MOWA Fellowship Opportunities

Fellowships

Opening doors, one fellowship at a time.

MOWA is passionate about creating opportunities. Our fellowships open doors for emerging artists and aspiring museum professionals.

2023 Recipient

Miranda Aalto

“I value process and slow artmaking. I’m in no rush to make art in the same way I’m in no rush to live out my life.”

–Miranda Aalto

 

I value process and slow artmaking. I’m in no rush to make art in the same way I’m in no rush to live out my life.”

Multidisciplinary artist Miranda Aalto is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BFA in watercolor and etching. Driven by an interest in self-discovery, in her work Aalto looks through a decidedly optimistic lens to explore her life experience as a delicate rhythmic balance in which ordinary becomes extraordinary, and hardships become treasured lessons. Her investigations often involve her desire to acknowledge and embrace both sides of her biracial identity.

Aalto most recently worked as an Outreach and Programming Intern at Wheelhouse Studios, an open art space located on the UW–Madison campus, which offers drop-in art opportunities and flexible workspaces for those looking for a creative outlet. She also played violin as an undergraduate and enjoyed working backstage for University Theatre productions.

2022 Recipient

Isabel Castro

“As a Fellow in Education, I aim to develop and refine my skills to best serve the intergenerational creatives within the community. I hope to contribute towards MOWA’s mission, while being an example for aspiring artists on what is possible. Con mucho corazón y alma todo es posible!

–Isabel Castro

 

Isabel Castro is a Milwaukee-based community artist and muralist. She is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, obtaining her B.S. in Architectural Studies and certification in Community Art with summa cum laude. She values the accessibility to socially engaged art making in her practice. While also embracing collaborative work environments that cultivate a sense of belonging and hold space for creative expression.

Her work is a mix of studio art and large scale murals that can be found around Milwaukee County and Sheboygan. Her most recent community mural, A Place Called Home, is located at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in The Social STUDIO space

2021 Recipient

Nia Wilson

“As an artist myself, this fellowship opportunity allows me to use my own experiences and knowledge to help teens find their own voice and their own path in the arts.”

–Nia Wilson

 

Milwaukee native and multidisciplinary artist Nia Wilson graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee with a BA in Journalism and Studio Art. Her own journey in the arts began as a teen artist resident at Redline Milwaukee and as a high school intern at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Wilson has worked with nonprofit arts organizations such as Artists Working in Education (AWE) and is exhibiting work in the 2022 Wisconsin Triennial exhibition Ain’t I A Woman at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. As MOWA’s Nast Family Fellow, she is helping to amplify diverse teen voices through targeted programs and activities.

The Mona Boulware Webb Curatorial Engagement Fellowship

Named after outsider artist and mystic Mona Boulware Webb (1914–1998), known as the “Goddess of Willy Street” in Madison. Just as her home became a place of community, this fellowship champions the spirit of its namesake by fostering a culture of inclusivity among artists and the university community.

Named after outsider artist and mystic Mona Boulware Webb (1914–1998), known as the “Goddess of Willy Street” in Madison. Just as her home became a place of community, this fellowship champions the spirit of its namesake by fostering a culture of inclusivity among artists and the university community.

This ten-month paid fellowship is dedicated to increasing diversity among young professionals in the museum field. The fellow will work closely with MOWA’s curatorial team planning and implementing exhibitions and programs to attract new audiences from historically underrepresented communities, such as LGBTQ and BIPOC. We may tailor specific projects to the individual fellow’s skills and interests. Compensation for the position includes $32,000 over a ten-month period and a full-time benefits package.

2022 and 2023 Recipient

Brianna Cole

“As the curatorial engagement fellow, I look forward to further immersing myself in the art world and welcoming an inclusive and diverse crowd of artists and art enthusiasts to engage with the MOWA community.”

–Brianna Cole

 

Illustrator and animator Brianna Cole graduated summa cum laude from Ball State University, where she received a BFA in animation with a minor in art history. She has actively involved herself in the local art community, working as the lead mural intern for the Martyrs of Injustice and Heroes of Protest 2020 project sponsored by MIAD and Milwaukee Lutheran High School and on several illustration projects for local creators.

Brianna’s art practice is a mix of traditional and digital illustration, producing whimsy pieces with a whisper of surrealism. Inspired by oddities and impossibilities, she hopes to inspire other women of color to pursue art and leave their mark.

2021 Recipient

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt

“From curating an exhibition to developing community programming, being the Curatorial Engagement Fellowship has been full of exciting and eye-opening opportunities—all in a gorgeous art museum.”

–Anwar Floyd-Pruitt

 

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt is an artist, educator, and puppeteer from Milwaukee. He has a BA in Psychology from Harvard University, a BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and an MFA (2020) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Chazen Museum of Art, Edgewood College, Mount Mary University, and MOWA recently hosted solo exhibitions of his collages, paintings, and abstract mixed-media self-portraits.

In addition to leading puppet-making workshops, Floyd-Pruitt writes and performs a family friendly singalong called Hip Hop Puppet Party. Most recently, he was awarded a grant from the Jane Henson Foundation to engage LGBTQIA+ youth in puppetry.

2018 Past Recipient

Chris Maddox

“Being in Luxembourg made me realize how life is different in societies with an ancient history. I couldn’t see cobblestones and not think, ‘wow, those are nine hundred years old!’ Thinking in terms of longer stretches of time and less about the day-to-day news cycle informed the work I did.”

–Chris Maddox

 

Chris Maddox’s Atlas Chronos reflects on world history and our present place in the ongoing story. In a second-hand bookstore near his Luxembourg studio, Maddox found antiquarian tomes on history and religion as well as contemporary newspapers and magazines. The disparate imagery blended in his mind and then on his canvases, discovering temporal links across art, architecture, religion, consumer goods, and economic symbols.

2015 Past Recipient

Lois Bielefeld

“For the first time, my art practice was front and center. Rather than juggling my full-time job—being a mom, being a partner, and making art—I had complete creative focus. Coupled with the invigorating experience of being in a new country, this residency was transformative.”

–Lois Bielefeld

 

Having grown up in an evangelical Christian household, Lois Bielefeld was struck that largely Catholic Luxembourg officially separated church and state just before her arrival. During her residency, Bielefeld created thirty portraits of parishioners, priests, nuns, monks, and church employees, accompanied by recorded interviews. The resulting exhibition, On Faith, blended photographs and interviews in a close look at contemporary religiosity.

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