Penfield Poster 2024 winners announced
Continuing a long-standing collaboration between advertising agency Cramer-Krasselt and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), juniors in Illustration IV designed posters for the Annual Croquet Ball fundraiser at the Penfield Children’s Center.
The 2024 winners of the poster design contest are Riley Peters ’25 in first place, Kai Kilgore ’25 in second place and Bucky Blackburn ’25 in third place. All three winners will receive a cash prize, which will be presented at an awards ceremony on May 2.
RileyPeters-Penfield_Home-News
Riley Peters, Penfield Poster Design, 2024.
2nd Place – Kai Kilgore
Kai Kilgore, Penfield Poster Design, 2024.
3rd Place – Bucky Blackburn
Bucky Blackburn, Penfield Poster Design, 2024.
The Penfield Children’s Center is a Milwaukee non-profit organization dedicated to early childhood development, especially for children with developmental delays or disabilities. Attendees of the Annual Croquet Ball fundraiser for the Penfield Children’s Center will have the opportunity to purchase the winning designs during the auction.
“I was surprised to be selected for the Penfield contest,” said Peters. “There were so many great designs this year. I loved seeing the different directions my classmates went in.”
“There was a lot of trial and error with my design process,” explains Blackburn. “I had originally planned on doing a celestial theme, but once we had our critique with the client, I leaned fully into an art nouveau-inspired style.”
Kilgore says, “I really admire the story and community surrounding these posters, and I’m glad MIAD is able to be a part of it … [T]here was a very positive energy among the students during the creation of these posters, and I think a big part of that comes from the importance that our own work plays in supporting a good cause.”
During the course of the semester, juniors in MIAD’s Illustration IV course create two poster design concepts during the semester, which the creative team at Cramer-Krasselt review and critique. With the help of individual feedback from these professional creatives, students refine their concepts and submit one final poster design for the competition. Winners are selected by Cramer-Krasselt.
“The process felt very collaborative because of the feedback received throughout the process from our professors, peers and Cramer-Krasselt,” continues Peters. “It was fun to work on something that represents a children’s charity but is for an adult audience. Finding the balance between children’s imagination and adult sophistication was challenging.”
Learn more about MIAD’s Illustration major!
News
MIAD Values Recognition Award: Leslie Fedorchuk
Leslie Fedorchuk, Professor of Writing & Humanities and Director of Service Learning, received the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) MIAD Values Recognition Award for February 2026. Leslie received nominations that highlighted her embodiment of MIAD’s Core Values, especially Integrity, Kindness and Community.
MIAD Innovation Center and MAM provide career experience
Through a partnership with the MIAD Lubar Innovation Center, stunning campaign artwork by a student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) once again is helping to launch Art in Bloom – the Milwaukee Art Museum’s annual celebration of art and spring. Illustrations by senior Emily Porven ’26 are both vibrant and subtle, colorful and evocative, capturing the essence of the event.
Nohl Alumni Award propels lasting impact for MIAD professor
Receiving a Ruth Arts Mary L. Nohl Alumni Award has both immediate and longer-term impacts for Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Professor Jon Horvath; for himself as an artist, for the arts community and for MIAD students. Horvath, who teaches in MIAD’s Fine Art + New Studio Practice major, was one of three artists and one collective recently given the award, which provides $25,000 in unrestricted funds to each.
Arts education lays groundwork for MIAD alum curatorial role
Nikki Ranney ’22 (Illustration), the new curator of the Cedarburg Art Museum, says she “is so grateful that I went through my Bachelor of Fine Arts and got to experience a traditional art education at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design because it laid the groundwork for the more academic side of the curatorial field.”
Museum Studies class: Hands-on exhibition and career experience
Last fall’s Museum Studies class at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) has solidified a career choice for at least one of the 16 students who took it. The class was on the go all semester, visiting museums throughout Milwaukee, meeting with professionals and thinking critically about the role of museums in our society.