Art MFA student Quanyi Zhao and Xiangming Mu, an associate professor in UWM’s School of Information Studies, were recognized as winners of the Beyonds Challenge 2026, an international competition organized by the Beyond Lab at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Connecting jewelry and metalsmithing students with professional opportunities before graduation benefits both emerging artists and employers. UWM Jewelry & Metalsmithing is at the forefront of these efforts, and faculty member Erica Meier was recently quoted in a national publication encouraging manufacturers to build relationships with students early to help develop the industry’s future workforce.
Artist and content creator Geo Rutherford (MFA 2021, Art) traveled deep into the Peruvian Amazon to explore Shanay-Timpishka, also known as the Boiling River, for the latest season of her popular TikTok series, Spooky Lake Month.
UWM Theatre junior Sophie Kaegi plays the bubbly June in Skylight Music Theatre’s production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable. Inspired by the memoir of burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee, the classic musical explores the complicated relationships between an ambitious stage mother and her daughters.
College of the Arts & Architecture Dean Winifred Elysse Newman is helping bring new life to the historic Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, encouraging a restoration approach that draws inspiration from the building’s original character.
DiMonte Henning, who studied at UWM’s Department of Theatre, is a Milwaukee-based actor and director who has spent more than a decade in the theatre scene. The Cream City native is set to open the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s 2026 performance season by starring in “A Gift of the Magi” and closing the programming year by directing “Skeleton Crew”.
The world premiere of Heavy Is the Crown, a documentary directed by faculty member Sean Kafer and produced by UWM students, drew wide media coverage ahead of its September screening at the Oriental Theatre during Milwaukee Film’s Dialogues Documentary Festival.
Daniel Petry, a longtime Milwaukee arts administrator who played a key role in the creation of UWM’s Jan Serr Studio, died in August at age 71. During a career spanning several Milwaukee arts organizations, Petry worked at the Peck School of the Arts and Present Music, among others.
Alum Julia Bradfish is in her second year as artist-in-residence at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel, where her abstract works intrigue hotel visitors with eye-catching colors and bold shapes.
MovieMaker Magazine has named the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee one of the best film schools in the U.S. and Canada for 2026. The annual 30 Best Film Schools list highlights programs that offer students strong preparation for a changing industry while helping emerging filmmakers develop their craft and creative perspectives.
Former Peck School of the Arts film lecturer and graduate program director Cecelia Condit is a pillar of the analog horror genre and has been a player in the indie film scene since the ‘80s. After her 1983 short film Possibly in Michigan went viral on social media in the mid-to-late 2010s, Condit gained newfound recognition for her influence on the genre.
Alum Fred Kaems is among the artists responsible for a new movement that strives to create murals across Milwaukee.
Film lecturer Emily Downes is preparing to open Magic Hands Creative Reuse, a community-driven secondhand supply shop that gives new life to old art supplies.
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.
Alum Julia Bradfish (BFA 2023, Studio Art) is the Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel’s first back-to-back artist in residence. Having begun her residency in September 2025, Bradfish will continue the role through 2026.
