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.
Carmen Briones ‘26 (Product Design) is a President’s (Honor) List student from Cambria, Wis., president of the MIAD IDSA student chapter and an intern at SI Jacobson Manufacturing. Briones designed a device called “Echo” that removes ovarian cysts without surgery.
Eeshan Dutt ‘26 (Illustration) is a President’s (Honor) List student from India and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. Dutt’s work centers on visual storytelling through sequential art, where he explores how narratives can engage and connect with audiences.
Continuing an annual tradition begun in 2010 at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), Illustration juniors worked with Cramer-Krasselt and Penfield Children’s Center to design posters for the center’s Annual Croquet Ball fundraiser.
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) alum Amy Cannestra ’06 (Communication Design) believes in giving back, in mentoring and in the supportive nature of the Milwaukee art and design community. By founding Task Creative and the MIAD Task Graduate Award, the incredibly busy creative exemplifies all three beliefs. The Task awardee, Ashley Osorio ’26 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice), will receive five consecutive days to use the Task Creative space for a project of their choosing this summer.
Michaela Prischman ’26 (Communication Design) is a President’s (Honor) List student from Tinley Park, Ill. She created “Cloth,” a tool to help guide young professional women to find and organize alternative work attire through a personalized style subscription box.
The First-Year Experience (FYE) at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) blends contemporary and traditional techniques, an approach embraced by FYE faculty David R. Harper in Good Morning Sweetheart, a solo exhibition on view at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) through August 30, 2026.
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design seniors Grace Weisner ’26 and Allison Stras ’26 have landed the internship of their dreams: Weisner at NASA and Stras at Disney. Both are Illustration majors with minors in Communication Design.
Cas Kook ’26 (Animation Track in Illustration) is a Dean’s List student from the Greater Chicago area and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. “Project Calvin Sazerac” is about Calvin Sazerac, a seasoned barkeep, who creates new cocktails for his favorite regulars. When he is challenged to meet the demands of a picky saloon patron, he creates something life changing.
Mac Bronnson ’26 (Communication Design) is a President’s (Honor) List student from Milwaukee and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. MENd – No Bro Left Behind is a men’s mental health app that is not designed as a mental health app.
Faculty member Ric Stultz, who teaches Illustration at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, has designed what is sure to become iconic apparel during the Milwaukee Brewers 2026 season.
Cyrill Reyes ’26 (Illustration) is a President’s (Honor) List student from the Greater Chicago area. My thesis is game concept art and visual development of the world of NECROZOIC, a prehistoric fantasy that retells the extinction of the dinosaurs.
2026 First-Year Exhibition showcases professional growth
Meet Carmen Briones and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Echo
Meet Eeshaan Dutt and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Indra Supreme
Poster designs boost professional skillsets, children’s nonprofit
MIAD Task Award: Alum pays it forward with generous mentoring