersed in their culture.

The Nahwahquaw brothers spoke of the importance of creating a space where Indigenous boys could come together to be with people of their culture. 

“Our practices are one night a week where they can escape from wherever they’re from, whatever they’re going through, and they can find their culture in this urban area,” said Avery.

Ask the boys why they keep showing up each Wednesday, and the answers point to the deeper pull of the drum.

Jared Dashner notes that even his Native name, “Little Singing Boy,” ties him to the circle.

“I love singing. I love all these Wednesday nights with everybody, and getting these teachings from our mentor, Isiah.  I ain’t gonna never stop coming,” Shomin said. 

Their commitment underscores the role RedNationBoyz plays for Indigenous youth seeking connection and community.

“We don’t want it to end. We don’t want like five years from now, they’re like, ‘Hey, remember that one guy we used to sing with on Wednesday nights?’ No, we want this to be for life,” said Avery.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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