By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Jul 14, 2021 at 3:01 PM

N0 Studios – founded by Academy Award winning Milwaukee-area native John Ridley – has announced PhotoMKE, the first of a projected annual photography festival that will feature area photographers in outdoor galleries in six neighborhoods.

A call to artists interested in participating has been made and photo submissions are due July 31.

Photographs should be uploaded digitally at 300 dpi at nostudios.com/photomke. The story behind the image should be included.

Photographs must represent one of the participating neighborhoods: Clarke Square, Harambee, Layton Boulevard, Lindsay Heights, Metcalfe Park and Muskego Way.

The photos can be new or existing images in a wide variety of subjects, according to a release from the studio, “including but not limited to buildings/architecture, people, objects, historical landmarks, elder statesmen, or an event/moment.”

If you have questions about the submission process, NÃ0 Studios will host a virtual real time Q&A Monday, July 19 at 6 p.m.

Eight photos will be selected for each neighborhood by a panel of community leaders and MIAD faculty.

Winning photographers will get a $300 stipend and 50 percent off rental equipment from MKE Production rentals.

“The galleries will feature photography from residents representing what love, beauty, resilience and happiness looks like to them, where they live,” reads the announcement.

“By inviting locals to reclaim and represent their communities through visual art, No Studios PhotoMKE aspires to affirm the value of these Milwaukee neighborhoods through the lens of those who live there.”

True Skool and MIAD are providing artistic support for PhotoMKE.

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.