MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a brand-new art installation called the Ornament Trail. Along Wisconsin Avenue and Water Street, right in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, you'll find larger-than-life ornaments with diverse interpretations of the holiday season.
Dave Watkins is one of fifteen local artists commissioned by the Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District #21, to create his take on the holidays. Watkins painted two different ornaments, one called "Current Pastimes" abstractly representing the vintage and elegant style of Christmas with detailed vertical lines and 24-karat gold leaves.
"I think it's great what Downtown Bid#21 has been doing to work with local artists to brighten up the streets," said Watkins.
The other ornament "Paint The Town" is a representation of the city he loves and his favorite team, the Milwaukee Bucks.
"I definitely have strong roots in Milwaukee. This is my city. I work downtown. I kind of wanted to pay homage to the Milwaukee Bucks, I'm a die-hard fan," said Watkins.
Right outside The Pfister Hotel, a Latino family tradition comes to life.
Nicole Acosta, the 14th artist in residence and the first Latina to hold this position, said it was important to showcase her authentic self, her heritage and the importance of diversity in downtown Milwaukee in her artwork.
"It's always important for me to have that representation so people feel like they belong. It represents Latino heritage, so people may be able to see themselves in the ornament," said Acosta.
Her ornament depicts Lotería, a Mexican version of bingo but with a holiday twist. Her ornament includes elements like El Pino and La Campana.
"El Pino is the pine tree and then I added holiday lights on it and La Campana which is the bell and I put mistletoe on the bell," said Acosta.
The artwork aims to take an inclusive look at how people in Milwaukee celebrate the holidays.
"We wanted them to interpret what the holidays mean to them. Some of our artists don't celebrate the holidays in a traditional sense but brought in more of the winter elements," said Gabriel Yeager from the Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District #21.
As people walk downtown, the artist hopes the ornaments will bring a spark of happiness during this time of year.
"I think we all know that Milwaukee winters can be a little rough so if we can brighten up someone's day, if we can start a conversation, that's really what I love doing," said Watkins.
"For my piece in particular, I want them to feel seen and I want them to learn something new," said Acosta.
The Ornament Trail has a free Activity Guide to help you find all the ornaments around town along with activity pages for the kids, there are also discounts at local shops for hot cocoa and ice cream. To learn more, click here.
To view Dave Watkins' artwork, click here.
To follow Dave Watkins on Instagram, click here.
To learn more about Nicole Acosta, click here.
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