What's New
Newest Blog Posts
Check out the first PAIR blog post about Lt. Velazquez Sanchez
PAIR Studio Work
Check out this flow chart to understand more about this years PAIR process!
DID YOU KNOW?
Do you know what the #1 cause of household fires is?
What is A Public Artist In Residence?
Under the PAIR program, a local artist is contracted by a City of Milwaukee agency or department to develop, strategize, promote, and implement artist-driven solutions to complex civic challenges. The intended outcome is for the artist and City representatives to assess community needs, as well as develop and improve programs and initiatives through creative problem-solving.
Meet the Team
Sarah Gail Luther
PAIR Lead Artist
Sarah Gail Luther is a public artist based in Milwaukee, focused on civic engagement, social justice, and environmental activism. Her site-specific projects highlight the everyday things we often overlook in people, neighborhoods, and civic life. Through her art, Luther encourages us to slow down and take a closer look at the world around us. Her work often takes place in non-traditional spaces and invites people to participate. Whether it’s through art, performance, or community projects, Luther creates opportunities for connection and reflection.
Recent projects by Luther include Un Paseo Al Agua, a series of road signs along Greenfield Avenue for the Watermarks project; working with Escuela Verde High School to open the Newline Community Cafe; and Reading The Landscape, a free publication distributed at the Lynden Sculpture Garden. These projects all reflect Luther's passion for building community and raising awareness about the environment.
Paul Druecke
PAIR Liason
Paul Druecke received a Greater Milwaukee Foundation Mary L. Nohl Fellowship for Individual Artists in 2010. Druecke has published two books with Green Gallery Press, Life and Death on the Bluffs (2014), and The Last Days of John Budgen Jr. (2010). His work has been featured in Camera Austria and InterReview, and written about in Artforum, Art in America, Artnet.com, and Metropolis.com.
In addition to his work with public inscription, Druecke's projects have solicited strangers door to door, christened a park and courtyard, rolled out the red carpet, appropriated the role of benefactor, initiated a Board of Directors, and created two Memorial Reading Rooms.
Paul Druecke lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Milwaukee Fire Department
Partner Department
The Milwaukee Fire Department, also known as the MFD, was established January 1, 1875. The department consists of 31 Fire Stations, 31 Engines, 8 Trucks, 13 Paramedic Units, 6 Battalion Chiefs, 2 Heavy Rescues, Dive Rescue and the Trident fireboat. The department, currently under the leadership of Chief Aaron D. Lipski, is the primary fire suppression, prevention, rescue and emergency medical service for the City of Milwaukee. The department's motto is "Courage, Integrity and Honor."
The Milwaukee Fire Department consists of around 700 firefighters, many of whom serve simultaneously as paramedics providing BLS (basic life support) and ALS (advance life support) services. The MFD was ranked third in the country for best emergency medical service by a USA Today study in 2003.
Interest Satement from Milwaukee Fire Department
Civic Issue: Safe Housing (A Foundational Issue Impacting All Milwaukeeans and All City Departments)
As housing stock ages and the housing market continues experiencing extreme strain, the citizens at the lower end of the economic spectrum suffer a magnified impact. As they struggle to maintain a household, they are often left with the oldest (and oftentimes unmaintained and/or outdated) options from which to choose. These buildings (single-family, two-family, and multi-family included) present dramatically increased fire risk and mortality risk in the event of a fire in addition to a number of other health and social problems.
An incredible opportunity awaits the Public Artist in Residence artist. In alignment with Mayor Johnson’s priority #1 focus on housing for 2026, utilizing the visibility of the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) and its stations and vehicles, a creatively conceived and exhibited work of art would provide an additional lens by highlighting the very human right to not only have affordable housing, but to enjoy safe and survivable housing as well. Indeed, we are uniformly positioned as anchors in every neighborhood and centrally immersed in every one of the many diverse communities in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Fire Department is typically engaged when the safety of housing, especially where fire is concerned, fails. We are far from the only department engaged when safe housing is not achieved. The Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) is engaged on the scourge of lead piping and many other unhealthy housing issues, the Department of Public Works (DPW) and Milwaukee Water Works (MWW) feverishly works to replace lead laterals and service lines, the Department of Administration (DOA) constantly engages in the pursuit to afford displaced persons with proper sheltering, and the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) pursues code compliance for residents.
The MFD is deeply committed to reducing injury and death from fire. We really believe that the very best fire rescue is the one that we do not need to make – that is to say, if we can PREVENT a fire from happening, that is the real win! Further, if a fire does occur, if proper smoke detection and alarms allow
for occupants to self-evacuate, that is the real win! Because we reside on the very margin of success and failure over and over and over again, we are uniquely positioned to draw attention to the issue of safe and survivable housing.
Our Executive Command Staff (Assistant Chiefs Josh Parish, Dave Hensley, and Schuyler Belott) would convene a group of diverse members from multiple levels within the MFD. Aside from saving lives, many of our members have training and experience in areas that will likely be key to the success of this mission, including but not limited to: media production, strategic planning, pulling together multiple departments or agencies for a common mission, as well as a variety of technical and craft-related skills.
