R.I.P.: Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery
The economy is blamed for the Bay View gallery's demise
After weeks of rumors, Milwaukee artist Faythe Levine and business owner Kim Kisiolek confirmed that Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery will close after its upcoming exhibit Bullies. Not surprisingly, “the current economic climate is the main reason that led us to this very difficult decision” to shut the doors after four years, the duo said in a statement sent out to the Bay View shop’s email list Saturday night.
Paper Boat isn’t the first local business to get trampled by the financial crisis—or likely the last—but Mary Louise Schumacher of the Journal Sentinel wonders whether the gallery could have been helped by arts-minded civic leaders paying greater attention to “critical, close-to-the-ground, independent voices in our community.” At any rate, Levine still has plenty on her plate, including her Handmade Nation film and book and the popular Art Vs. Craft fair.
Bullies runs at Paper Boat April 17 to May 31. There will be an opening reception April 17 from 7 to 10 p.m.
