Woodland Pattern Book Center was founded as a non-profit organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Riverwest neighborhood by Anne Kingsbury and Karl Gartung in 1979. The center houses a bookstore with over 25,000 small press titles, in addition to an art gallery where they present exhibitions, artist talks, readings, experimental films, concerts, and writing workshops.Due to the state budget cuts in Wisconsin, Woodland Pattern needs to raise an additional $48,500 in less than seven months. This means that NOW is an excellent time to visit, shop, and make a donation. Racine, Wisconsin poet Nick Demske has outlined some inspirational ideas here.
Tired of seeing arts funding getting cut in your state? Here are some talking points for your legislators:
The arts are central to healthy communities.
• Stimulate economic and community development.
• Educate our children to succeed in school and beyond.
• Beautify our neighborhoods.
• Attract tourists and out-of-town visitors.
• Make our cities and towns attractive and vibrant
places to live and work.
• Provide important social and creative outlets for all residents,
including seniors, those with disabilities, children and adults.
• Bring people of diverse backgrounds together in productive
and cooperative ways.
• People who are involved in the arts are also more civically engaged, they volunteer and they vote.
The arts build and sustain prosperity.
• Cities thrive, grow, attract and retain businesses when
the arts are supported.
• Arts and creativity education is proven to keep students in school,
increase high school graduation rates and prepare students for
college and for the careers of the 21st century.
• The new economy (insert your economic system here) requires a workforce that will be highly disciplined, collaborative, innovative, imaginative, creative and focused. These are the traits the arts teach.
