For UWM alumna Geo Rutherford, October is a hectic month, when she races to create 31 days of social media content about what she calls “haunted hydrology.” Her videos explore the mysteries of water, from Great Lakes shipwrecks to Lake Natron in Tanzania, where the water is a caustic brine that calcifies creatures that land on its shores.
Brennen Steines (BFA 2018, Painting & Drawing) spent his early life hunting for rocks and exploring the terrain in northern Illinois. He carried that childhood interest in the natural world into adulthood, creating work focused on physical materials and the alchemical properties of painting. On October 7, the Yale graduate and prolific artist will reflect on his creative path during the Artists Now! Guest Lecture series.
UWM students are taking their work from the classroom to the big screen with the premiere of Heavy is the Crown at Milwaukee’s Oriental Theatre. The newest feature from Doc|UWM, a documentary media center based in UWM’s Department of Film, Video, Animation, & New Genres (FVANG), follows activist Vaun Mayes as he tours Milwaukee’s North Side and works with residents to inspire change. The film will debut as part of Milwaukee Film’s third annual Dialogues Documentary Festival.
Bay View’s historic Avalon Atmospheric Theatre hosted the Milwaukee International Short Film Festival September 11-12. Created by the Milwaukee Independent Film Society in 1994, the annual festival brought together filmmakers from across Wisconsin and beyond for two days of short films spanning drama, comedy, horror, and more. This year’s roster was chock-full of Peck School of the Arts faculty, alumni, and students who worked with local creatives to bring their short films to the silver screen.
Theatre alum Travis A. Knight makes his Broadway debut as James in “Paranormal Activity” at the August Wilson Theatre. Knight’s path to Broadway spans nearly two decades of professional theatre, and an unexpected journey with “Paranormal Activity” that began behind the scenes as an associate director before bringing him into the cast. He brings with him lessons learned from during his time at UWM.
Recent Jewelry & Metalsmithing graduate Grace Barden (BFA 2026, Studio Art) is the first apprentice jeweler to receive the Advanced Apprenticeship Graduate certification from Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America’s (MJSA) Mentor & Apprenticeship Program. Recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor, the program is designed to give students a chance to work with professional jewelers and have career-building experiences over the span of fifty weeks.
Just two years after earning her Master of Fine Arts in Dance at UWM, Molly Lieber is a Guggenheim Fellow. She was driving through New York City when she learned that she was selected. Her longtime collaborator Eleanor Smith called with news that they were chosen, together, from a pool of nearly 5,000 applicants. Lieber credits UWM’s low-residency graduate program with helping her better articulate the ideas behind her work.
Classical guitarist Leonela Alejandro is likely the program’s first alum to perform solo at the legendary venue, part of a tour launched after she won the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America competition.
The campus culture that UWM fosters leaves a lasting impression on students, so much so that many graduates may not want to leave. For alum Elora Hennessey (BFA 2017, Art), she didn’t need to. Hennessey has been a Staff Photographer for UWM’s Division of Marketing, Communications, and University Relations (MarComm) since graduating. Hennessey began working for UWM in 2016 as a student intern for MarComm. She was recommended by Joseph Mougel (Associate Professor and Area Head, Photography & Imaging), who helped her apply for the internship and eventual full-time role.
Springdances: We Also Bloom features new works by faculty choreographers Daniel Burkholder, Tiffany Kadani, Dan Schuchart, and Christal Wanger, alongside guest artist Karlies Kelley. Notably, all of this year’s choreographers—faculty and guest alike—are alumni of UWM, bringing a shared lineage of training to the stage. Ahead of performances, Kelley reflects on returning to her alma mater, collaborating with students, and shaping new work within a community that continues to influence her practice.
As one of the nation’s largest film festivals, cinephiles from all over are flocking to the 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival screenings and events. With a long history of talent emerging from the Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres, filmmakers with strong ties to the Peck School of the Arts are well represented in this year’s festival lineup.
As a child growing up in Wisconsin, Steve Teeple was drawn to fantasy worlds. Books, films, and comics filled with mysticism, science fiction, and manga sparked an early fascination that would later shape his creative career. Today, the UWM alum, known professionally as Teeps, is a Los Angeles-based digital artist working across the realm of 3D art. His practice spans character development, digital sculpting, concept art, illustration, art direction, production modeling and texturing, and 3D printing.
Kathryn Henry (BFA 2016, Music) received the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award presented by the UWM Alumni Association at the 2026 Alumni Awards Evening. The awards recognize remarkable standouts who make new waves in the lives of countless people every day.
Over the past 40 years, UW-Milwaukee alumni Mike Martino, Mike Sponholtz and Tom Queoff have carved blocks of snow into everything from mythical beasts to Mount Rushmore. As the members of Team USA, they’ve won awards worldwide, using their fine …
PSOA alum Evelyn Patricia Terry and lecturer and alum Yinan Wang were named among five recipients of the 2026 Mary L. Nohl Fellowship for Individual Artists. Terry was selected in the Established Artist category, and Wang was selected in the Emerging Artist category. FVANG Associate Professor Mike Gibisser was also named a finalist in the Emerging Artist category.
