Genre: Urban Arts is a creative ecosystem built in Milwaukee in 2016 for artists, writers, poets, educators, and makers who deserve more than exposure. For ten years, we have published work that mainstream platforms overlooked, curated exhibitions that gave artists real visibility, developed curricula that put creativity at the center of learning, and organized events that treat the creative community as the serious, essential thing it is.
This is not a hobby project. It is a platform, a press, and a community of 3,200+ creatives around the world who understand that creativity is not a luxury. It is divinity. And it deserves a home built for it.
We are still here.
By the numbers
Community
3,200+
creatives worldwide
In operation
10 years
founded 2016
Experience
15+ years
curriculum + creative direction
Recognition
Friend of the Arts
Milwaukee Arts Board, 2025
Trusted by
Founder
"We are still here. Ten years of high moments and learning moments, and we are still here."
Nakeysha Roberts Washington, Founder, Genre: Urban Arts
Original Art
Original: Mixed media, 27x42in, 2022
Print: 20x31in, Matte, Archival Print
To purchase original, please email Nakeysha@GenreUrbanArts.org.
Genre: Build
A creative business intensive.
6 spots. Begins July 14th.
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You have the knowledge. You have years of doing the work. Now it's time to build something that pays you for it. Genre: Build is a 4-week private cohort for creatives who are ready to design, price, and launch their own workshop or course with Nakeysha Roberts Washington in your corner the entire time. 6 spots. $500. Starts July 14.
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You've been facilitating, teaching, or creating for years but haven't turned it into a paid offer.
You've thought about building a workshop or course but don't know how to structure it, price it, or sell it.
You want to stop trading time for exposure and start getting paid what your expertise is worth.
You're a poet, visual artist, educator, performer, or multi-disciplinary creative who's ready to be taken seriously as a professional.
Genre: Build is live, intimate, and requires your full presence.
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In 4 weeks you will:
Week 1: Find your offer. Identify your expertise, your audience, and the transformation you provide. Name it. Own it.
Week 2: Build your curriculum. Design a 4–6 session workshop or short course with real structure, varied instruction, and materials that work.
Week 3: Price and package it. Learn how to price your work without apology. Build a one-sheet. Practice your pitch.
Week 4: Launch it. Develop your outreach strategy, identify your first clients, and send your first pitch in together, in session.
You leave with: a complete curriculum plan, a priced offer, a one-sheet, and the confidence to send it.
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Your facilitator is Nakeysha Roberts Washington, M.S.Ed — Founder of Genre: Urban Arts, award-winning creative director, widely published author, and educator with 15+ years of experience building curricula and coaching creatives. She has collaborated with HarperCollins-Amistad, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the ACLU to name a few. Genre: Urban Arts is a platform for 3,200+ artists internationally. She has done the thing she is teaching you to do. Many times. And she will be in the room with you every step of the way.
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4 live group sessions (90 min each) via Google Meets
Private cohort community (Discord)
Direct feedback on your curriculum from Nakeysha
One-sheet template + pitch guidance
Lifetime access to session recordings
Only 6 spots.
Current Publications
The PATH by Motherboomer illustrated by Enam Noeki
Embark on a captivating journey through The PATH, a bold blend of memoir, storytelling through poetry, and comic book art. This unique work follows the author’s teenage years and young adulthood, chronicling adventures on the PATH train to Harlem, the joys and complexities of family, and the bittersweet lessons of first relationships.
Along the way, readers meet unforgettable characters: the enigmatic Mr. Waves, the unyielding Moms, the alluring yet complicated Preacher’s Son, and an aunt who serves as both guide and rebel. Set against the backdrop of the 1980s, the narrative pulses with cultural touchstones like Angela Davis and Black Power, fashion trends, emerging technology, and the soundtrack of a generation offers an immersive glimpse into a transformative era.
Visually engaging with its integration of comic book art, The PATH delivers an innovative reading experience that bridges laughter, love, loss, and self-discovery. It is a book that speaks across generations, inviting readers to reflect on where they come from, who they are, and the journeys that shape us all.
Motherboomer is a poet, visual storyteller, and documentarian of life. She works to retell memorable stories of her own experience and others, giving them life once again —vividly.
ISBN: 9798218880071
7.5×12 in
My Daddy Never Taught Me How to Write a Love Song is a lyrical exploration of love through the eyes of a Black father raising a Black daughter. Donnie D. Moreland Jr reflects on the men who came before him, men who taught him strength and survival, but struggled to express love. This debut collection becomes both a reckoning and a revelation, unfolding as an introspective journey where the roles of father, son, and Black man intersect in a search to define love. Before he can fully answer what love is, the author must first confront all the ways he has experienced what love is not. The result is a tender and vulnerable meditation on legacy, healing, and the radical work of learning to love with intention and clarity.
Orders will begin shipping on May 31st. Join us at CLASS in Houston for the book opening— More details TBA. Register for our newsletter to stay tuned.
This is a compilation of typewritten by Nakeysha that was recently exhibited in March of 2025. The works are printed on 100lb cardstock, hand bound with wool thread. 4×6 in, 10 pages.
Register for our Genre: Young Creatives Program.
GENRE: URBAN ARTS
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ABOUT US
Genre: Urban Arts has been in operation since 2016.Creatives can grow their skills through workshops and courses, become published on our site or in one of our gorgeously polished print publications, showcase art and multidisciplinary works through exhibitions curated and designed by our team, & flex their performance skills at one of our pop-up events.
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BLOG
Writing and art from Genre’s Revolutionary Art Critics and Culture writers as well as collaborators internationally.
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BOOKS
We have several print magazines + anthologies. View our collection here.
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CLOTHING
We have some cool drip.
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Art
Purchase original art and prints from artists we manage.
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Genre's Revolutionary Culture + Art Criticism Residency
This residency cultivates and supports BIPOC art critics, art writers, and culture commentators as they work to develop their voices and gift their perspectives to the creative community.
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Education
:earn about some of our projects or book us!