91��Ʒ

Alicia Zapata, a second-year MAKE! participant from Chicago and a K-8 art teacher at Waters Elementary School in Chicago, IL, Kelly Wendel, an eighth-year participant and art teacher at Nicolet High School in Glendale, WI and Gail Kowsky, a second-year participant and sixth- and seventh-grade art teacher in New Brighton, Minnesota, reflected on what they gained from this year�s program.

Maya Koehn �26 (Interior Architecture and Design) is a President�s (Honor) List student from Sheboygan, Wis., currently employed as a Junior Designer at Direct Supply.

Kaitlyn Powers �26 (Illustration major; Communication Design minor) is a self-described mixed media illustrator, graphic designer and textile artist. She is also a President�s (Honor) List student from Appleton, Wis.

Emily Camp �26 (Animation Track in Illustration) is a President�s (Honor) List student from Fox River Grove, Ill.

Paul Fletcher, a principal product designer at LinkedIn, and Jacqualyn Laughlin, co-founder of Invisible Ink Partners, were elected members of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design�s Board of Trustees at the college�s annual meeting in June.

Rising senior at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ) Adam Wold �27 received two awards in May from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). The Interior Architecture and Design (IAD) major won the Silver Award in the Commercial category and the Bronze Award in the Residential category.

Professor Leslie Fedorchuk and alumni of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ) received four of the eight individual 2026 Wisconsin Visual Art Achievement Awards for �their significant contributions to the state�s creative culture.�

Works by 13 students and recent graduates of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ) were selected from among 4,550 nationwide submissions to receive 2026 honors from the national Society of Illustrators.

First-place winner Sophia Simonson �28 created Refractions as part of her 91��Ʒ studies in Interior Architecture and Design. She is one of 20 students studying at 91��Ʒ through a cross-registration program with Concordia University. 91��Ʒ students Kaitlyn Powers �26 (Illustration) and Natalie Spetell �27 (Product Design), both of whom have minors in Communication Design, received Honorable Mentions.

An annual tradition at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design from late March through September, the juried First-Year Experience Exhibition celebrates students� yearlong personal and professional growth.

Carmen Briones �26 (Product Design) is a President�s (Honor) List student from Cambria, Wis., president of the 91��Ʒ IDSA student chapter and an intern at SI Jacobson Manufacturing. Briones designed a device called “Echo” that removes ovarian cysts without surgery.

Eeshan Dutt �26 (Illustration) is a President�s (Honor) List student from India and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. Dutt’s work centers on visual storytelling through sequential art, where he explores how narratives can engage and connect with audiences.

Continuing an annual tradition begun in 2010 at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ), Illustration juniors worked with Cramer-Krasselt and Penfield Children�s Center to design posters for the center�s Annual Croquet Ball fundraiser.

Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ) alum Amy Cannestra �06 (Communication Design) believes in giving back, in mentoring and in the supportive nature of the Milwaukee art and design community. By founding Task Creative and the 91��Ʒ Task Graduate Award, the incredibly busy creative exemplifies all three beliefs. The Task awardee, Ashley Osorio �26 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice), will receive five consecutive days to use the Task Creative space for a project of their choosing this summer.

Michaela Prischman �26 (Communication Design) is a President�s (Honor) List student from Tinley Park, Ill. She created “Cloth,” a tool to help guide young professional women to find and organize alternative work attire through a personalized style subscription box.

The First-Year Experience (FYE) at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ) blends contemporary and traditional techniques, an approach embraced by FYE faculty David R. Harper in Good Morning Sweetheart, a solo exhibition on view at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) through August 30, 2026.

Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design seniors Grace Weisner �26 and Allison Stras �26 have landed the internship of their dreams: Weisner at NASA and Stras at Disney. Both are Illustration majors with minors in Communication Design.

Cas Kook �26 (Animation Track in Illustration) is a Dean�s List student from the Greater Chicago area and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. “Project Calvin Sazerac” is about Calvin Sazerac, a seasoned barkeep, who creates new cocktails for his favorite regulars. When he is challenged to meet the demands of a picky saloon patron, he creates something life changing.

Mac Bronnson �26 (Communication Design) is a President�s (Honor) List student from Milwaukee and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. MENd � No Bro Left Behind is a men�s mental health app that is not designed as a mental health app.

Faculty member Ric Stultz, who teaches Illustration at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, has designed what is sure to become iconic apparel during the Milwaukee Brewers 2026 season.

Cyrill Reyes �26 (Illustration) is a President�s (Honor) List student from the Greater Chicago area. My thesis is game concept art and visual development of the world of NECROZOIC, a prehistoric fantasy that retells the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Bailey Staerkel �26 (Fashion and Apparel Design) is a Dean�s List student from Vancouver, Wash., and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. My thesis, Stitched Together, is an exploration of Gothic horror through fashion, taking classic horror archetypes and reinterpreting them into a collection of fully realized couture looks.

Multidisciplinary artist, curator, mentor and Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ) professor Jason S. Yi has been named a 2026 Fellow of the prestigious Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters. Yi is one of �16 extraordinary Wisconsinites who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to intellectual discourse and public service,� the Academy said in its awards announcement.

This is one in a series of online interviews with 91��Ʒ seniors, who share their thoughts about their 2026 Senior Exhibition project and their 91��Ʒ education. �Logan Moris �26 (Product Design) is from West Bend, Wis., and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. What...

Jason Yi, Professor of Fine Art + New Studio Practice, received the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��Ʒ) Values Recognition Award for March 2026. Jason received nominations that highlighted his embodiment of 91��Ʒ’s Core Values, especially Integrity, Kindness and Community.