Klassik Creating Milwaukee Press Kit

Milwaukee is a complex historical tapestry. Within concrete wastelands, amidst cream city brick, rises our city of today.

Business sprouts in the factories of yesteryear; old haunts become new destinations. In this series we speak to artists whose work was woven by this landscape, and trace the thread back to this new Milwaukee.

Kellen “Klassik” Abston

Klassik is an award-winning Milwaukee-based musician, producer, songwriter, performing artist, and community curator. Named the City of Milwaukee's 2021 Mildred L. Harpole "Artist of the Year", Klassik's jazz-saturated hip-hop/soul, informed by years of traditional jazz study and Milwaukee Public Schools arts education, has taken him from summer festival stages and crowds of thousands, to classroom settings inspiring youth of all ages throughout Wisconsin. His 2019 LP "QUIET.", was named the #1 album of the year by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and was awarded Critic's Choice and Solo Artist honors at the 2019 Radio Milwaukee Music Awards. 2022 saw Klassik collaborating with both the Milwaukee Art Museum, producing the original composition and video performance "Nobody's Watching", and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, producing and performing an all-original score for their production of Brian Quijada’s "Where Did We Sit On The Bus?". A true "Klass Act", Klassik works to stir the souls of listeners into action with empathy, passion, and purpose through his own vulnerable and self-reflective sonic art.

MEDIA ASSETS PRESS RELEASE

FULL LENGTH YOUTUBE

9 MINUTES

FULL LENGTH VIMEO

9 MINUTES

SHORTENED VIDEO

3:55 MINUTES

TRAILER / TEASER

33 SECONDS

PHOTO ASSETS (STILLS, HEADSHOTS)

I want to be a living example of a pathway in a series of steps... so I have to take the scary steps.

-Kellen "Klassik" Abston

Nō Studios' CREATING MILWAUKEE A M I N I - D O C U M E N T A R Y S E R I E S E X P L O R I N G T H E S T O R I ES O F A R T I S T S

The Klassik launch event will take place on August 15th both in-person at Nō Studios and online. This hybrid experience will showcase the minidocumentary and offer an opportunity for Q&A with the featured artist: Kellen ' Klassik' Abston

March 27, 2023 – Milwaukee, WI – Lisa Caesar, the COO of Nō Studios announced today, CREATING MILWAUKEE, a mini-documentary series produced by Nō Studios and presented by The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact. The series explores the stories of Milwaukee area creatives across various disciplines while highlighting their work and its connection to their communities.

"Milwaukee is rich with incredibly diverse local talent. We are very excited to partner with The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact to bring more attention to these artists, and their unique work, to foster awareness, conversations and collaborations among the city’s many great creative communities," stated John Ridley, founder and CEO, Nō Studios.

Launch Details: The episode launch takes places August 15th, 2023 at 11:45am with a live broadcast on WISN 12 News followed by a live streamed Q&A from the Nō Studios Gallery. Participants are encouraged to join either at Nō Studios or online. Further details can be found here: Creating Milwaukee ft. Klassik Launch Event

Nō Studios Announces CREATING MILWAUKEE A M I N I - D O C U M E N T A R Y S E R I E S E X P L O R I N G T H E S T O R I ES O F A R T I S T S

"Arts and culture give life to a community while inspiring creativity and innovation. The Mini-Documentary Series is a program of short format documentary videos produced by Nō Studios featuring local Milwaukee artists and community organizers. Through the Institute’s focus on advocacy and storytelling, we are partnering with Nō Studios to elevate the voices of artists, advocates, and change makers across the country, ” stated Nyra Jordan, Social Impact Director, American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact.

About Nō Studios Nō Studios derives from the word play between a rejection artists are so often told, with, nō , the Sino-Japanese root word for "skill" or "talent".

Founded by Oscar winner and Milwaukee native, John Ridley, the desire behind our 40,000 square foot headquarters is to create a collaborative workspace, hybrid experience platform, and social community that offers an environment for artists and activists to come together. Our historic building features offices, co-working space, a state-of-the-art screening room, performance stage, café bar, gallery, and rooftop lounge and deck.

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About The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Change The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact is a venture capital firm and partner of choice for exceptional entrepreneurs who are building scalable, sustainable businesses in a long-term effort to close equity gaps in America. It also recognizes that capacity building and supporting organizations and experts who have been working toward social causes are equally important in making a positive impact within our communities around the country.

Media Contacts: MPRM Communications Jacki St. Thomas nostudios@mprm.com 323-933-3399 produced by Nō Studios nostudios.com/production nostudios.com/creatingmilwaukee iamklassik.com

nostudios.com 1037 W. McKinley Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53205