gener8tor Art Fellowship honors MIAD alum as part of SPOOKY BOOBS

“High Maintenance” from “The Patterns’ Vicious Influence” installed along with ephemera from “You Have the Right to Remain a ___.” On view in the Wisconsin Triennial at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (2019)

This year’s gener8tor Art Fellowship selected Madison-based group SPOOKY BOOBS as one of six artists to receive an accelerator fellowship. Amy Cannestra, Communication Design ’06, makes up one third of feminist art collaboration group SPOOKY BOOBS, alongside J Myszka Lewis and Maggie Snyder. The group “creates social interactions, installations, and printed materials to visualize the trivialization of women’s experiences.” 

This year’s gener8tor Art Fellowship features six artists, two more than in previous years, hailing from all over the United States. With a focus on supporting artists who engage in social activism through their practice, gener8tor Art works to build and positively impact communities by awarding a $15,000 grant to each selected artist. “We aim to present our work at national exhibitions and art fairs in order to connect with a wider audience of art collectors and professionals,” says Cannestra on behalf of SPOOKY BOOBS. “The grant money will be used to offset exhibition expenses and to fund the production of new work.” 

Artists also participate in a 12-week accelerator program focused on “coaching, mentoring and networking with visual art leaders from Milwaukee and across the country.” SPOOKY BOOBS hopes to expand their understanding of marketing and “learn how to create new opportunities to grow our audience and connect with more people to learn about their experiences with misogyny and sexism in the world.” Artists, sponsors, and mentors will celebrate their achievements and showcase their work at Var Galleries in Milwaukee in November. 

Cannestra, who recently opened Task Creative, a short-term rental and creative services space for Milwaukee-area artists, says that her time at MIAD taught her “the importance of the viewer’s experience and to use design as a way to engage and connect.” Members of SPOOKY BOOBS encourage current students to “just keep making art, not excuses. Find your people, stick with them, and learn how to filter out the rest of the nonsense.”

SPOOKY BOOBS’ work is fed by learning about others’ experiences with sexism. They invite you to reach out on Instagram (@spookyboobs_art) or email them at spookyboobscollective@gmail.com. Learn more about SPOOKY BOOBS and gener8tor Art, and keep up with Amy Cannestra’s work.