Photography alum featured in Madison, WI solo exhibition
Photography alum Sarah Stankey ’13 shares the vulnerable and traumatic experience of 90 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in her new exhibition “What to Expect,” hosted by Madison’s Arts + Literature Laboratory as part of the Bridge Work Madison program. The exhibition runs until December 22, 2022.
In her artist statement, Stankey describes her expectations and plans for her pregnancy, which were destroyed when her baby was born three months early. “I was right about one thing, the moment I became a mother was transformative,” she says in her statement. “The memory of our ninety days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is like a whiplash… This exhibition is the culmination of me piecing my memories back together and attempting to live alongside the trauma.” Conveying such a deeply personal experience in an exhibit, Stankey shares that “being vulnerable is extremely difficult, but I think the even harder aspect is maintaining professionalism and composure in that vulnerability.”
At MIAD, Stankey was shaped by exacting photography professors who “emphasized professional practices and the ability to talk about your work in a coherent manner.” She credits her instructors with preparing her for graduate studies in photography later in her career. Being an artist can be isolating after school, so Stankey encourages current students and young creatives to proactively “attend events, meet people in the industry and other artists. Most of all, be a decent human being to others.” Coming up in 2023, Stankey has another exhibition at the Overture Center in Madison and will be continuing her Bridge Work Fellowship with the Arts + Literature Laboratory.
Keep up with Sarah on her website and learn more about visiting her exhibition!
News
MKE Prints exhibition installed at MKE airport
MKE Prints is a collection of hand-pulled screen prints was created by Communication Design students at MIAD on view at the MKE airport.
Recollection Wisconsin digitizes Guido Brink collection
Thanks to the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative, the Guido Brink collection at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) will soon be digitized and available for public access. Current UW-Milwaukee graduate student Ceceilia Loeschmann is digitizing and cataloging the collection during summer 2025.
Student commission celebrates previous MIAD board chair
Deanna Tillisch, outgoing chair of the board at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), received a student-commissioned monotype print in recognition of her service. “Deanna Dancing” was made by Anna Louise Barr ’26 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice).
MIAD elects new board chair and three new trustees
MIAD elects new board chair and three new trustees: Amanda Singh to board chair; Abim Kolawole, Lauren Hurley, and Bob Schwartz as trustees.
Meet AJ Schramek and Senior Exhibition project Life is a Drag!
AJ Schramek ’25 (Animation Track in Illustration) is a President’s (Honor) List student from Villa Park, Ill., who received a 2025 MIAD Alumni Senior Thesis Award.