MIAD is community partner on Milwaukee Film’s Black Arts & Culture short films
As part of Milwaukee Film’s nationally renowned Black Lens program, the organization is devoting all of its new public film and event offerings in February to celebrate Black voices and culture for Black History Month programming. MIAD is a community partner for this programming on the short films, Short Program #3: Black Arts and Culture.
Short Program #3: Black Arts and Culture features three short films:
- “Larry from Gary” (dir. Dan Rybicky) – A dedicated dance teacher continues inspiring his current and former students even after the arts high school in Gary, Indiana, where he’s taught for decades, is shut down by the state.
- “Swing Man Blues” (dir. Arielle C. Knight) – Genre-bending pianist and establishment rebel Eric Lewis finds himself in a state of recollection as he meditates on his love affair with a temperamental mistress called Jazz. Swing Man Blues is one man’s contemplative journey through sound, driven by the original compositions of this piano virtuoso.
- “A Million Eyes” (dir. Richard Raymond) – A gifted young photographer, grappling with his mother’s alcoholism, sets out to capture something he loves with the help of a mentor.
Most feature and short films during Milwaukee Film’s Black History Month programming are available throughout February, and events will focus around four weekly themes. Upcoming themes include:
- STEM Week: Diversity in Tech – Feb. 15-21
- Cultures, Communities and Politics – Feb. 22-28
Tickets for individual films and short programs are $3.99 ($1.99 for Milwaukee Film Members). Passes to access all Black History Month films are $24.99 ($19.99 for Milwaukee Film Members). Learn more about events and film, or get tickets at mkefilm.org.
News
Keith Negley: Award-winning illustrator and writer
When award-winning illustrator and author Keith Negley ’00 isn’t completing projects like his most recent book of “forgotten trailblazers,” he’s creating portraits of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Emma Stone and Chelsea Clinton, and doing editorial illustrations on topics like neurodivergence, organ transplants and the opioid crisis.
Two MIAD alumni named Mary L. Nohl Fellows for 2025
Two alumni from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) have received Emerging Artist fellowships from the 2025 Mary L. Nohl Fund for its 2025 cycle: Margaret Griffin ’23 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice) and Open Kitchen, co-founded by Rudy Medina ’12 (Integrated Studio Arts).
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.
MIAD professor brings love of branding to projects and students
Brian Bowles ’01, professor of Communication Design at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), finds freelance projects “deeply fulfilling” and beneficial to himself and to his students.
Independence First and MIAD students produce adaptive clothing
Students in a junior-level Fashion and Apparel Design class at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) collaborated with Independence First to design adaptive clothing. Two Independence First employees worked closely with MIAD students on customized outfits specific to their needs and preferences.