Two MIAD students finalists for Grilled Cheese Grant
2023 Grilled Cheese Grant. Photo courtesy of Adam White/docMyArt.
The ninth annual Grilled Cheese Grant finalists include two Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) students: Stella Koslowski ’24 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice, Illustration) and Makenna Schibler ’25 (Fine Art + NSP). They are two of five finalists who are in the running for the crowd-funded grant.
Possibly Milwaukee’s most delicious fundraiser, the MIAD alumni-run Grilled Cheese Grant awards funds to artists working in Southern Wisconsin. In previous years, the grant focused on seniors at MIAD and UW-Milwaukee to help fund their senior exhibition projects. This year, the Grilled Cheese Grant has expanded to accept applications from any emerging visual artist working in Southern Wisconsin.
The Grilled Cheese Grant event will take place on Saturday, March 23, 2024, 3 – 8 p.m. at MIAD alum-owned Vanguard Sculpture Services. Regular admission is $10, or $5 for students with a valid ID, with funds raised during the event going to support the 2024 finalists.
At the event, attendees will receive a grilled cheese sandwich with locally-sourced ingredients (gluten free and vegan options available). More importantly, they will also receive a ballot to cast their vote for their favorite finalist. While funds vary from year to year, first-place winners can expect their project to be fully funded and runners up will receive partial funding. In 2023, the event generated enough revenue to fully fund all five finalists’ projects.
The volunteer-run grant is organized annually by a small group of MIAD graduates, who include Rachel Hausmann Schall ’15 (Integrated Studio Arts), Alyssa Anderson ’15 (ISA), Joe Acri ’17 (Sculpture), Sal Nicholson ’19 (New Studio Practice: Fine Arts), Alyssa Kaboskey ’19 (NSP: Fine Arts) and Margaret Griffin ’23 (NSP: Fine Arts). Read an interview with last year’s organizers.
Support Stella Koslowski and Makenna Schibler, as well as the other three finalists, at the event on March 23, 2024, view Koslowski’s senior exhibition project at MIAD’s Senior Exhibition and learn more about MIAD’s Fine Art program!
News
Twelve students receive national Society of Illustrators awards
An unprecedented 12 students and recent graduates from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) received 2025 honors from the national Society of Illustrators, with one graduate receiving three awards for works done while a student.
Students celebrate professional growth at 2025 First-Year Exhibition
An annual tradition at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design from late March through September, the juried First-Year Experience Exhibition celebrates students’ yearlong personal and professional growth.
Ice cream social meets fine art networking at Cone-ections
Through the Intro to Arts Management course at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), five students collaborated to plan a successful artist networking event via ice cream social. Milwaukee-area artists and MIAD alumni visited campus to connect with students and enjoy a cone!
La Mère Brazier: Phoebe Nelson Senior Exhibition 2025
Phoebe Nelson ’25 (Illustration) came to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) to study children’s book illustration. Now at the end of her senior year, she is writing and illustrating a children’s book about Eugénie Brazier, the first person to get six Michelin stars, for her Senior Exhibition project.
MIAD Independent Inquiry Program launches with three student grants
Galilea Cerda ’26, Tina Voith ’26 and Madi Weglarz ’25 are the first three Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design students selected to receive Independent Inquiry Program stipends to investigate new technologies and their applicability to art and design education. As first-time applicants, each receives a stipend of $1,200 for a six-week Mini Inquiry this summer.