Select Page

MIAD celebrates one-year anniversary of offsite gallery

A gallery wall with the Culture Starters logo.

Culture Starters at MIAD Gallery at The Ave.

The Gallery at The Ave, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design’s (MIAD) first offsite gallery, celebrated its one-year anniversary at the opening reception of its newest show, “Culture Starters: Emerging from Quarantine.”

MIAD’s Gallery at The Ave opened its doors to the public on April 6, 2023. Since then, it has hosted four major exhibitions, as well as 68 exhibiting or consigned creatives. In addition to shows, the gallery supports MIAD students, staff, faculty and alumni by selling work on consignment. In the last year, the gallery has sold more than 2,000 works in a variety of media.

At the opening reception for “Culture Starters,” over 125 MIAD community members and gallery guests connected to celebrate both the new show and the gallery’s anniversary.

“It truly takes a village to see numbers like this, and we couldn’t have done it without the creativity, labor and trust of the community,” says Monica Miller, MIAD Gallery at the Ave manager and adjunct faculty in fine arts.

“Culture Starters: Emerging from Quarantine” is on view March 28 – June 22, 2024, and explores what happens to the creative practice when forced to incubate, grow and mature in close quarters. It features work by MIAD faculty, staff, students and alumni, including Megan Cunningham, Paul Druecke ‘87, Sarah Eichhorn, Liz Geoffrey ‘21, Griffin Gilreath ‘21, Vedale Hill ‘12, Adam Porter ‘11, Nirmal Raja ‘08, Stacey Steinberg ‘04, Maggie Szpot ‘13 and additional works by MIAD students and alumni.

Someone in a yellow raincoat walks past the Gallery at The Ave.

MIAD Gallery at The Ave.

Effective May 1, gallery manager Miller will become MIAD Director of Galleries & Community Engagement, leading the college’s onsite galleries while continuing management of MIAD Gallery at The Ave and offsite gallery opportunities.

“Through their work, Monica has championed the representation of the MIAD community’s creativity through a variety of diverse placements and opportunities, heightening visibility for the college and helping our faculty, staff, students and alumni build their professional networks in Milwaukee,” says Tracy Milkowski, MIAD Vice President for Advancement.

Explore MIAD Gallery at The Ave!

News

Students highlight Senior Exhibition 2025 projects

MIAD seniors Rita Jennings ’25 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice), Noah Teague ’25 (Communication Design) and Fabian Rico Sanchez ’25 (Product Design) explore empathy, connection and innovation through their capstone projects.

Lauren Blood: Senior Exhibition 2025

Lauren Blood ’25 (Communication Design; Business minor through Marquette), “Raða.” Lauren was a Finalist at the recent 2025 United Adworkers Showcase Awards and is from Kansas City, Kansas.