Truck Studio
About the Truck Studio
AWE’s Truck Studio offers free drop-in arts enrichment activities with dedicated teams of teaching artists who activate parks, libraries, and other public spaces with engaging hands-on art experiences for youth and their caregivers.
In the summer, we activate parks across the city to bring quality art activities to everyone. From noon to 3 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you will find us and our Truck Studios out in the community, sparking imaginations and bringing joy.
During spring, winter and fall, AWE partners with other organizations like Milwaukee Public Library and Milwaukee Recreation’s Twilight Centers to offer free, drop-in out-of-school-time art activities across the city led by our teaching artists.
Truck Studio can also be hired to activate other public and private events. Learn more about the Creative Services we offer here.
About the Teaching Artists
The Truck Studios are run by our teaching artists, who bring expertise in visual arts, arts education, and community engagement. Artists are selected for both their artistic practice and their ability to create welcoming, inclusive and developmentally appropriate learning environments. They receive ongoing training and professional development in community-based arts education, youth engagement, and collaborative project facilitation, ensuring high-quality, culturally responsive programming across every Truck Studio site.
In 2025, 17 teaching artists were employed through the Truck Studios, permitting local artists to share their expertise in arts education as well as community engagement. The artist-led approach to the Truck Studios allows teaching artists to fully engage along with community members in the program.
Truck Studio’s Objectives
The primary objectives of AWE’s Truck Studio program are to provide high-quality, hands-on art education experiences through authentic community outreach to historically underserved neighborhoods, and to offer meaningful employment and professional development opportunities for local artists.
Program objectives include:
Expanding access to free, high-quality arts education for Milwaukee youth and families.
Fostering creativity, confidence, and creative problem-solving through hands-on, process-based art-making.
Supporting the professional growth of local teaching artists through meaningful employment and community engagement.
Strengthening neighborhood connections by activating public spaces through collaborative arts experiences.
