MIAD Family Forum

Featuring the work of 140 seniors, the 2013 Senior Exhibition, April 19 – May 11, was packed with incredible work, performances and reimagined gallery spaces.

The exhibition included work from Alumni Thesis Scholarship recipients Hayley Eichenbaum (Integrated Studio Arts) and Marissa Waraksa (Sculpture), who integrated performance in their multidisciplinary work; five students who reimagined a gallery space; and designers who expanded on the empathy, compassion and user experience that defines their work.

The influence of MIAD’s yearlong collaboration with GE Healthcare, “The Compassion Project,” was prevalent in many Industrial Design students’ projects. Expanding on design’s empathic focus on the user experience, for example:

• Alex Boese created a self-reliant and portable chemotherapy dispensing device
• Sarah Geraldson focused on reusable, hygienic feminine care devices and cleaning systems for Third World countries so that girls aged 12 – 16 do not have to drop out of school
• Brett Pearson fostered the dignity of women while creating a functionally appropriate mammography gown
• Sean Simmons created a mobile, hands-free, nebulizer medication dispensing system
• Michael Stilp designed hanging hospital beds for Third World use based on indigenous materials.

As part of the senior exhibition, the college held its third annual MIAD DEFINE Day – April 24 – for campus-wide inquiry and discussion into the seniors’ journey and the MIAD experience.

Gallery Night also featured nearly 60 Integrated Studio Arts students in MAM After Dark: Black and White. From freshmen to seniors, students collaborated to create works of art for this one-night-only event.

Seniors were also available Gallery Night, April 19, to discuss their work with the public, and during Gallery Day Conversations, April 20, for more intimate discussions of their capstone projects.

Sean Simmons ’13 (Industrial Design) was honored at this year’s Service Learning Symposium, March 29, for exemplary service, completed at Sweet Water Organics.

Speaking at the symposium, Senior Director of Health Policy at First Focus in Washington, D.C., Carrie Fitzgerlad discussed her belief that compassion should be an essential component of everyone’s work.

Seeing compassion as a driver, Simmons incorporated compassionate action into his work for the 2013 Senior Exhibition.

Vice President of Academic Affairs David Martin said, “Sean has been a leader in the Compassion Project that has involved over 300 students…. You are not only doing good in the MIAD community, you are impacting the broader community.”

Image: Sean Simmons ’13

This semester, the MIAD Creativity Series continued with visits from acclaimed New York-based artists Dana Schutz and Ryan Johnson, and Vice President of Global Design at Steelcase Inc. James Ludwig.

Schutz and Johnson, who visited March 19 – 20, each held an artist talk open to the community. Assistant Professor of Painting Kristopher Benedict was instrumental in bringing them to MIAD and said, “The artists create highly individualized work with an innovative use of fiction and strong connections to art history.”

Schutz is represented by Petzel, New York, and Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin. Johnson is represented by the Suzanne Geiss Company in New York.

Global designer James Ludwig visited April 23 – 24, and held a public conversation at Discovery World, as well as participated in MIAD DEFINE – a day of college-wide open exchange filled with student and faculty presentations and critiques.

Madeleine Kelly Lubar, MIAD Board Chair and co-founder of the MIAD Creativity Series, said, “By joining artists Dana Schutz and Ryan Johnson… James Ludwig elevates the series’ mission of enriching the experiences of MIAD students while engaging the community in new ways of thinking about, and appreciating, the arts and the world of design.”

Top image: Dana Schutz, “Piano in the Rain”
Second image: Work by James Ludwig

It is hard to believe that it is tax filing time and 2013-14 FAFSA applying time already. Seems like a few short months ago I introduced Kristina Alvarez to you as the new Assistant Financial Aid Director. Kristina and I both look forward to assisting you through the 2013-14 financial aid process this year.

Right now, the campus is abuzz as Milwaukee has been designated one of America’s Top Twelve ArtPlaces, communities that have most successfully combined art, artists and venues for creativity and expression. Tomorrow, Monday, a national press conference is being held at MIAD to kick off the event. Milwaukee – the only city in the Midwest on the list – provides many personal and professional opportunities to our students, and we always knew it was one of the top places on the creative map.

So amid this excitement, this week, I will be sending an email to all our current students reminding them that it is once again time to file their FAFSA for the 2013-14 academic year. The 2013-14 FAFSA application is very similar to the FAFSA 2012-13 application. Let’s review: Continue reading It’s FAFSA time again (and Milwaukee has never been a better place to be)

The flu season is here, with serious outbreaks of the flu nationwide. The entire MIAD community – students, faculty and staff – have been asked to take the following preventive measures.

• Wash your hands frequently with warm water and soap.
• Use hand sanitizers and surface wipes, which have been placed throughout the college. Maintenance staff are wiping down handrails and communal surfaces daily.
• Get immunized for the flu (various locations around the city, see below)
• If you are sick with the flu, stay home. Contact your health care provider.
• Students should email their faculty and inform them they are absent due to the flu.

Continue reading Shooing the flu: From the Dean of Students

We’ve updated your student regarding the Student Union, and we’d like to keep you informed too!

Thanks to the quick action of MIAD Security Director Keith Kotowicz and the Milwaukee Fire Department, the Student Union building was saved. Primary damage from the fire the first week in January was to the second floor and the roof.

