Faythe Levine
Sidewalk Portal, 2020
A creative summary
*similar to but not the same as the "about" page
Summer 2021
Faythe Levine's practice is rooted in the DIY ethics she grew up with in the mid-1990s and her parents, Suzanne Wechsler and Rick Levine, decisions around her counter culture upbringing. With emphasis on accessibility and community her oeuvre spans over 30 years of making, organizing and documenting, beginning in 1993 with the first of many zines she co-curated with artist E.T. Russian. Inspired by the riot grrrl community, Levine went on to cut and paste numerous self-published zines, flyers and hundreds of pieces of mail art. In the late 90s Levine relocated to Minneapolis, MN where she began to organize more elaborate events to photograph her community. The photographs were then shown along with bands playing the opening night, a string of never ending parties and events. This all became the foundation to a diverse body of work she has continued to produce since.
In 2001, Levine moved to Milwaukee, WI where she established several non-traditional gallery spaces; Flying Fish (2002-2003), Paper Boat (2005-2009), and Sky High (2010-2013). In addition to opening these spaces in Milwaukee, Levine founded Art vs. Craft (2003-2013) and organized the Temporary Mural Project at Sky High with Aaron Polansky (2011-2013). During this period she also directed her documentary films Handmade Nation and Sign Painters, publishing companion books with Princeton Architectural Press under the same titles.
She has curated numerous exhibitions, worked with many archives looking for unseen histories, and most recently was the director of the Arts/Industry program at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI (2017-2021) where she administered the residency hosted at Kohler Co in addition to curating related exhibitions at the Arts Center and Art Preserve.
Through this lifestyle, Levine has amassed a wide reaching web of amazing humans in her life along with a large collection of zines, artwork and ephemera from her 30 years participating in radical creative queer community. Her goal is to continue to share these resources and stories while doing various types of artist and curatorial programming. Her devotion to promoting creative empowerment, cultivating inspiration and being the conduit between people continues to motivate her daily existence.