What It Takes to Help the Arts Thrive
Arts and culture don't just enrich a city — they define it. They draw talent, support tourism, strengthen neighborhoods, and reflect who a community is and aspires to be. But sustaining the arts requires more than enthusiasm. Christine Hojnacki, Executive Director of Imagine MKE, joined Angela Damiani on Making New Possible to talk about what it actually takes to help Milwaukee's creative sector thrive — and what's missing.
A Three-Legged Stool That's Missing a Leg
Hojnacki describes arts funding as a three-legged stool: philanthropy, earned revenue (like ticket sales), and public funding. In Milwaukee — and across Wisconsin — that third leg is underdeveloped. Arts organizations have long relied on foundation support and what they can earn, but public investment lags far behind what comparable cities commit. Without it, the stool is unstable. Even well-run organizations face chronic resource constraints that limit what they can offer and who they can serve.
Arts as Infrastructure
One of Hojnacki's core arguments is that arts and culture should be understood as infrastructure — not amenity. Like roads and schools, the creative sector supports the conditions that make a city livable, attractive, and economically competitive. When businesses consider where to locate or expand, the quality of a city's arts scene is part of the calculus. When young professionals choose cities, culture is a draw. Treating the arts as a discretionary add-on misses how foundational they actually are.
Building a Shared Vision
To move from conversation to action, Imagine MKE convened roughly 100 cross-sector leaders — arts organizations, funders, businesses, and civic voices — to shape a shared vision for Milwaukee's creative future. That kind of collective alignment is rare. Hojnacki sees it as essential: individual organizations can't shift the ecosystem on their own, but a coordinated field can. The goal is not just to help existing institutions survive, but to build the conditions for a genuinely thriving creative community.
Three Priorities for the Field
Imagine MKE's work centers on three connected priorities: building better data to make the case for investment, connecting arts funders so their resources work in concert, and advancing public funding at the local and state level. Each reinforces the others. Better data enables better advocacy. Connected funders can close gaps that no single foundation can. And public investment signals that the arts are a community priority, which encourages private investment to follow.
What Individuals Can Do
Hojnacki is clear that the work isn't only for organizations and institutions. Individuals can help too: attend performances, buy tickets, support artists directly, and contact elected officials to make the case for public arts funding. Relationships and collective action are what move the needle — and that starts with people deciding that the arts are worth advocating for, not just enjoying.
Key Takeaways
- Arts funding is a three-legged stool — public funding is the leg Milwaukee is missing
- Arts and culture are infrastructure, not amenity
- Collective alignment across sectors is what drives systemic change
- Individuals can advocate, attend, and make the case to elected officials
Written by Brady Jager for NEWaukee, October 2026.