While the building is in the process of being restored (more on that below), staff have developed a temporary site for the Union adjacent to the Om Nom cafe. Continue reading Update on Student Union from President Hoffman

During their well-earned winter break, many of your students will excitedly discuss their choice of major with you. Others may discuss several majors and be as yet undecided about which one to select. Still others may decide to major in two areas, or are considering a major and one of MIAD’s many minors.

All of these discussions are part of the transitions that occur during your student’s first year. MIAD’s First-Year Experience encourages students to explore their many options, interests and potential, which often expand and develop in different directions from their original plans. The First-Year program gives students myriad opportunities to explore media and disciplines. During the fall semester, many students refined their thoughts about a major, or moved into entirely new areas, particularly as a result of the Research, Practice and Methods courses.

Continue reading Discussing your student’s major: Exploration Is Normal!

Senior Mary Claire Ramirez (Painting major; Science minor) prepares her art for the Student/Alumni Art Sale held Oct. 18 – 20. Hundreds of students and alumni of all years participated in the event, which brought thousands of viewers during Milwaukee’s Gallery Night/Day and Parent/Partner Day weekend. The Third Annual Sale raised $15,000 for the artists and designers.

 

Parents, alumni and students enjoy lunch in MIAD’s East Gallery as part of Parent/Homecoming events October 20. Hundreds of parents, students, family members and alumni participated in roundtables, workshops, gallery tours, demonstrations and the Student/Alumni Art Sale. The annual event provides an opportunity for engagement across the entire college community.

As part of MIAD’s Foundations Experience, freshmen attended MAJORS Dialogue in early October. A unique evening, MAJORS Dialogue allows freshmen the opportunity to interact with faculty and students from each of MIAD’s 11 majors. Faculty hold discussions and demonstrations as a way to showcase their discipline, with information about minors also available. The evening is a great resource for students in preparation for Major Declaration Day in the Spring Semester.

Joined by faculty from every major, sophomores gathered at Discovery World September 6 to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the Sophomore Experience, frame questions and goals about their majors and focus, and meet four alumni, who advised them: Continue reading Sophomores discuss goals, purpose of year ahead

This year, MIAD’s annual Parent/Partner Day on October 20 is part of MIAD’s Homecoming Experience October 18 – 20. All parents, students and alumni are invited to participate in the activities. These include the Third Annual Student/Alumni Art Sale – an event eagerly awaited by the Milwaukee community – and Parent/Partner’s day of roundtables, workshops, tours and demonstrations on October 20. The Third Ward’s Fall Gallery Night/Day is October 19 – 20, which includes exciting exhibitions at MIAD. Encourage your student to watch for information on how to participate in the Art Sale, which includes both fine art and design, and watch for more information for parents on engaging with the entire MIAD community. Continue reading for the day’s schedule. Continue reading Tell us you’re attending Parent/Partner Day Oct. 20!

MIAD’s new college-run café, the OM NOM! Café, will offer cuisine to please everyone’s ‘palette,’ including vegan and vegetarian options. And thanks to Michael Marten ’12, MIAD’s Café also has a new, cheerful atmosphere that suits its name!

Meet the MIAD Café staff, and read more about the Café and available meal plans…

Continue reading MIAD Café – OM NOM!

FERPA (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act) is a federal law that governs the privacy of student education records, access to those records and disclosure of information from them. Continue reading Understanding student privacy & FERPA

Follow the poignant story of 11-year-old Kailyn, who was helped by a joint project between MIAD Industrial Design students and Marquette University engineers. Thanks to her spirit and the power of design to change lives, the story made front page news and a video by Journal Sentinel Pulitzer Prize winners Mark Johnson and Gary Porter.

On May 12, 153 seniors celebrated their Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees with their parents, families and guests at the 2012 Commencement Ceremony, held for the first time in Milwaukee’s majestic and historic Pabst Theater. Read the full web story, and find your senior in the individual images.

 

Continue reading Students Present Best of the Best at Milwaukee Art Museum

One day of the year, classes are canceled at MIAD. Not because of snow. Because of a campus-wide open exchange instigated by seniors’ capstone projects. The day is called MIAD DEFINE. Read more to see if your student is in the coverage by Milwaukee’s Fox Six News. Continue reading MIAD DEFINE Offers College-Wide Exchange

It’s hard to believe that the academic year is almost over. We are as excited as you are about your student’s accomplishments and are already looking forward to next year!

Many students are now looking for fall housing, so we wanted to let you know that returning students are welcome in MIAD’s residence hall – The Park at 1824. Continue reading Returning Students Welcome in Park at 1824!

After enjoying a field trip to Madison where they toured the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMOCA) and the Capitol, first-year students officially declared their majors and met with their major faculty.

Faculty welcomed students to their major, gave them a sense of what to look forward to in the fall, and advised them on registration in April. Below, foreground, Photography Professor Larry Chatman talked with students about what is new and exciting in their major, while Professors John Caruso and Pascal Malassigne talked with Industrial Design majors.

 

MIAD hosted Chip Kidd, iconic lead designer for Random House publishers and Knopf Books known for such designs as the Jurassic Park and 1Q84 book covers, as part of a two-day intensive professional experience for students across disciplines and years of study.

As part of his visit, Kidd delivered a keynote address to first-year students about his career before launching them into their Professional Portfolio Symposium. Students had the opportunity to review, and ask questions about, the portfolios and careers of 20 local art and design professionals.

Read more about Kidd’s visit and the Symposium online.