MKE airport unveils inaugural MIAD student exhibition

Positivity abounded at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on June 27, 2024 as the airport and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) unveiled the inaugural installation of MIAD student artwork in the busy D concourse.

“Project Reframe” by Liz Geoffrey ’21 (Illustration) is a reimagining of their senior exhibition project – a series of 1,000 positive affirmation postcards printed using letterpress printing. The project invited viewers to personalize and mail the postcards, spreading encouragement and fostering connections during the isolating time of the Covid pandemic.

“Every postcard is completely unique … to spread messages of positivity all over the world,” Geoffrey said in an interview at the airport on Fox6 News. “I feel like it’s very easy to get caught up in negative thinking, and I wanted to reframe people’s thoughts into something more positive.”

“I thought of things that maybe I would want to hear if I was stuck in a negative thought loop. You are enough … like if you just didn’t get a job you wanted; it’s okay, you are enough.”

“We’re proud to launch this new public art display in partnership with the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design,” said Airport Director Brian Dranzik on Fox6. “Today’s announcement continues our existing partnership with MIAD. Most recently, one of MIAD’s [Communication] design students did some impressive work, updating our directory maps that you see throughout the airport.”

“This positive uplifting message in this artwork is designed to take some of the stress out of air travel….” Drazik added. “Liz Geoffrey’s work represents the creativity that MIAD students have been known for for over the past 50 years.”

“We’ve valued our previous projects that we’ve done with the airport,” said MIAD President Jeff Morin, “and we look forward to future adventures as well through our Lubar Innovation Center.”

“Like many of our students, Liz’s project is highly empathetic; it’s current, it reflects what you went through during the pandemic … and it fits in very well here. [W]e could not be prouder of having you as our inaugural artist.”

The airport also purchased 200 postcards from Geoffrey, available for purchase inside the TripAdvisor store located next to the installation.

“Project Reframe” is on view through the rest of this year. Next year, the airport will change the display with another MIAD student’s work, curated by Monica Miller, MIAD director of galleries and community engagement, through MIAD Gallery at The Ave.

Watch a video showing Geoffrey creating “Project Reframe,” and learn more about their passion for both analog printing and mental health at lizgeoffrey.wordpress.com.

Learn more about MIAD’s Illustration and Communication Design majors.