Phoenix S. Brown is a Milwaukee-based interdisciplinary artist and musician. Originally from Cincinnati, she earned her BFA from MIAD with a minor in art history. Her work has been featured in solo shows at Hawthorn Contemporary, Wright Museum of Art, and Trout Museum of Art.

Interdisciplinary artist, curator, and educator Jeff Zimpel composes site-specific installations, inviting creative participation from those who encounter his Living Studio. Zimpel taught art and design at the secondary level and now engages college students throughout the Midwest. Currently, he works with Arts @ Large as Artist in Residence Curator, and just completed his second book, Feed the Muse (September 2025).

Geo Rutherford is a Wisconsin-based artist known for her work on the Great Lakes. Her “Spooky Lakes” TikTok series, launched in 2020, gained viral popularity. With over 1.8 million followers, she’s praised by educators and parents for inspiring kids to explore science, history, and the environment.

Sarah Ballard is a filmmaker and educator who’s practice fuses personal narratives with historical research to address broader structural inequalities based on gender and class. Ballard teaches at UWM and is a recipient of the 2025 Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists.

Ceci Tejeda’s family roots are from Michoacán, Mexico, which is why she has Purepecha blood in her veins. Ever since she was a young girl, she’s admired her culture. She creates Alebrijes made of “cartoneria,” a unique and traditional papier-mâché technique from Mexico City. Tejeda also creates large-sized pieces that support various social justice movements and activism using the same method.