Bronzeville initiatives by MIAD alums garner state and local awards

Community advocate, business owner, writer and editor Lexi S. Brunson ’14, an alum and assistant professor of Writing and Humanities at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), recently accepted two awards: Best Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Initiative (Business) at the 34th annual Wisconsin Main Street Awards and Historic King Drive Business of the Year.

Brunson accepted The Main Street Award this spring for /CW Creative Studios + Shop on Milwaukee’s Historic King Drive, a joint initiative with Jazale’s Art Studio and Vedale’s Art Studio, whose art director is Vedale Hill ’11. Hill is also facilities/gallery manager for /CW Creative Studios + Shop, which Brunson and Hill founded in 2023 and renovated through 2024 in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood.

Brunson describes /CW Creative Studios + Shop as blending “a retail shop, event space, co-working lounge and specialized studios into a hub for creatives, business owners and organizations – all to foster collaboration, entrepreneurship and community engagement among black and brown creatives and entrepreneurs.”

“It’s more than a creative space,” says Brunson. “It’s a movement.”

Brunson and Hill’s latest initiative is The Creative Collab/Bronzeville Artist-in-Residency Mentor Program, described in a release as “a mentoring-focused Artist-in-Residency program that connects youth with a professional creative.”

Open to youth ages 13 – 25, the program will provide mentors and mentees stipends to emphasize the value of creative practice while navigating the economic necessities of a quality and sustainable practice. MIAD students Ari Petrie ‘27 and Kennedi Adams ‘28 are participating in the 2025 spring/summer cohort, which Hill leads.

Brunson is also founder and editor in chief of CopyWrite magazine, which received the BID Historic King Drive award. Brunson says, “The BID selects a business that ‘uplifts and preserves the authentic essence of Milwaukee’s King Drive as we progress towards an inclusive, prosperous future.’”

“I was actually invited by the BID to moderate a panel at the Bronzeville Business Breakfast, and before I could walk off the stage, they stopped me and presented me with the award,” she says. “I was totally in shock … but it was a true validation that using creativity to guide entrepreneurship and #supportthelocal is something my community values.”

Brunson graduated from MIAD with a major in Interior Architecture and Design and holds an M.A. in Media Studies. Hill majored in Integrated Studio Arts (now Fine Art + New Studio Practice).