By Jeff Sherman OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer Published Jan 07, 2013 at 11:16 AM

Milwaukee made yet another national list today as it was named one of America's top 12 "ArtPlaces" today by ArtPlace. Hat tip to Mary-Louise Schumacher for first pointing this report out today.  It’s great news for Milwaukee and truly puts our city in fine company.

Today, ArtPlace announced America’s top 12 ArtPlaces, communities that have most successfully combine art, artists and venues for creativity and expression with independent businesses, retail shops and restaurants, and a walkable lifestyle to make vibrant neighborhoods.

Milwaukee’s East Town and a section of the Lower East Side were identified as one of America’s top 12 ArtPlaces, having successfully combined the arts, artists and venues for creativity and expression with independent businesses, restaurants, and a walkable lifestyle to make vibrant neighborhoods.

Next Monday, Jan. 14 at 9 a.m. Mayor Tom Barrett will accept a certificate with the designation at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. 

ArtPlace director Carol Coletta will also speak, as well as Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee and Neil Hoffman, president of MIAD. From there, the Mayor will join ArtPlace and neighborhood leaders for a tour around the Historic Third Ward to visit some of the local arts organizations and independent businesses that have helped support the revitalization of the community.

 America’s top 12 ArtPlaces for 2013 are:

  • Brooklyn / The intersection of Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Heights
  • Dallas / The Dallas Arts District, with parts of Deep Ellum and Exposition Park
  • Los Angeles / Central Hollywood
  • Miami Beach / South Beach
  • Milwaukee / East Town and a portion of the Lower East Side
  • New York / Manhattan Valley
  • Oakland, Calif. / Downtown, including Chinatown, Old Oakland and Jack London Square
  • Philadelphia / Old City
  • Portland, Ore. / The Pearl District and a portion of Downtown
  • San Francisco / The Mission District
  • Seattle / The Pike-Pine Corridor
  • Washington, D.C. / The intersection of Adams  Morgan, U Street and Dupont Circle

ArtPlace is a collaboration of 13 leading national and regional foundations, eight federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six of the nation’s largest banks to accelerate creative placemaking across the U.S.  It looked at 44 of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. for this study.  More information is here.

Jeff Sherman OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer

A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.

He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.

Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.  He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.  

He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.

He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.