Milwaukee's Third Ward now hosts The Catacombs of Neto Art Museum, a bilingual museum-gallery hybrid founded by artist-couple Ernesto Atkinson and Jenny Urbanek. Housed in the Marshall building's basement tunnels, the one-and-a-half-year-old space serves as a permanent home for Atkinson's work, which he previously stored in his basement. The couple, inspired by visits to sites like Els Quatre Gats in Barcelona and the Milwaukee Art Museum, conceived the museum as a "sacred resting place" where art comes alive through viewer interaction. Atkinson, a licensed art therapist, integrates psychological and wellness elements into the museum, which also functions as a gallery, educational space, community hub, and introduction to art therapy.
This matters because The Catacombs of Neto is likely Milwaukee's first bilingual art museum, addressing a gap in cultural accessibility for Spanish-speaking audiences. By blending art therapy, community engagement, and a unique catacomb-inspired concept, it challenges traditional museum models and offers a model for how small, artist-run institutions can serve multiple roles—preserving work, fostering healing, and building inclusive cultural spaces. Its emphasis on bilingualism and therapeutic practice also highlights broader trends in museums evolving toward wellness and community-centered missions.