Mentees
Andrea Cabrera Manuel
Andrea Cabrera Manuel (she/they) is a Mexican interdisciplinary artist currently living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Drawn to the process and labor production, she started to experiment with mixed media, such as textiles, sculpture and sound, which have allowed her to explore the body in relation to emotional/physical labor as well as relationships, community and space making. Specifically, she focuses on how the process of artistic production, such as sculpting with clay and intertwining textiles, can allow us to confront the lack of emotional education in our society, which has prevented us from understanding the intricacies of our reactions and interactions with our surroundings. Andrea received her BFA in the Spring of 2023 from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, majoring in New Studio Practice. In the future, she hopes to not only expand her own practice, but also nurture and explore the social power of art by teaching, as well as bringing art approaches to social projects in local communities.
Mentee to Lois Bielefeld
Carter Voras
Carter Voras (they/him) is a painter who currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Voras graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a degree in French Translation and a minor in Studio Arts and Design. They have been a part of the Milwaukee creative scene for the last six years, helping run DIY live music events and showing their work at UW-Milwaukee’s Student Union Gallery, Var Gallery's Gray Area, and the now-retired Payless Shoe Source gallery. In July of 2022, they participated in Proyecto ‘Ace’s Production Residency located in Buenos Aires, Argentina and was invited to create a mural in participation with their ongoing collaborative mural project titled Palimpsesto that would permanently occupy a space at Proyecto ‘Ace’s Headquarters. At the end of their residency, their series Decimation or Aniquilación was showcased in an open studio event that was open to the public. Most recently, they have been curating and installing group shows that highlight emerging and “outsider” Milwaukee-area artists as a part of Some Fools Basement gallery alongside their partner, Aliya Moore.
Mentee to Grant Gill
Gina Cornejo
Multidisciplinary artist Gina Cornejo (she/they) is an Americana Peruana and Queer identifying creative. Aiming for a pinnacle of honesty to be revealed by curating intimate autobiographical theatrical performances for our collective healing, the mediums they specialize in are writing, immersive solo performance, and storytelling. For 17 years, claiming Chicago as her artistic home, Cornejo contributed her writing, choreography, and theatrical concepts to Teatro Luna, a multiple Jeff Award winning Latinx/WOC company. Navigating the art scene in Asheville, North Carolina, she was selected for the First Draft Residency at Revolve Gallery (2021) debuting her deviously detailed solo show “when sugar was sugar was sugar,” alongside her pandemic-born collaborative short film “Atmosphere.”
“Dirty Laundry,” Cornejo’s ambitious writing project that unapologetically discloses the irreverent unraveling of her marriage and divorce was coupled with innovative choreography and cinematic elements from Stewart Owen Dance (Moses Sumney) and videographer Josh Finck (Jack Harlow). Cornejo was the first artist selected for the Story/Arts Residency at Story Parlor (2022), where she showcased the visually captivating 35 minute collaborative film while integrating her live solo performance.
“Dirty Laundry” was recently featured at the Asheville Fringe Festival (2023). Gina Cornejo proudly resides on the advisory board of Story Parlor
Mentee to Alix Anne Shaw
Ida Lucchesi
Ida Lucchesi (she/they) is a dancer and social worker in Milwaukee, WI. She works at the intersection of movement exploration and communities that have historically been ignored. Ida focuses on themes of interpersonal relationships and community building and aims to connect the LGBTQ+ community to the benefits that come from art education. Her primary research interests include creating space for marginalized communities to find joy in their bodies, and the relationships developed by people who take up space society has historically denied them. They work in the social services field to teach and learn from young people. Eventually, she wants to combine her dance and social work interests to better serve young people in Milwaukee.
Ida has produced and presented dance works in the Milwaukee Fringe Festival. She has worked with artists Andrea Burkholder, Posy Knight, and with Joe Goode on the piece Real Stories, a work supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2019. They had the opportunity to work on two movement-based research projects, one exploring improvisation and the other bringing movement practices to youth impacted by the carceral system.
