News
Alumni-run Grilled Cheese Grant in its eighth year
Arguably Milwaukee’s most delicious fundraiser, the Grilled Cheese Grant is in its eighth successful year of supporting art and design students’ senior projects. This year’s leadership is composed entirely of Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design alumni: Rachel Hausmann Schall ’15 (Integrated Studio Arts), Alyssa Anderson ’15 (ISA), Joe Acri ’17 (Sculpture) and Sal Nicholson ’19 (New Studio Practice: Fine Arts).
Digital Equity Fund supports first-year students
At the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, at least 20 percent of Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design students lacked access to sufficient hardware or reliable internet that would allow them to participate fully in online classes. The college’s response took the form of the Digital Equity Fund, which seeks to alleviate the digital divide in MIAD students by providing technology and looking for sustainable solutions.
Sarah Ball Allis exhibition interrupts expectations
Usually known as the Charles Allis Museum, the institution is temporarily changing its name in conjunction with its new exhibition highlighting women, femme and nonbinary artists. The Sarah Ball Allis exhibition is curated by MIAD Associate Professor and Chair of First-Year Experience Kate Schaffer and includes work by MIAD alumni Melissa Dorn ’96 (Sculpture) and Artemis Sidikman ’22 (New Studio Practice: Fine Arts).
Black Art & Design Juried Student Exhibition: Faith Allen
In their first exhibition, Faith Allen ’25 (Illustration) went big. The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design sophomore submitted two artworks to the Black Art & Design Juried Student Exhibition and reveled in the freedom to create the largest pieces they could.
Product photography serves MIAD alum’s business
Briana Hibbs ’12 (Photography) started her own handmade earrings business, Made by the Lake, in January 2019. She relies on her eye for product photography to show her jewelry in its best light, and the business now boasts a successful following of over 2,000 customers on Facebook.
MIAD student work highlights Unfinished Legacy
Unfinished Legacy, a brand started by Milwaukee artist Brema Brema, enjoyed a promotional video created by current Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design senior Hannah Davis for her Digital Media: Video Production elective course in fall 2022. The semester-long project culminated in a three-minute video and three shorter clips advertising the brand.
Two MIAD alumni featured in Museum of Wisconsin Art
The Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA), located in West Bend, has announced its “Ten at Ten” exhibition celebrating the work of ten emerging artists for the tenth anniversary in its new Mothership building. Two MIAD alumni, Lindsey Yeager ’21 (New Studio Practice: Fine Arts & Illustration) and Eduardo Zavala ’22 (NSP: Fine Arts), were selected to show work at the exhibition.
“Girl Hero” creator, MIAD alum, on art and subversion
During her final year at MIAD, Zachary Ochoa’s senior thesis was majorly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ochoa ’20 (New Studio Practice: Fine Arts) bounced back by creating a fantastical universe of paintings featuring Girl Hero, a trans Mickey Mouse-esque warrior.
Milwaukee sculpture business tapped for NBA trophy
Milwaukee is fast becoming a national hotspot for basketball. Not only is the city home to NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks, it recently played a pivotal role in creating the newly designed Michael Jordan Trophy, awarded to the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player of the year. Milwaukee’s Vanguard Sculpture Services, the “best fine art foundry on planet Earth,” according to their website, poured and cast the final trophy.
Design Internship approved for NEA grant
Milwaukee high schoolers are getting a head start on their creative careers through the Design Internship at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. The free, year-long program was recently approved for a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to expand the program for 2023-2024.
MIAD claims top animation program in Wisconsin
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design has been named the 2023 #1 Animation School in Wisconsin by the Animation Career Review. The college was also honored to be named as one of the top 25 Animation Schools in the Midwest. MIAD’s Animation track, part of the Illustration major, is a new program which launched in fall 2021.
Assistant Professor awarded Mary L. Nohl Fellowship
Janelle VanderKelen, an assistant professor at MIAD, has been awarded a 2023 Mary L. Nohl Fellowship in the Established Artist category. The Nohl Fellowship, funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund and Joy Engine, and administered by the Lynden Sculpture Garden, selected four other artists.
