Cactus+

Our mission is to create an artist-centered model for multimedia arts education and community building that champions accessibility, inclusivity and sustainability.

Founded in 2022, Cactus+ is our effort to formalize and broaden the reach of our arts education and community building programs including workshops, youth internships, and accessibility initiatives.

Beyond the conventions of a small-capacity music venue, in 2018, Cactus Club began engaging in mutual aid projects, community education, and harm reduction programming such as Narcan training and access to safer sex supplies. We successfully campaigned to change how the city defined a Center for Visual and Performing Arts. Now, small venues in Milwaukee can host all-ages programming instead of restricting access to 21+ audiences. Skill-shares and youth-organized events such as Stop Motion Animation, Intro to Electronic Repairs, and DIY Mycology ignited our charge to formalize these efforts into something sustainable and structured. From these experiences, Cactus+ emerged to fill cultural cavities and empower marginalized artists to take the reigns.