MIAD Matters – Testimonials
“The level of engagement amongst the community, faculty and students was impressive – and quite frankly – very refreshing. I can tell you this, MIAD is a place that consistently possesses a spirit of sincere investigation. Students will definitely look back on their time at MIAD as special, nurturing and inspiring.”
James Ludwig
VP, Global Design + Engineering, Steelcase Inc.
Visiting creative in the MIAD Creativity Series
“I’ve visited many art and design schools around the world and found an atmosphere and confidence at MIAD that are unique… Students have a clear and well-deserved sense of themselves and their work, and that is a rare thing.”
Mark Rios, FAIA, FASLA
Founding Principal, Rios Clementi Hale Studios, Los Angeles
First visiting creative in the MIAD Creativity Series
“For several years, working with MIAD students has been Fiskars secret weapon.”
Paul Tonnesen
President, Fiskars Americas
MIAD Board of Trustees
“I personally learned long ago as chief marketing officer at MillerCoors the value of hiring MIAD students and graduates. Their incredible talents have continually fueled the growth and leadership of southeastern Wisconsin’s design community.”
Robert Mikulay
Vice Chair, MIAD Board of Trustees
“Delta brings blue-sky projects to the table, and we’re always impressed by the creativity of the MIAD students’ solutions.”
Judd Lord
Director of Industrial Design
Delta Faucet Company
“Working with MIAD students is a phenomenal way to bring creativity into the business environment.”
Chris Cox
Product and Marketing Director
Vision Fitness
“The included artists [MIAD Alumni] demonstrate strengths in a variety of media, a testament to the college’s multimedia approach and trends of the current art world.”
John McKinnon
Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Milwaukee Art Museum
“Harley-Davidson is energized by our growing partnership with MIAD and ability to assist in the development of the college’s campus and its students. Harley Stylists play an integral role in the college’s ground-breaking Industrial Design PowerSports course, which they helped to found in 2008, and, last fall, students from across five majors participated in The Helmet Project, Harley-Davidson Museum’s first feature exhibition. It is especially gratifying now to see how the Interior Architecture and Design students are using the donated materials to transform MIAD’s campus for all students.”
Matt Levatich
Harley-Davidson
President and COO
“Our relationship with MIAD, the epicenter of our creative community, recognizes that in the 21st century, the creative spirit is not marginal, but vital.”
Paul Krajniak
Director
Discovery World
“You don’t measure MIAD’s impact just by the wonderful artists it educates. Its grads work in companies throughout the region… MIAD is a vital part of our creative capital.”
Julia Taylor
President
Greater Milwaukee Committee
“As this [Helmet Project] exhibition demonstrates, MIAD produces gifted students who positively impact Milwaukee’s culture and business environment.”
Peggy Sue Dunigan
“The talent of the MIAD students is inspiring, and the faculty really does a great job of leading the students toward a real-world experience. That is a goal where all truly benefit.”
Ray Drea
Redirector of Styling
Harley-Davidson Motor Corporation
News
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.