New BCA Executive Director Sees Cultural Renaissance Emerging in Bronzeville

In December, Ra Joy took the reins as executive director of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts (BCA). A native of Illinois, Joy most recently served as chief of staff for the National Endowment for the Arts during the Biden-Harris administration.

“I’m an artist. I come from a family of artists. I’ve dedicated most of my life and career to making the arts accessible to more people in more places,” Joy said. “I really wanted to be associated with big ideas and impactful projects, so what drew me to the BCA is the enormity of this project. The idea of conceiving, creating, and sustaining a world-class museum and art center dedicated to Black art and culture is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The Bronzeville Center for the Arts was founded in 2020 in Milwaukee’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood.

Della Wells, BCA vice chair, has long been involved in Milwaukee’s Black arts movement and said the project initially began with a Facebook post.

“I started posting things on Black artists on Facebook, and a donor saw a post and said we need an art museum in Milwaukee for Black artists to tell their story, that’s how this project got started,” Wells said.

Gallery 507 serves as the BCA’s headquarters and is the organization’s first development in the heart of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville District at 507 W. North Ave. The 3,500 square foot facility is also home to an artists’ gallery, a makerspace, and a retail area.

Curator Phoenix Brown highlights a current solo exhibition by Baltimore performance artist Ciara K. Walters. Through her spiritual practice, Walters uses movement to explore and process emotions such as grief and joy. A performance platform at the center of the gallery invites visitors to engage directly with her movement-based work. The exhibition is on view through Aug. 14, 2026.

Joy expressed excitement about an exhibition planned for this fall.

“It’s focused on preserving Bronzeville and Milwaukee’s Black Arts movement. The story of Bronzeville deserves to be seen, celebrated, and shared,” Joy explained. “We’re standing on the shoulders of pioneering artists and arts organizations. I’m excited to help bridge the past and future of Bronzeville as a center of culture, community, and commerce.”

The BCA is developing an art museum in the heart of Bronzeville.

“The new art museum is going to be a major world-class museum located in one of Milwaukee’s most iconic corridors,” said Joy. “It will be a space dedicated to Black artists and ideas.”
Joy shared that the museum will take several years to build and will feature a talented architectural team, including Michael Ford, designer of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in New York.

“We have site control of three properties, including a major property at 2300 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and a four-acre lot we are going to infuse with art,” Joy said.

Joy believes the major thing is attracting talented tourists and investment to Bronzeville and helping contribute to the revitalization.

“Culture and the arts are one of our nation’s greatest assets. I also think it’s very important that people experience the arts in daily ways. They appropriate the arts in their everyday living experience. It’s actually a big part of the mission of BCA is to both encourage and inspire the next generation of artists and also to encourage the public to connect with their own inherent creativity,” said Joy.

BCA welcomes folks of all ages to engage here at Gallery 507 and to engage in the activities we have throughout the year.

“We’re embracing Black creativity and imagination,” Joy said. “I feel that there’s something unique happening in Milwaukee and in Bronzeville at this time, and we’re really proud to contribute to the cultural renaissance that’s underway.”