FYE Juried Media Arts Festival 2024 celebrates first-year student works
Seven students received awards at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design’s juried FYE Media Arts Festival – an in-house screening and celebration of video, animation and sound design works by current and former First-Year Experience (FYE) students held on November 26. The 56 entries were judged by multimedia and filmmaking professionals Emma B. Barany, Gabe Leistekow and Sara Sowell.
Tom Painter received Best in Fest for “Bicycle,” with Jurors Awards going to Nati Rodriguez, “Hoops” (Sara Sowell); Alexander Xiong, “Out And About” (Emma B. Barany); and Jamie Messerman, “The Silhouette” (Gabe Leistekow).
Honorable Mentions were awarded to Tupak Kue, “Chimping Around”; Aali’yah Hill, “Fight”; and Nola Hennen, “Thugging It Out.”
Tom-Painter_Bicycle_2024
Tom Painter, “Bicycle,” 2024
Nati-Rodriguez_Hoops_2024
Nati Rodriguez, “Hoops,” 2024
Jamie-Messerman_The-Silhouette_2024
Jamie Messerman, “The Silhouette,” 2024
Alexander-Xiong_Out-and-About_2024
Alexander Xiong, “Out and About,” 2024
“I take a lot of inspiration from older, traditionally animated films and tv shows,” says Painter. “I’m also very passionate about character narratives and storytelling, so this was a good outlet to practice that.”
“The creation of my film was a challenging but rewarding ordeal,” he says. “It allowed me to learn the best methods of streamlining my animation process when faced with limited resources and a tight deadline. I hope I can continue to publish animated work and establish a unique style for myself.”
“’Bicycle’ is immediately so visually cohesive that one is free to fully focus on the narrative,” the jurors wrote of Painter’s work. “A variety of principles of animation are present in the lip-synch, namely follow-through and secondary action.”
Juror Award recipient Alexander Xiong says, “I would love for people to view my work with the takeaway of doing what you love. I fully believe in the importance of inner happiness, and I would like to share that for others too.”
“The FYE Media Arts Festival is a visible and public way to share the incredible work produced in FYE’s Digital 4-D Dimension class,” says Professor James Barany. “D2D is a very unique experience compared to other AICAD programs. It is a dynamic introduction to cultural production, time, narrative structures, video, audio and animation approaches.…. Paired with Digital 2-Dimension (D2D), students explore 30 weeks of digital technology as one of their core studio experiences.”
Learn more about MIAD’s First-Year Experience and Animation track.
News
MIAD Task Award: Alum pays it forward with generous mentoring
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) alum Amy Cannestra ’06 (Communication Design) believes in giving back, in mentoring and in the supportive nature of the Milwaukee art and design community. By founding Task Creative and the MIAD Task Graduate Award, the incredibly busy creative exemplifies all three beliefs. The Task awardee, Ashley Osorio ’26 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice), will receive five consecutive days to use the Task Creative space for a project of their choosing this summer.
Meet Michaela Prischman and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Cloth
Michaela Prischman ’26 (Communication Design) is a President’s (Honor) List student from Tinley Park, Ill. She created “Cloth,” a tool to help guide young professional women to find and organize alternative work attire through a personalized style subscription box.
Flagship Madison museum features exhibition by FYE faculty
The First-Year Experience (FYE) at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) blends contemporary and traditional techniques, an approach embraced by FYE faculty David R. Harper in Good Morning Sweetheart, a solo exhibition on view at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) through August 30, 2026.
Illustration seniors land NASA and Disney internships
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design seniors Grace Weisner ’26 and Allison Stras ’26 have landed the internship of their dreams: Weisner at NASA and Stras at Disney. Both are Illustration majors with minors in Communication Design.
Meet Kas Cook and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Mcallaster’s Special
Cas Kook ’26 (Animation Track in Illustration) is a Dean’s List student from the Greater Chicago area and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. “Project Calvin Sazerac” is about Calvin Sazerac, a seasoned barkeep, who creates new cocktails for his favorite regulars. When he is challenged to meet the demands of a picky saloon patron, he creates something life changing.