NSP: Fine Arts junior selected for Yale Norfolk Summer Program

Chad Alexander ’24 (New Studio Practice: Fine Arts) is one of only 26 students nationwide to be accepted into the prestigious Yale Norfolk School of Art Summer Program. Alexander, currently a junior at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) will participate in the six-week residency in Norfolk, Connecticut.

“To think that I wasn’t going to go to school in the first place and now I’m getting this opportunity, it just feels like ‘pinch me!’” says Alexander. During the residency, Alexander hopes to continue work on a current project about LGBT+ bars and establishments in Milwaukee. “I hope to gain a better understanding of what drives my practice … what is that deeper meaning?”

The Yale Norfolk School of Art is an intensive summer undergraduate program for rising seniors, who will earn transferable course credit over the summer. Students will live in cottages on the Yale Norfolk campus and enjoy personal studio space and communal learning in the newly renovated Art Barn. MIAD supports the selected student by paying the program participation fee.

Working primarily in textiles and sculpture, Alexander investigates sustainability and upcycling materials through his artistic practice. On the rigorous application process, Alexander says, “I put so much time and effort into the application… it feels like a step up in terms of speaking about my practice and applying to residencies. Even if I weren’t to have gotten it, it still would have been a good process to go through.”

Learn more about the Yale Norfolk residency or check out MIAD’s NSP: Fine Arts program!