Milwaukee Arts Board calls for new city flag search

Mary Spicuzza | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The search for a new City of Milwaukee flag appears to be headed back to the drawing board.

The Milwaukee Arts Board on Tuesday night agreed that it's high time for the city to get a new flag but is recommending a different process — one that's more inclusive than the search used by the People's Flag of Milwaukee organizers.

"The committee felt very strongly that the individuals involved in that process did an admirable job, really tried to reach out as much as possible," said Ald. Michael Murphy, chairman of the board. "But they felt it wasn't as inclusive as it could have been."

The board is suggesting to the Common Council that a request for proposals be issued for a new design process, he said. It's unclear how much that search would cost.

But Murphy added that the People's Flag could still be the winner after a new search.

"The committee all agreed that the current flag should be changed," he said. "People agreed that the current flag is dated and has a number of issues."

Steve Kodis, the creative lead of the People's Flag effort, said he was disappointed — but not surprised — by the board's decision. He said the intent of the People's Flag is to create a symbol that can unite the city.

"We need a symbol that can create a sense of pride No. 1, and change the narrative of the city," Kodis said. "This is just playing right into it. Nobody can make a choice. The divisions that exist in the community exist within our politics. It's just all very deflating."

But he added that he understands the "predicament" the arts board was in, noting that previous attempts to redesign the flag have failed.

The People's Flag group has been working for more than two years to come up with a new flag to replace the current one, which has been dubbed a "hot mess" by some critics.

Kodis and others organized a design contest, combed through about 1,000 entries, and narrowed the search to a group of finalists before a winner was chosen. That search included a panel of expert judges and online voting.

The group previously went to the Common Council for approval in July, but aldermen punted on making a decision at that time. Rather than voting on a proposal to make the "People's Flag of Milwaukee" the official flag of the city, members of a council committee sent the issue to the arts board and asked it to report back by Dec. 31.

At that committee meeting, various aldermen raised concerns that the design process hadn't included a diverse group of city residents.

On Tuesday, several arts board members echoed those comments. The board's vote was first reported by Urban Milwaukee.

RELATED: Will the City of Milwaukee get a new flag? The Common Council sends the issue to the Milwaukee Arts Board

The People's Flag, a design known as "Sunrise Over the Lake" by Robert Lenz, has in recent years become ubiquitous around the city — appearing on bicycles, beer cans and bottles, Koss headphones, cars and even Milwaukee Brewers baseball caps.

If it wins, the streamlined yellow, blue and white design would replace Milwaukee's baby blue flag — which is packed with a montage of images including a ship, the old County Stadium, an American Indian and a giant stalk of wheat honoring the city's brewing industry.

The official flag, adopted in the mid-1950s, was created after the city organized a contest, gathered about 100 submissions andan alderman pulled together several designs onto one flag.

Roman Mars, a radio host and design expert with a self-described flag obsession, in 2015 labeled Milwaukee's flag one of the worst he's ever seen. .

But some have rallied in support of the existing flag, which was designed by former Ald. Fred Steffan.

Marion Steffan Koch, Steffan's daughter, in 2016 called Mars' comments "an insult to the history of Milwaukee" and her father.