Port Washington is known as a harbor town with stunning views of Lake Michigan. But it’s also known as Monarch City.
“I actually raise monarch butterflies in my backyard,” says John Kowalczyk. “I grow milkweed and I collect their eggs and I raise them as caterpillars, and then I release them as butterflies again. So I was like, ‘oh my gosh, I have to make a bird and monarch themed mural!’”
John is a muralist and graduate of Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He has a long history as an artist.
“I started painting when I was 8 years old, I think.”
One glance at John’s work will tell you he’s graduated from brushes and acrylic paint.
“I’ve always loved community art and art that is for everybody and is accessible for everybody,” he says. “It’s way more gratifying for me to paint a mural that everybody can see 24/7.”
That’s a passion Kristina Tadeo has been trying to bring to Port Washington all year. She’s the executive director of Downtown Port Washington.
“We’re just celebrating these fantastic new murals coming to our city, and the artists being here, they’ve been so fantastic,” Kristina says. “I feel like we’ve just sort of embraced them into the community and they fit so well.”
As the summer season wrapped up, Kristina and other city leaders kicked off a three year commitment to bring more public art to Port Washington – a project called Paint on Port. It all started with a 10-day event and multiple murals designed to create connection.
“Folks who maybe wouldn’t have crossed paths or talked to each other are now standing on the sidewalk, admiring the work, talking about it,” Kristina says. “I think that all just goes to show that this is a new way, a good way of bringing the community together.”
And Port Washingtonians are embracing these temporary newcomers – like Dustin Eckhardt, a muralist from Rockford, Illinois.
“I really like public art and I love to engage the community around it,” he says. “I’ve had a great time in Port just getting to know the locals and I kind of feel like one myself, now, at the end of this week!”
Even though he’s not from the area, Dustin is creating art that reflects the community, and all it’s native plants and wildlife.
“Wood violet, being the state flower. I’ve got the robin, the state bird as well, and many more,” Dustin describes. “There’s probably 15 different flowers in here.”
Other visiting artists captured the glimmer of chinook salmon and flash of rainbow trout in our very own Great Lakes.
But the citizens of Port Washington had a hand in these murals too – with the People’s Wall.
“We had adults with disabilities from two different organizations painting that wall and helping design it with the help of a lead artist,” Kristina says.
And next year, school aged children will create another People’s Wall.
It’s momentum John is excited about.
“I told them that once these murals are finished, every business owner is going to be like, ‘hey! You guys could come paint the back of my building now!’”
There’s good news for those shop owners…
“In the two years to come, we’ll be hoping to add another probably six murals,” Kristina says.
It’s a labor of love and a monument of color for a town that’s growing just a little closer.
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