Mentee to KT Mullen
Jimmy Zenisek (aka Eclectic Mundane)
Jimmy (he/him) is a self-taught artist and has been making visual art since 2020. During 2022, he increased his focus on art significantly with the goal of transitioning his primary profession from accounting to art. He is originally from the suburbs of Minneapolis / St. Paul and received his undergraduate degree in English and rhetoric from the University of MN - Twin Cities in 2005. After a few years working as a barista and at other similar jobs, Jimmy decided to go back to school for accounting at the University of WI - Milwaukee in the Fall of 2009, and he has been working in that field since he graduated with a Master's in Accountancy in 2011. However, creative expression has always been a necessary outlet. In his twenties, Jimmy’s outlet was writing and recording DIY multi-track music. He still plays music off and on and buys a new synthesizer occasionally, but his creative expression mainly takes the form of visual arts. Jimmy also has a seven year old son which takes up a lot his time in the best way possible with imagination, humor, and general playing around and a large black cat who's hair he is constantly cleaning off his art.
Mentee to Jaymee Harvey Willms
Kenzi Rayelle
Kenzi Rayelle (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist currently living and working in Milwaukee, WI. Rayelle, originally from Iowa, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from The University of Iowa in 2021. Here she began her contemporary practice by experimenting with large textile installations and developing an understanding of seeing the past and present self within her work. Projects during this time primarily focused on dissecting narratives in relation to her past traumas, family histories, and bodily dysphoria.
Today Rayelle's current thesis revolves around the intimate connections in conjunction with the human body and its organic material. Using a method of hand-sewn textiles, and latex, she aims for these works to represent a delicate and binding connection between self and others. Rayelle will be returning to Iowa with an upcoming solo exhibition at Public Space One, "Innerconnectivity I", on view in Fall 2023.
Mentee to Emmitt Williams
Lauren Nitka
Lauren Marie Nitka is a Milwaukee based artist and art educator. She is from Greendale, Wisconsin. She attended Wisconsin Lutheran College from 2014 to 2017, receiving her Bachelor’s in K-12 Art Education and Elementary Education. As a professional artist and art educator, Lauren has not only enjoyed participating in the Milwaukee area art scene, she has collaborated with and led a number of community art projects with organizations such as City on a Hill, teaching young artists with a focus on art history and entrepreneurship.
Lauren has a passion for helping other emerging artists develop opportunities and gain recognition as she aims to grow in the Milwaukee art scene. She has curated pop-up gallery nights at small businesses, notably Glassnote Candle Bar in Walker’s Point, Milwaukee. Lauren has launched The Podcast for Artists as Entrepreneurs, catered towards artists who want to take their first steps into selling their art professionally. This opportunity allows her to continue transforming her own studio practice by applying her creativity and teaching background to her entrepreneurship.
Mentee to Frank Juárez
Lidia Sharapova
Lidia Sharapova (she/her) is a Russian American visual artist and researcher working with documentary and art photography. Born and raised in Siberia, Lidia moved to the United States in 2013 and has been based in Wisconsin ever since.
Lidia's work focuses on exploring the issues of identity, gender, and femininity. The impulse of research of such themes arose in a reflection of her growing up in a patriarchal country in a female only family.
Sharapova’s work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and publications. Recently she’s got her first solo exhibition with the Museum of Wisconsin Art.
Mentee to Berel Lutsky
Nateya Taylor
Nateya Taylor (she/her) is a Milwaukee native and strong advocate for racial and health equity. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Master of Science degree in Urban Studies. Currently, she works as a Communications Specialist at the Institute for Research on Poverty at UW-Madison where she helps disseminate nationwide poverty research through writing, audio, and visual storytelling. Nateya’s personal research interests are centered around residential segregation, Black communities, and Black resilience which can be seen in her 80 page master’s thesis study titled “Black Autonomy as a Form of Resistance and a Symbol of Rebellion.” Outside of her career, Nateya is a self taught artist who uses film, photography, and creative writing as modes of expression to tell stories centered around Blackness. She independently established the multimedia company Naesthetycs LLC in 2017 as an undergraduate student to share untold stories about marginalized groups. Through her work, Nateya hopes to amplify marginalized voices and ignite social change.
