he Uptown Racine Arts District officially kicked off with a neighborhood festival on June 14, 2008. The family-friendly festival in Uptown Racine featured arts projects for kids, food, music, and the creation of two huge, outdoor mosaic murals. The murals were created by a group of Racine volunteers and other local artists under the direction of nationally-recognized mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar.
Material for the murals was donated by local businesses and individuals and includes tile, glass, dishes, metal, mirrors, and other found objects.
The murals were created over the course of a week on the sides of two buildings in the 1300 block of Washington Ave. Two local carpenters, Zagar's wife Julia and a noted muralist from Minneapolis assisted Isaiah in the preliminary work on the murals. Day by day local citizens, students, neighborhood residents and experienced artists labored to produce two murals in half the time it normally takes, said Zagar.
Festival goers were entertained by Racine singer/songrwriter Mark Paffrath and local favorites Melvin Barker and the Blues Cruise. Clowns Cuddles and Billy Boy painted faces and did balloon tricks. Spectrum School of the Art guided young artists with a variety of arts and crafts projects.
Bargain beer and the state's best brats rounded off a beautiful day, celebrating the rebirth of Uptown Racine.

ut of the ruins of the costliest natural disaster in Texas history, "The Last of Ike" signals the brighter future Racine has in mind for Uptown.The eye-popping ribbons of red metal are the work of Nic Noblique, a Galveston, Texas artist displaced in 2008 after Hurricane Ike's 110 mph winds killed at least 72 and caused more than $29 billion in damage. The hurricane destroyed three quarters of the city's homes including Noblique's home and studio."Ike" combines the useable parts of at least five pieces of the artist's work, otherwise damaged by the storm. Noblique created the sculpture while he and his family lived temporarily in Racine as Uptown's artist in residence.

He described the piece as "very representative of the chaos that was going on in my life" following the hurricane."The Last of Ike" has been installed on the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Thirteenth Street on land that the Uptown initiative recycled. The 684 square foot triangle was developed as a filling station in the 1920's, but was vacant and tax delinquent when the city's Redevelopment Authority acquired it in 2008. Landscaping of the area surrounding "Ike" and addition of a bench are planned for spring 2010, completing the transformation of salvaged land and materials through art into a symbol for Uptown's revitalization.