2026 First-Year Exhibition showcases professional growth

The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design’s annual First-Year Experience Exhibition highlights the creative and professional development of students through works created during their first year at MIAD. 

At a reception and award ceremony on March 26, FYE Chair Kate Schaeffer and jurors Alayna N. Pernell, Mya Giuliani and Sindie Ho announced the awardees:

• First Place: Deagan Kenney for “Dodecahedralamp”
• Second Place: Addie Moonshower for “Be Where Your Feet Are”
• Third Place: Martin Ma for “made by human & nature”

Jurors’ Choice Awards went to Heidi Thoenen, Leo Forster and Melian Christine.

Martin Ma “made by human & nature” 2026

“What this piece says about me is that I’m not afraid of spontaneity when creating.” says Kenney, who is majoring in Fine Art + New Studio Practice. “It was originally inspired by an archaeological artifact known as the Roman Dodechedron. [M]any have theorized that it could have been used as a candle holder….” 

“My goal with this piece, and my work, is to display that every concept is meant to grow and change. Part of what makes the creative process so beautiful is the voice of the work itself.”

Kenny found the confidence to complete the complex piece despite his professor’s worry that he might not meet the deadline. What began as a dodecahedral lamp “revealed itself to be much more while I was assembling its halves,” Kenney explains. “I had never worked with wood, this was my first time working in MIAD’s 3D Lab, and my design required that I get precise and repeatable angle cuts on the edge of every piece.”

Addie Moonshower, who is also majoring in Fine Art + New Studio Practice, created a mixed-media work with stained glass, copper foil, solder and vinyl for a digital 4D class assignment prompting to “tell a story.” Inspired by a trip to a Michigan beach, the piece captures the moment a friend stepped on what appeared to be a beautiful, crystalized object, only for the group to discover it was an iridescent, decaying fish.

“The solder spikes represent the sharp edges on the fish, and the splatters represent the blood from her foot,” Moonshower says. “My quote is a play on words to be in the moment, but to also watch where you’re going!”

FYE Associate Professor Naomi Shersty organized the exhibit, which gives many of the students a chance to take part in their first public exhibition. “The exhibition showcases the strength, talent and dedication of this new generation of emerging artists and designers. It is … a significant milestone at the close of their first year.”

Apply to MIAD. Plan your visit.