For years now, Milwaukee and its visitors have marveled at the Santiago Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum. And this summer, Brew City will be getting another Calatrava piece – and almost two dozen other public pieces to go alongside of it.

Starting June 1, Sculpture Milwaukee, an outdoor urban sculpture exhibit free to the public, will be on display down Wisconsin Avenue from 6th Street to O'Donnell Park, featuring 22 wide-ranging sculptures by 21 artists including Tony Cragg, Joel Shapiro, Alison Saar, Jessica Stockholder and, Milwaukee old's friend, Santiago Calatrava. Three Milwaukee-based artists – Michelle Grabner, Jason S. Yi and Paul Druecke – will also be among the pieces lining one of Downtown Milwaukee's main drags.

For those with the expendable income for a fancy new lawn ornament or conversation piece, the sculptures included will be available for purchase, with a percentage of the commission reinvested into continuing Sculpture Milwaukee into the future. 

"Sculpture Milwaukee will be an amazing addition to the collection of activities already taking place in Downtown Milwaukee this summer," said Beth Weirick, CEO of Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, in a press release. "Milwaukee is one of only a handful of cities to host a free, urban installation of this magnitude. We look forward to engaging the community with programs and events around this new public art."

"We are delighted to showcase the talents of so many well-regarded artists," said Steve Marcus, chairman of the board for The Marcus Corporation as well as chair of Sculpture Milwaukee. "We appreciate the combined efforts of the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, private business owners and many others to make this urban public art installation a reality. Sculpture Milwaukee will attract global attention, showcasing Milwaukee’s revitalization and rich cultural history in the art world."

Unlike the Milwaukee Art Museum, however, this Calatrava work and the other pieces on display won't be around for long, as the exhibit will only be up through Oct. 22. But Sculpture Milwaukee plans to make this an annual exhibition, with new artists and new works highlighted with every new edition.

And also unlike the Milwaukee Art Museum, the sculptures won't each be blocked by additional huge orange art pieces.  

Installations for Sculpture Milwaukee will begin in the middle of the month. For more info, check out the exhibit's website.