Building the MATC Community Art Collection is an incredibly powerful way for us to support a feeling of inclusion and belonging.
The inspiration and imagination of 16 community artists will grace the walls of Milwaukee Area Technical College this summer — the fifth year in a row that the college has invited local artists to compete for the honor of providing works to beautify its interiors.
The college’s Community Arts Committee recently selected 16 artists to complete projects and have their work installed at all of the college’s campuses in 2025.
The artists include MATC students, alumni and community members. One of the other artists selected is MC Winston, who is currently incarcerated at Fox Lake Correctional Institution. It’s the first time an incarcerated artist has been selected by the college, said Julie Ashlock, Ed.D., director of MATC’s Center for Teaching Excellence and co-chair of the college’s Community Arts Committee.
The committee received 33 submissions, said Melissa Hartley Omholt, co-chair of the committee and lead faculty for the college’s Art department.
Artists chosen were:
Local artists: Paul Bobrowitz, Terrell Morgan, Adjua Nsoroma, Ammar Nsoroma, Herman Taylor, Jaymee Harvey Willms
MATC students: Aidan D’Acquisto, Grace Moll, Crystal Montgomery, Cierra Pleshette, Brianna Stehling Santacruz
MATC alumni: Stephanie Bartz, Pamela Graham, Sasha Kinens, Della Wells
Pell Grant student: MC Winston
Winston is represented by the Milwaukee-based Portrait Society Gallery, a contemporary art gallery established in 2008 that showcases predominantly regional artists who cross boundaries of economics, gender and race.
Winston creates tiny acrylic paintings of landscapes, buildings, and abstract color fields, most of them no larger than 2 by 2.5 inches. He also crafts miniature houses out of paper, food boxes and paint.
The artists are expected to complete their works during the summer, Hartley Omholt said, and the college plans to begin installations in early August.
For five years, the Community Art Collection has encouraged local artists to celebrate and recognize their shared history and diversity through art, Dr. Ashlock said.
“Our students, faculty, staff and community need to see representations of themselves, and of their lived experiences, when they step onto our campus,” she said. “Building the MATC Community Art Collection is an incredibly powerful way for us to support a feeling of inclusion and belonging.”
Read more about the Community Art Collection at MATC:
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.