The mission of Artists Working in Education (AWE) is to provide youth in Milwaukee with art enrichment programs that advance learning, enhance human potential, and cultivate community. Since 1998, AWE has connected children with professional artists who guide them through the process of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Through meaningful, hands-on arts programming, youth develop new ways of seeing the world, building inquisitiveness, creativity, flexibility, imagination, and confidence.

AWE’s goals are to:

• Increase access to high-quality arts education for youth who might otherwise go without.

• Foster creative and social-emotional development by emphasizing process over product.

• Build connections among artists, youth, and community members to strengthen neighborhood identity and pride.

• Provide meaningful employment and professional development for Milwaukee artists to support the city’s creative workforce.

Through our core programs – Truck Studio, Artist-in-Residence (AIR), and Rising Artists Council (RAC) – as well as our new strategies – Art Educators Studio and Art Connect – AWE reaches thousands of children and community members each year in parks, playgrounds, schools, community spaces, and our own studio space. By offering accessible, inclusive, and culturally responsive art experiences, AWE ensures every child has the opportunity to explore their creativity and express themselves through art.