Practice what we teach: MIAD president exhibits creative vision
In addition to a decade serving as president of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), Jeffrey Morin maintains a thriving artistic practice. Morin founded his studio, sailorBOYpress, to showcase his monotypes, book arts, papermaking and figure drawing works.
Morin’s work is featured in three current and upcoming exhibitions: “A Landmark Exhibition in LGBTQIA+ Contemporary Art” at the Studio Door, Hillcrest, Calif.; “Original Prints: A National Printmaking Showcase” at Art Center of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas; and “Unfolding Events: Exploring Past and Present in Artists’ Books” at Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Jeffrey Morin, “Truth 2,” 2024.
Jeffrey Morin, “White Noise 10,” 2024.
“For years, I’ve shown my work across the country and am fortunate that it is in collections internationally,” says Morin. “I do try to focus on local exhibitions at times because I know that the people that I serve may not have an opportunity to see the work or even realize that I remain active in the studio.” Several Milwaukee solo and group exhibitions featured Morin in 2024.
Not only is Morin busy creating and preparing work for exhibitions, he is also celebrating a decade of serving as MIAD’s president. “I think that to be an authentic leader at the college, I have to practice what we teach,” he explains. “I have to engage with at least one practice that our students aspire to. In kindergarten, I dreamt of being a teacher and an artist. I did not dream of being an administrator. I love the work that I do [as president] because I feel that I can be of use, but the dream was to teach and make work.”
Creative practice and college administration, Morin contends, are connected. “It has always been about craft for me,” he says. “I love printmaking because of the process of making in the same way that I loved having a communication design practice. Craft is the vehicle for problem solving. And there is a craft to leading and institutional future proofing. It is all cut from the same creative cloth.”
Morin finishes, “As a leader, I think that it is important to represent all who are part of our community. That often requires tempering my personal opinions or convictions. When I make art, I speak my mind, I do not speak on behalf of others. It is important to make space for that.”
Explore sailorBOYpress and learn more about Morin’s role at MIAD.
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.