Sabbatical journey: Revelations and a new course for students
A sabbatical year immersed in Japanese culture, language and the study of Ukiyo-e – images of Japan’s “floating world” – led Professor Chelsea Holton to two main “aha” moments and development of a new course for students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD).
Holton, associate professor of Art & Design History, says, “My research focused primarily on Japanese prints from the Edo Period (1615-1868). Research involved travel to Japan in 2024 with an itinerary paralleling the Tokaido Road – the most traveled route from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo) during the Edo Period.”
Utagawa Hiroshige I, “Hakone, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō,” c. 1840-42.
The Tōkaidō Road at the Hakone checkpoint.
Chelsea Holton presents her sabbatical work.
Hikone Castle
Describing it as “otherworldly,” Holton says her first “aha” experience “was hiking in the mountains of Hakone and finding parts of the old Tokaido Road that weave through the mountainsides. This was historically the most treacherous part of the route and is now really the only extant part of the old road.”
“The second standout experience was having access to the Zen tearoom, ‘Teigyoku-ken,’ in a sub-temple of the Daitokuji Zen complex in Kyoto,” continues Holton. “This building is rarely open to the public…. Being in this space that I had taught about for years was revelatory.”
In addition to spending months in an intense Japanese language class and continuing studies on her own, Holton achieved a main goal of her sabbatical. This spring she will offer MIAD students the elective: “Imaging the Floating World: Japanese Prints from 1600 through the 20th century.” Holton says, “I will also bring in my additional experiences in Zen spaces to my other classes on Japanese art.”
Holton hopes her sabbatical will help “students see that it is important to support one’s curiosity – that learning is a lifelong process. I want to encourage students to travel and experience material cultures in person. [T]hey have access to so much incredible information and learning about other cultures and even a new language has never been more accessible.”
Learn more about MIAD’s Critical Studies program!
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.