This week, the Brewers unveiled a new mural, illustrated by Brent Schoonover and painted by local artist Hannah Tews.
The anime-inspired piece, located in the East Side’s Black Cat Alley (2021 E. Ivanhoe Place), depicts Brewers catcher William Contreras, who is dubbed “Wild Bill” in the mural. This is the third mural installed as part of the Brewers ongoing Beyond The Diamond community engagement effort.
Schoonover is a Milwaukee native and passionate Brewers fan who currently lives in Minnesota. Tews, a lifelong Greendale resident, is the installation artist and owner of Terrible Tews.
Tews was trained in graphic design and shifted to visual merchandising before focusing on doing book illustrations and painting murals. She painted a polar bear mural, located alongside her new work, at Black Cat Alley earlier this year. She spent this past week painting the new mural and worked late into the night on Thursday to finish it.
Tews describes herself as a lifelong Brewers fan, although she admittedly has had a little less time to follow the team after the birth of her child. She said she’ll be paying closer attention to Contreras from here on out. “I very much like his style of play,” she said. “I like players who you can tell are having fun and are excited to play the sport they love.”
Rick Schlesinger, president of business operations for the Brewers, noted that the mural is the first in the series to feature a Brewers player. “This mural does an amazing job of capturing William Contreras,” he said. “He’s our fiery leader in the clubhouse and on the field.”
Schlesinger described Black Cat Alley as a “hidden gem in Milwaukee.”
“It’s great to have the Brewers be part of such an iconic illustrative, artistic venue,” he said. “I think William can be proud to be part of this community and be part of what’s here. Hopefully, this will be up for a long time.”
Schlesinger said he expects Contreras to check out the mural in person at some point, but noted he had full schedule on Friday. “He’s got a game tonight,” he said with a smile.
Contreras, 27, is in his third season with the Brewers. He will be in the lineup when the Brewers take on the Colorado Rockies in the first of a three-game series at American Family Field this weekend.
East Side Business Improvement District Executive Director Ryan Laessig said the Brewers-themed mural is a great addition to Black Cat Alley. “We’ve got Wild Bill up here and looking phenomenal, “Laessig said. “The East Side is very proud to have this mural and very excited to showcase it to the city of Milwaukee and all of the visitors coming to a Brewers game, as well.”
By partnering with local artists, the Brewers aim to transform public spaces into colorful tributes to community pride. Other murals in the Beyond The Diamond series are El Paletero, designed by Michael Cerda and installed at the Heavy Hitters Athletic Facility in Milwaukee, and Field of Play, designed by Whitney Nettles at the Little Village Play Café in Wauwatosa.