Mentee to Max Yela
Nayfa Naji
Nayfa Naji (she/her) is a Palestinian Muslim American born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. As a toddler her creativity dived into a variety of mediums, influencing her career. Nayfa graduated from Milwaukee Area Technical College with an associate in Production Artist and Graphic Design in 2018. End of 2021, she graduated with her bachelors from the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin in Design Studies and Community Arts. Nayfa was one of the artists painting a Muslim mural on Milwaukee’s South Side with Leaders Igniting Transformation. Her artworks are influenced by her home country Palestine, her practiced religion Islam, various movements, PCOS and mental health. Her first exhibited artwork at the UWM Art Gallery in the spring of 2019, titled “Hijabi '' and sold into the UWM Collections. Since then, Nayfa dove her passion for art into the Muslim and MENA community with a Local Muslims Art Show in April of 2019. Nayfa co-founded Fanana Banana, a platform shedding a spotlight on Muslim and MENA artists and creatives through supportive inspiring events. Nayfa curated and organized two murals to bring healing in communities within Milwaukee, such as the mural “Mutasaweeyah” aiming to signify racial equity and social justice in the Milwaukee County Circuit Courthouse.
Mentee to Maureen Ragalie
Mentors
Alix Anne Shaw
Alix Anne Shaw (she/ze, her/hir) is a multimedia visual artist, sculptor, poet, and teacher. A graduate of Yale University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she has exhibited at the Richard Gray Gallery in Chicago as well at internationally in India, Italy, and South Korea. Her work has also been archived as part of the University of Iowa Digitized Art Galleries. She is also the author of three collections of poetry, Undertow (Persea 2007), Dido in Winter (Peresa 2014), and Rough Ground (Etruscan 2018). She lives in Milwaukee, where she is working to establish a live-work community and gallery space for artists. Her work can be viewed online at alixanneshaw.carbonmade. com and at www.alixanneshaw.com.
Mentor to Gina Cornejo
Berel Lutsky
Berel Lutsky (he/him) was born in Buffalo NY and raised in Milwaukee, WI. He earned his BS in studio art with a concentration in printmaking from UW Madison, and his MFA in studio art with a concentration in printmaking and drawing from UW Milwaukee. He taught at UW Green Bay, several UW Colleges, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Carroll University in Waukesha, and the Avni Institute in Israel. His work has been exhibited locally, regionally and nationally in juried and invitational shows and is in public and private collections in Israel, Belgium, Japan and the US. He is currently Professor of Art Emeritus at UW Green Bay- Manitowoc Campus where he taught drawing, design, printmaking, photography and painting since 2001. He also is a co-founder and facilitator of ReallyBIGPRINTS!! a biennial streetroller printing event and exhibition of large scale relief prints. Information is at :reallybigprints.org. Lutsky is also a resident printmaker at Studio 224 in Port Washington, and was the 2020-2021 ARTservancy Resident at the Kratszch Conservancy.
Mentor to Lidia Sharapova
Emmitt J. Williams
Emmitt James (he/him) is a Hip Hop-Jazz artist and spoken word-poet from Milwaukee, WI. After spending the last 8 years in Los Angeles, CA Emmitt is back home and looks forward to continuing to contribute to the scene in a more hands-on kind of way.
Mentor to Lidia Sharapova
Frank Juárez
Frank Juárez (he/him) is an award-winning art educator, artist, publisher, art coach, and former gallery director living and working in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Juárez brings 20+ years of art education and arts management experience organizing local and regional art exhibitions, community art events, presenting at the state and national level, supporting artists through grant programs, and facilitating professional development workshops for artists. Juárez is at the forefront of promoting Wisconsin artists, as well as attracting regional, national, and international artists to collaborate and exhibit in Wisconsin. Juárez’s projects include 365 Artists 365 Days Project, Midwest Artist Studios Project, and the Indiana Green Invitational.
Juárez is the Sheboygan North High School art department chair, SchoolArts Magazine contributing editor, and Artdose Magazine publisher.
Mentor to Lauren Nitka
Grant Gill
Grant Gill (he/him) is a Milwaukee-based artist, image maker, and educator. He received an MFA in Studio Art from the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati and a BFA in Photography from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. He is concerned with limitless structures which can be seen in both manipulating light to ignite images and exploring queerness as home for magic.
Gill has exhibited both nationally and internationally at institutions including The Neon Heater, Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, Filter Space, PhotoPlace, Osnova Gallery, SÍM Gallery, and has worked with the Brussels Royal Opera House. Gill continues to show work within the Milwaukee community exhibiting at Usable Space, Var, Chamber, and After School Special. He is represented by The Alice Wilds.
He was a previous recipient of the Mary L. Nohl Suitcase Export Fund and has been a recognized finalist for the Greater Milwaukee Foundation's Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowship, NoStudios fellowship, and the gener8tor Art. Gill has contributed to various arts related programming in Milwaukee; he organized a Hunger Task Force print benefit at The Portrait Society Gallery, facilitated a panel discussion with FXG Church, and co-organized the Pitch Project Artist Book Fair.
