LGBTQ+ history has generally been one of erasure. In Milwaukee, many of the spaces LGBTQ+ people once founded and claimed are no longer visible in our cityscape. A new app seeks to change that.
The lgbt milWALKee app offers guided, interactive and multimedia walking tours throughout the city to show generations of local LGBTQ+ history. It features people, organization and events. Each location includes a narrated video of the site’s history along with current and past photos.
Dr. Brice Smith, the creator and project director of lgbt milWALKee, says, "I wanted to create something that would allow people to come to know and care about LGBTQ+ Milwaukeeans. I feel like one of the best ways in which we can help people to do that is through storytelling. At its core, I believe that's what history is."
The app's interface starts with the loading screen, which presents the users with lgbt milWALKee's corporate sponsors. It was important, Smith says, for the app's team to show the connection with the past and show some locals leaders who stand for LGBTQ+ equity.
Users can pick from 25 sites around Milwaukee on a map that is organized into three tours. The tours can be done virtually or in person.
The vast majority of the locations that were selected were researched by the Wisconsin LGBTQ+ History Project. Aimee Gironimi narrated the stories that Smith wrote for the app. For it to all come together, Ashley Altadonna added the visual effects and aesthetic.
"I'm so happy and excited that I was able to work with these incredibly talented people. And that through this app, we're able to share with all Milwaukeeans and beyond, the incredible talent that these folks have," says Smith.
The ultimate goal of the app is to engender pride in to not only the LGBTQ+ community but Milwaukee in general. Smith believes this app "couldn't be created anywhere else because we're all from here and we love this place. And we bring so much of the sense of place to an app about [Milwaukee]. And it's a matter of trying to help people to see it in a different way."
Smith invites any community members curious about Milwaukee's LGBTQ+ history to the lgbt milWALKee App Tour Kick Off Event, taking place June 9 from 7 to 8 p.m. at Zao MKE Church.
And, Smith encourages people "to see that [the LGBTQ+] community is an important part of this city and that we both reflect the city and also helped to shape it through the different stories that we tell on this [app]."
