The 2024 Milwaukee Film Festival is underway, and Peck School of the Arts has a lot to be proud of. Nineteen alumni and a current MFA candidate will have their work screened across 15 unique works, including shorts, features, and music videos. The PSOA community of artists is excited to highlight the incredible work screening at this year’s festival. Check out the impressive list of films and filmmakers with strong ties to PSOA.
UWM alum Jeremy Novy was recently featured in a comprehensive piece by CBS 58. Novy is best known as the artist behind the black, white, and orange koi fish that get painted throughout city sidewalks, starting in Milwaukee but now branching all around the world. The idea came to Novy following a study abroad trip to China that he took while studying at Peck School of the Arts.
Two Peck School of the Arts alumni were chosen for the Milwaukee Business Journal’s annual “40 Under 40” awards, which honors Milwaukee’s brightest young leaders and professionals. Both leveraged their arts education to pursue unique careers. Nathan Zimmerman ’13 is the founder and owner of ZimKnives, a business that focuses on making prestige precision knives, swords and other metal tools and implements. Meagan Johnson ’09 is the founder and executive director of Milwaukee Diaper Mission.
Jeanette Arellano, an alum of UWM’s ArtsECO program, uses art in her classroom to make a difference in the Milwaukee community. Recently, the National Education Association award Arellano with their César Chávez Acción y Compromiso Human and Civil Rights Award. The award acknowledges her for embodying the spirit of César Chávez and making “noble contributions to the labor movement through commitment, action, negotiation, and art.”
The Peck School of the Arts is represented exceptionally well among this year’s Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships. Four of the five recipients are PSOA alums, marking an incredible occasion for UWM and some of its most talented graduates. The …
The world of independent film in Milwaukee is expanding with the Milwaukee Illuminate Film Festival, a new event spearheaded by festival director and Peck School graduate Amber McNeill (BFA 2023, Film). McNeill, who is also lead programmer, is joined by fellow PSOA alum Zoe Lufman (BFA 2023, Film), who serves as operations manager and programmer. McNeill and Lufman met at UWM during their senior-year film course and immediately embraced their commonalities.
In Milwaukee’s recent World Premiere of The Forgotten Girl, production design is more important than ever. Viewers are immersed in the world of the main characters Iris and Daniel as they discover the abandoned grave of a girl in their grade and begin interacting with her ghost. Scenic designer Amaya Rockett (BFA 2022, Theatre Production) is the one responsible for creating the world where these features come to life.
Ellie Cotey is a talented costume manager, currently showcasing her talent at Joffrey Ballet. Her journey began with a childhood passion for sewing, a passion that eventually led her to pursue a degree at PSOA.
From current graduate students to esteemed alumni and faculty members, the Peck School of the Arts Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres was well represented on the international film festival circuit this Fall. We’re excited to showcase the achievements of some of our very own who are currently screening their works across the globe.
Allison Calteux (MFA 2023, Art) has been receiving attention for her recent photography project Remnants // relics // remembrance. The impressive body of work examines her family archives through self-portraits and still-life interactions with books, jewelry, and images, creating representations of her ancestors. Calteux is now a lecturer in photography and imaging lecturer at PSOA.