Mentor to Carter Voras
Jaymee Harvey Willms
Jaymee Harvey Willms (she/her) is an artist living and working in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin. She was born and raised in Maplewood, Minnesota. From there she moved to South Dakota where she received her BFA in painting and art history from the University of South Dakota. In 2015 she went on to graduate from SUNY Albany with her MFA in sculpture. Currently, she serves her community as Executive Director of the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Art Museums and an adjunct instructor at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Jaymee lives with her husband in Hartford Wisconsin. A mother of twin boys, George and Allen, who were stillborn in March of 2021, her current work processes grief, mourning, fear and hope. She believes in fearless advocacy and the power of storytelling. She has had international residencies, shows her work across the United States, and continues to make work in her studio in Milwaukee’s Walker's Point neighborhood.
Mentor to Jimmy Zenisek
KT Mullen
Katie “KT” Mullen (she/her) is a visual artist and writer who uses creativity as a catalyst to magnify our shared humanity and create change in her community.
Drawing on inspiration from political propaganda and the pop art movement, KT is best known for visual work that marries commercial and fine art styles — that marriage being an especially effective vehicle for asking big uncomfortable questions about popular culture. She started as a painter and later expanded her practice to include things like installations, digital design and film, often created in collaboration with other artists and activists.
Her written work explores more intimate territory and includes poems and essays with recurring themes of messy women, mental illness and complicated relationships.
KT co-founded BlackPaint, a barrier-breaking art advocacy studio that created public art projects that brought awareness to issues impacting her city — from voter suppression to reproductive rights — between 2015-2022. Before BlackPaint, she founded and led FROM HERE TO HER Artist Collective, an alliance of community artists best known for their interactive exhibitions that explored social norms impacting women and girls.
KT’s work has received recognition or awards from the Milwaukee Film Festival, NPR, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Planned Parenthood and more.
Mentor to Ida Luchessi
Lois Bielefeld
Lois Bielefeld (they/she) is a queer series-based artist working in photography, audio, video, and installation. Their work continually asks what links routine and ritual to the formation of identity, personhood, and the development of meaning-making.
Currently settled in Milwaukee, Lois has lived on both coasts with a graduate degree from the California Institute of the Arts. Besides photography, they feel passionate about traveling, hiking, eating, swimming and bicycling adventures with their wife.
Their work is in the permanent collections of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City, the Museum of Wisconsin Art, Saint Kate Arts Hotel, The Warehouse Museum and The Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin. Bielefeld has shown at The International Center of Photography in New York City, The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, de Young Museum in San Francisco, The Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and Dom Wein in Vienna.
Bielefeld is represented by Portrait Society Gallery in Milwaukee.
Mentor to Andrea Cabrera Manuel
Maureen Ragalie
Maureen Ragalie (she/her) is an arts professional with over ten years of experience in the visual art industry. Ragalie has vast experience in the arts, including working in the New York contemporary art world at David Zwirner Gallery, Cristin Tierney Gallery and Artspace.com. After relocating to Milwaukee, she served as the associate director of the Green Gallery and as the curator at Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel. She currently serves as the Managing Director of gener8tor Art, where she oversees the distribution of grants for artists and provides professional development programming for artists and creative professionals.
Mentor to Nayfa Najii
Max Yela
Max Yela is a special collections librarian, educator, book arts specialist, writer, critic, and maker who has lived in Milwaukee for nearly 30 years. He has been Head of the Special Collections Department at the UWM Libraries since 1994. Prior to this, he was the public services librarian for Special Collections at the University of Delaware, 1985-1994. He serves as Adjunct Graduate Faculty in the UWM Department of Art & Design, where he also taught book arts concepts and practice from 2004 to 2015. He has taught courses at MIAD and has taught History of Books & Printing every semester in the UWM School of Information Studies since 2009. Max has curated numerous art, library, and museum exhibitions for nearly 40 years. His main research interests are in media theory and the effects of media on human cognition. His research includes history of the book as a media presence in human cultures, art mediation, and especially the book as an art medium. Max has been active in the Wisconsin arts community for over 25 years, and was honored for his contributions with a 2017 Wisconsin Visual Art Achievement Award.
Mentor to Nateya Taylor