MIAD receives Arts Midwest GIG Fund for upcoming exhibition
The Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund has awarded the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design a $4,000 grant to fund the upcoming exhibition “Wig Heavier Than a Boot: The Work of David Johnson.” Funding is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
André Saint-Louis: Neighborhood markers and partnership
After two years of planning and work, André Saint-Louis ’01 (Sculpture) and Brandon Minga ’04 (Illustration) have finished a monumental public sculpture project for Milwaukee’s Near West Side neighborhood. The last four of the seven neighborhood markers will be installed in different Near West Side communities at the end of the month.
MIAD FYE Media Arts Festival names Best of Fest winners
MIAD’s First Year Experience Media Arts Festival took place at the beginning of December and showcased work from 43 students who completed the FYE 151 Digital 4D course during Spring and Fall 2022. Participants submitted creative works ranging from video, sound design and digital animation to stop motion and gifs.
Disney reimagined: Wyethe Smallish
Wyethe Smallish ’23, currently studying Illustration and Communication Design, started re-drawing Disney characters with fuller and more proportional figures this August. The recordings she took of the process went viral on TikTok and resulted in a Buzzfeed feature in September of 2022.
Dominic Chambers’ upcoming New York solo exhibition
Dominic Chambers ’16 (New Studio Practice: Fine Arts) will be exhibiting his first solo show with Lehmann Maupin, the New York gallery that represents him. The exhibition, scheduled for 2024, features Chambers’ reflective paintings, which most recently explore leisure and contemplation and their relationship with the Black body.
Alum designs Milwaukee Art Museum holiday ornament
Lauren Marvell ’16 (Integrated Studio Arts) illustrated this year’s Milwaukee Art Museum holiday ornament. “Milwaukee on a Cloudy Day” features Milwaukee’s skyline against a yellow and blue background and is available for sale at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Concordia/MIAD alum on second Whitefish Bay house flip
Successful blogger and promising interior designer Sophie Zang ’20, who majored in Interior Architecture & Design at MIAD and concurrently studied Marketing at Concordia University of Wisconsin, used her degrees to purchase, renovate, and resell a Whitefish Bay home for $1.1 million in September 2022.
Neighborhood markers and community-building: Brandon Minga
Residents of Milwaukee’s Near West Side are enjoying their neighborhood’s rich history and artistry through seven unique markers, courtesy of Milwaukee creatives Brandon Minga, ’04 Illustration, and Andre St. Louis.
Photography alum featured in Madison, WI solo exhibition
Photography alum Sarah Stankey ’13 shares the vulnerable and traumatic experience of 90 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in her new exhibition “What to Expect,” hosted by Madison’s Arts + Literature Laboratory as part of the Bridge Work Madison program.
NSP: Fine Arts students exhibit at TASK Creative
Twelve New Studio Practice: Fine Arts sophomores took their art out of the classroom and exhibited work locally at TASK Creative as part of Adjunct Assistant Professor Grant Gill’s course “Singularity & Multiplicity.”
Liberal Studies faculty Dr. Margaret J. Schmitz on art history
Dr. Margaret J. Schmitz, an Assistant Professor at MIAD who teaches primarily art history, published a new article titled “Indigenous Temporal Enmeshment in Akwesasne Notes” in Panorama, a digital art history journal.
MIAD student organizations: Black Leaders and Artists Coalition (BLAC)
MIAD students in the Black Leaders and Artists Coalition (BLAC) partnered with one of Milwaukee Art Museum’s teen programs to host high school students for a tour of the college, panel discussion with BLAC members and art project this past Thursday.
Product Design junior lands Nike GLAM internship
Emma May Travitz, Product Design ’24, already a thoughtful and passionate designer, will hone her skills further as part of Nike’s Global Apparel Materials (GLAM) Team during a Summer 2023 internship.