Lubar Innovation Center brings MKE history to Brix Apartments

The one thing Alivia Rapp ’24 (Illustration) would change about working with MIAD’s Lubar Innovation Center is getting “involved with staff Drew Maxwell and Kyle James even earlier in my college experience to really milk it for all it’s worth! It is one of the things I truly miss about MIAD post-grad.”

Rapp was one of three MIAD Illustration students who created seven art pieces for the Brix Apartment Lofts in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point last spring.

Sean Scholl, the lofts’ property manager, initially approached the Innovation Center seeking a mural to bring “some significant chapters in Milwaukee’s history to life,” he says.

“When Sean realized we were able to offer our design and illustration abilities in other ways as well,” says Kyle V. James ’15, Innovation Center assistant director, “Icarus Krause ’24, Xander Maxwell ’26 and Rapp got to work.”

“Xander, Alivia and Icarus all did a wonderful job both taking and expanding upon my ideas…,” says Scholl. “I appreciated them submitting multiple sketches for consideration. This art gallery has brought life to an otherwise very rustic first floor of this 117-year-old candy factory turned apartment lofts!”

“Doing work for the Brix Apartments was a great experience that both taught me a lot about working with people as well as giving me a job opportunity as a student,” says Maxwell, now a junior in Illustration’s Animation track. “This project was great because I got to make a Milwaukee-based illustration with a lot of fun research and concepts.”

“Sean was excited to give us creative liberty in forming the timeline of Milwaukee’s history, which allowed my fellow illustrators and I to stay true to our individual styles,” says Rapp. “I worked on the Early Fur Trade and Modern Culture Collage pieces, relishing the contrast between illustrating the historically significant fur trade and adopting a more playful approach for the culture collage.”

“However, since I encountered challenges in finding accurate historical references for Potawatomi clothing, I wanted to avoid potentially improperly over-embellishing the figures and decided to lean away from depicting them as belonging to a specific Native tribe. To further emphasize their significance, I positioned the French settler, Jacques Vieau, facing away from the viewers, as if in conversation with Native folks.”

Rapp, who minored in Communication Design and has a thriving freelance practice, believes, “My continuous engagement with the Innovation Center has helped to strengthen my skills as an illustrator and designer, build my portfolio, provide me with essential work experience and create professional relationships that will last throughout my career. Freelance brand identity and logo design has been incredibly fun and fulfilling, and I plan to be doing this work for a long time.”

The Lubar Innovation Center connects MIAD students with companies to work on paid creative projects while providing support and guidance. Read more about becoming involved with the Innovation Center as a partner or student. and about MIAD’s award-winning Illustration major and Animation track.