“You’re in here and it’s like a cathedral. It’s a little hidden gem. You feel cool to be a part of it.”

Colin Mitchell is an artist with the 20 Ton Studios collective on the north side of Milwaukee and volunteered for the Doors Open Milwaukee annual event. He grew up down the road from the studio space in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood. He’s appreciative of Doors Open Milwaukee, and the opportunity it allows for the public to explore this historic hidden gem.

Matiana Hernandez: Is this your first time participating in Doors Open Milwaukee?

Colin Mitchell: No. Last year was our first time with doors open. It was beyond our expectations. I think we had almost like 600 people come here for the weekend. So this year, we really really got to be prepared. So I tried to clean up as best as I could and get the studio looking like I don’t just hoard unfinished paintings.

Matiana Hernandez: That’s great! So would you say that it’s like a pretty great experience? You really enjoy it?

Collin Mitchell: Doors Open?

Matiana Hernandez: Yeah!

Collin Mitchell: Yes! More people I talk to in my studio, than I do all year. It gets people to see the work. And also you know, I don’t think a lot of people would stop here on this corner if it weren’t for the door being open.

Matiana Hernandez: Why would you say that?

Collin Mitchell: I mean this is the intersection of Fond du Lac, 20th and North Avenue. It’s like a crossroads people will go through. I’ll describe where I work to people and they’re like, “I can’t picture it. I go past there every day.” They just can’t picture the building I’m talking about because there’s no signage. It just looks like part of the Milwaukee Rust Belt, this old dilapidated building. Once you take a moment to look at it even outside the green windows with the red brick, and then you’re in here and it’s like a cathedral. Like it’s a little hidden gem, it feels cool to be a part of it.

Matiana Hernandez: What do you like most about this studio space as a whole?

Collin Mitchell: It’s inspiring. You know the space alone, being able to walk around with the light coming in. I’m usually here at night, honestly. I also like that I can come here at night and have a giant space all to myself, really. To play music, you know, just kind of relax and lose myself in the work. It feels like an oasis to me, enhanced by what I value the most. And having room to have a full wood shop if I want to go carve something, to paint or build a frame. I mean I don’t have a lot of experience welding, it’s pretty minimal but if I wanted to I could probably ask one of my studio mates to show me how to do something. If I wanted to fabricate something. And I’ve been developing a print shop downstairs as well, so there’s room to do that kind of stuff. It’s stuff I couldn’t really do in my garage.

Matiana Hernandez: There’s room to explore basically, that’s really great.

Collin Mitchell: Yeah, yeah!