The Bronzeville Center for the Arts’ (BCA) board of directors announced on Monday that BrandNu Design Studio will be the lead architecture firm for its highly anticipated African American Art Museum in the heart of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood.
BrandNu Design, owned by Michael Ford, who is known nationally as the Hip Hop Architect, will partner with HGA to lead the project into the next phase of design development, including site and building design and further community engagement, building upon critical phase one work completed by M&E Architects+Engineers, according to a press release from BCA.
“The BCA is proud to welcome BrandNu Design to help us bring to fruition our vision for an African American art museum in Bronzeville,” said Kristen Hardy, board chair of the BCA, in a statement. “BrandNu uses design as a tool to advance equity, justice, and inclusion, actively working with communities to build a more equitable future, which perfectly aligns with the mission of the BCA. We believe BrandNu’s talent and experience will be beneficial during this next phase. ”
The Bronzeville Center for the Arts (BCA) was founded in 2020 with the goal of establishing a major new art museum in Bronzeville – a historically African American neighborhood in Milwaukee – to highlight the work of African American artists.
BrandNu Design, which has offices in Madison, Dallas, and New York, specializes in cultural centers and museums, with a design portfolio that includes the Universal Hip Hop Museum in New York and the Black Inventors Hall of Fame Museum in New Jersey. The firm strives to create spaces that enhance quality of life while promoting equity, justice, and inclusion.
“This is an incredible opportunity to help shape the design of a new museum that will feature African American art and become a community hub within a revitalized Bronzeville,” said Ford, who was named Young Architect of The Year by Wisconsin’s Chapter of The American Institute of Architects in 2022. “This world-class museum will both represent the rich history of the neighborhood and forecast its future.”
