Elisabeth Gasparka
Creative MKE HostElisabeth Gasparka, a creative producer and storyteller living in Milwaukee, is the host of Creative MKE.
She was born in the U.K. and came to Milwaukee by way of the NYC area in 2010 after graduating from Oberlin, for what was supposed to be a short marketing internship with Present Music. Instead, she jumped into the deep end of Milwaukee’s rich art scene as an arts and culture contributor for the Third Coast Digest and radio DJ on WMSE where she made many connections within the creative sector, including her now husband, at a series of exhibition openings including at Inova Gallery, where he worked.
The moment she realized that she didn’t want to leave Milwaukee was watching the Packers beat the Falcons in the playoffs in the Polish Falcon Bar — a room packed with exuberant Wisconsinites of all ages (including a few babies and a dog), with free brats and chili in a crockpot, and a jukebox playing during commercials. Since then, she’s been riveted by the wins and the challenges of this community, and has continued to embrace the culture of this region from inside it. After working in fundraising for some of the preeminent art museums in the area, Elisabeth was called to work in strategic communications on behalf of the Milwaukee arts community, and she obtained a Master of Science on Communication from Northwestern before beginning at Imagine MKE in 2022. Today, she continues to be inspired by the diverse, world-class talent and ingenuity within Milwaukee’s arts sector, and sees Milwaukee’s creative economy as a catalyst to enhance quality of life and growth in this region.
When she’s not writing and producing content on behalf of IMKE, Elisabeth enjoys working on her own music as a singer songwriter in the band Lyrid, art and writing projects, gardening and immersing herself in this region’s natural beauty through camping, hiking and canoeing.
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In this special episode of Creative MKE, we’re sharing conversations from a special event Imagine MKE hosted at Washington Park Media Center earlier this year. -
In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth speaks with Kevin Canady, Vice President of Sales & Business Development, and Scott Ziel, Vice President of Entertainment, at Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., the organization that manages and hosts Summerfest. -
In this second portion of this discussion about the Vel R. Phillips Plaza public art commission, Elisabeth and guests City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump and arts leader Marilu Knode reflect on the wider context of the project. -
In part one of this special two-part episode, Elisabeth speaks with City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump and arts leader Marilu Knode to discuss the plans for the Vel R. Phillips plaza. -
In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth and Adam speak with Randy Cohen from Americans for the Arts about the Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 Study. -
The attraction of the outside world to Milwaukee is not an accident, and is, in large part due to the work of VISIT Milwaukee—Peggy Williams Smith, Joshua Albrecht, and Claire Koenig—who champion and lift up the city’s culture every day through their work. -
Tia Richardson and Jordan Banks are leading an effort to create a mural to honor and commemorate Jordan's father, the athlete, "artist", and former U.S. National Soccer player, Jimmy Banks. The mural will be in the newly named Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium. -
D Kirschling, a board member and the volunteer coordinator at the non- profit organization Girls Rock & Ladies Rock MKE where Participants attend camps and workshops where they experiment and learn music in a safe space. -
In his decade plus living in Milwaukee, Michael Lagerman obtained his MFA at UWM’s Peck School of the Arts, has built a sense of belonging within the film and art communities and has contributed to diverse arts programming. -
Retired advertising executive, Carl Brown, along with his wife had the idea to launch a jazz festival in their home city of Milwaukee with the proceeds going to charity. Now in its fifth season, the Fresh Coast Jazz Festival continues to delight jazz lovers and serve the community.
