Illustration senior wins 2023 Fromm Petfest poster contest
As classes wrapped up for the spring 2023 semester, representatives from Fromm Petfest selected the winning design for their annual poster competition, a long-standing collaboration between Fromm Petfest and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD). Of the 75 posters submitted by illustration students, a mid-century style design by MIAD senior Maggie Carroll ’23 (Illustration) was selected as the winner.
Carroll’s illustration features dogs and cats in different costumes, representing Petfest’s pet costume contest. “I drew inspiration from the piece ‘Liberty Leading the People’ by Eugene Delacroix,” she says. “I thought it would be a lot of fun to draw both cats and dogs in fun costumes … the use of a mid-century style, hopefully, adds a sense of optimism and fun that was prevalent during that era.”
Maggie-Bryan-Petfest2023
Maggie Carroll and Fromm Family Foods Brand Director Bryan Nieman
Maggie-petfest-poster-2023
Maggie Carroll’s winning Petfest poster design
Petfestposters-2023
Illustration students submitted 75 poster designs
Carroll’s use of color and costumes inspired by 1950s and 60s America stood out to the judges. Quoted in a FOX6 news segment, Fromm Family Foods Brand Director Bryan Nieman said, “Not only is it artistic and a beautiful piece of art, but it also represents the core heart of Petfest here in Milwaukee … this year was the hardest to choose a winner from. The amount of talent coming out of that class is just unprecedented.”
“There was so much amazing work made by my classmates,” continues Carroll. “[They] made such wonderful posters that were all visually stunning and creative.” The winning poster design will be available to purchase at this year’s 10th annual Petfest on September 23, 2023 at the Henry Maier Festival Park. Money raised from poster sales will be donated to MIAD’s scholarship fund. “This was one of my favorite projects I have worked on during my time at MIAD,” finishes Carroll.
Learn more about Petfest, keep up with Maggie on her website and check out MIAD’s Illustration major!
News
MIAD Values Recognition Award: Leslie Fedorchuk
Leslie Fedorchuk, Professor of Writing & Humanities and Director of Service Learning, received the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) MIAD Values Recognition Award for February 2026. Leslie received nominations that highlighted her embodiment of MIAD’s Core Values, especially Integrity, Kindness and Community.
MIAD Innovation Center and MAM provide career experience
Through a partnership with the MIAD Lubar Innovation Center, stunning campaign artwork by a student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) once again is helping to launch Art in Bloom – the Milwaukee Art Museum’s annual celebration of art and spring. Illustrations by senior Emily Porven ’26 are both vibrant and subtle, colorful and evocative, capturing the essence of the event.
Nohl Alumni Award propels lasting impact for MIAD professor
Receiving a Ruth Arts Mary L. Nohl Alumni Award has both immediate and longer-term impacts for Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Professor Jon Horvath; for himself as an artist, for the arts community and for MIAD students. Horvath, who teaches in MIAD’s Fine Art + New Studio Practice major, was one of three artists and one collective recently given the award, which provides $25,000 in unrestricted funds to each.
Arts education lays groundwork for MIAD alum curatorial role
Nikki Ranney ’22 (Illustration), the new curator of the Cedarburg Art Museum, says she “is so grateful that I went through my Bachelor of Fine Arts and got to experience a traditional art education at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design because it laid the groundwork for the more academic side of the curatorial field.”
Museum Studies class: Hands-on exhibition and career experience
Last fall’s Museum Studies class at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) has solidified a career choice for at least one of the 16 students who took it. The class was on the go all semester, visiting museums throughout Milwaukee, meeting with professionals and thinking critically about the role of museums in our society.