“Dear Nature” collaboration installed at The Avenue

Photo courtesy of Kenzi Rayelle/Sculpture Milwaukee.
Sculpture Milwaukee’s newest collaboration, “Dear Nature,” features work by students from four Milwaukee colleges. Students in Jason S. Yi’s New Studio Practice: Fine Arts course at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) installed work at The Avenue ahead of the exhibition’s opening on April 21, 2023.
“Dear Nature” is curated by UW-Milwaukee Professors Whitney Moon and Jennifer Johung in response to Sculpture Milwaukee’s 2022-2023 exhibition “Nature Doesn’t Know About Us,” guest curated by Ugo Rondinone. It spotlights work by students and faculty from MIAD, Milwaukee School of Engineering, UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts and UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Working with Sculpture Milwaukee, MIAD Professor Jason S. Yi’s sophomore-level class “Approaches to Making: Alone & Together” spent the semester planning, refining and installing work for “Dear Nature.” These professional experiences involved everything from presenting proposals and models to the curators and collaborating with students from other colleges to creating budgets and executing their projects.
“Through this experience, students learned crucial facets of professional practice that require careful planning, effective communication, and the logistics of showing art in a public setting,” said Yi in Sculpture Milwaukee’s press release. “Most important, they experienced the inner workings of professional collaboration and built a meaningful community outside the confines of MIAD.”
Opening on Gallery Night, April 21, 2023, “Dear Nature” is free and open to the public during The Avenue’s open hours. Located at 275 W Wisconsin Ave, the exhibition will be on view until October 2023. Learn more about the exhibition on the Sculpture Milwaukee website. While visiting “Dear Nature,” make sure to stop by the new MIAD Gallery at The Ave! Read the Sculpture Milwaukee Dear Nature press release and learn more about NSP: Fine Arts at MIAD.
News
Pallas Textiles competition provides real-world experience
First-place winner Sophia Simonson ’28 created Refractions as part of her MIAD studies in Interior Architecture and Design. She is one of 20 students studying at MIAD through a cross-registration program with Concordia University. MIAD students Kaitlyn Powers ’26 (Illustration) and Natalie Spetell ’27 (Product Design), both of whom have minors in Communication Design, received Honorable Mentions.
2026 First-Year Exhibition showcases professional growth
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.
Meet Carmen Briones and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Echo
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.
Meet Eeshaan Dutt and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Indra Supreme
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.
Poster designs boost professional skillsets, children’s nonprofit
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.