These works are about not being left out, not being forgotten and not being left behind. It’s about how we all matter and about how we all belong.
To Yuliia Shevtsova, the American melting pot overflows with hope and optimism.
“Here there are so many cultures intertwined, with everyone living together,” said Shevtsova, a Milwaukee Area Technical College student who came to the United States from Ukraine nearly two years ago. “That represents my vision of America. I was inspired by that.”
A graphic designer and artist, Shevtsova created a ceramic tile display that features traditional patterns from 12 different nations — each tile unique, but together forming one harmonious work.
“I wanted to acknowledge and celebrate our differences,” said Shevtsova, whose piece, “The Tiles,” is on display in the lobby of the MATC Education Center at Walker’s Square. “The world is not utopia; no place is. But we need to respect and recognize each other.”
Shevtsova’s piece was one of 15 works chosen this year by the Community Art Committee to be displayed at the college’s campuses and Walker’s Square. The committee, students, faculty and staff celebrated the art and the artists August 28 at Walker’s Square.
“Art comes from our hearts,” MATC President Anthony Cruz, Ed.D., said at the event. “We appreciate what all these artists have done for the college, the students and the staff.”
Now in its fourth year, the committee selected works that celebrate and recognize our shared history and diversity, said Julie Ashlock, Ed.D., director of MATC’s Center for Teaching Excellence and co-chair of the college’s Community Arts Committee. The subjects of the paintings, photographs and pieces chosen include Black women, Native Americans and Hispanics.
“These works are about not being left out, not being forgotten and not being left behind,” Dr. Ashlock said. “It’s about how we all matter and about how we all belong.
“Our students, faculty, staff and community need to see representations of themselves, and of their lived experiences, when they step onto our campus,” Dr. Ashlock added. “Building the MATC Community Art Collection is an incredibly powerful way for us to support this feeling of inclusion and belonging.”
The selection committee requested proposals in November 2023, reviewed 57 submissions and selected 16 artists.
In addition to Shevtsova, the committee selected works from artists Kevin Boatright, Paul Bobrowitz, Zion Bullock, Melissa Dorn, Clarissa Friday, Sasha Kinens, Indie La Londe, Alison Lowry, Rosemary Ollison, Cierra Pleshette, Rozalia Hernandez Singh, Christian Sis, Herman Taylor, Gabrielle Tesfaye and AJ Weiland.
This year also marked the first art installed at Walker’s Square, which is located on West National Avenue in the heart of Milwaukee’s Hispanic/Latino/a community. Singh, who also produced art for the Oak Creek and Downtown Milwaukee campuses, created a 6-by-10-foot mural for the fourth floor at Walker’s Square.
“I’m very pleased with the outcome,” Singh said of the vibrant, colorful depiction of two heads intertwining to become one. “I feel overjoyed.”
Also at Walker’s Square are five color portraits featuring Native Americans from Wisconsin in their dance regalia, photographed by Friday, an enrolled member of the Forest Potawatomi tribe and a descendent of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
“People think we’re an extinct race, but we’re still here,” Friday said. “Representation matters.”
Seeing the pieces displayed at Walker’s Square had Paul Bobrowitz, whose sculpture is on display at the college’s Mequon Campus, thinking about revising his own work. “Everything is so colorful, so bright and so uplifting,” he said. “It makes me want to go out and paint my sculpture.”
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.