For Immediate Release
Sheboygan, Wisconsin – In collaboration with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC), Artdose is pleased to announce the 2024 Midsummer Arts Festival Emerging Artists. They are Amal Azzam, Geornica Daniels, Gabriela Marván, and Fernando Rico. In addition, Liala Amin, Nehemiah R. Edwards, and Sonia Vasquez return as mentors.
The idea of the Emerging Artists Program was sparked by Frank Juárez’s observations during a Midsummer Festival of the Arts a few years back. These observations were shared with Ann Brusky, Deputy Director of Programming. This led to a conversation (February 2023), which resulted in collaborative efforts to create an emerging artists program aimed at supporting the artistic and professional needs of BIPOC Wisconsin emerging artists. Approaching this idea with an open mind and listening to the needs of emerging artists guided us in developing a significant and impactful program that introduces new art experiences, programming, and a few business of art strategies that can help build another layer to their art careers.
Emerging and mentor artists’ artworks will be on exhibit inside the JMKAC’s Matrix. Works will range from paintings to installation, sculpture to photography, and drawings to mixed media works. All artworks will be for sale unless otherwise noted.
“I have enjoyed working with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in organizing and facilitating this type of educational programming to a new roster of BIPOC artists that have embraced new opportunities for personal, professional, and artistic growth.” – Frank Juárez, publisher.
Emerging artists getting a tour of the exhibitions, grounds, and meeting arts/industry artist, Justin Favela.
Emerging Artists
Amal Azzam | Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“I’m excited to learn all that I can and look forward to expanding my horizons with artists and art supporters outside of the Greater Milwaukee Area. “ – Amal Azzam
Amal Azzam is a daughter of Palestinian refugees, a Muslim woman and first generation American living in the Midwest. Her work reflects the layers of trauma, freedom and misconceptions she carries within her identity. She invites the viewer with the use of playful colors, a predominant use of pink and abstracted shapes. Amal also experiments with wearables, found objects and performance photography to express her ideas on the inner struggles of her identity.
Amal possesses over five years of experience within the nonprofit sector. With a strong background in Graphic Design, she has held positions in diverse nonprofit organizations, including those focused on political nonpartisan work, arts advocacy, and refugee resettlement efforts. Additionally, Amal co-founded Fanana Banana, an influential arts movement in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The initiative is committed to establishing inclusive art spaces specifically tailored for Muslim, Middle Eastern and North African (MENA), marginalized and underserved artists.
About the images
“Ups and Downs” – A painted canvas with block printing happy and sad faces. It was created in the summer of 2020, in the midst of Covid and at a point in time when most people believed all would be over by then.
“Resist! Exist!” – American flag with Keffiyah stitched lettering. As an American born Palestinian, resistance means many things, to me, resistance means safeguarding our cultural essence—our language, cuisine, and heritage—as a means to counter assimilation and uphold my roots.
“Amal the Artist” – As a Muslim Middle Eastern woman, I often felt as though my future was predetermined. The expectations of fulfilling the roles of a good daughter, wife, and mother have dominated the conversations of my life, leaving little space for my identity as an artist. These unspoken boundaries have fueled doubts and uncertainties regarding my claim to the title of “artist.” During my painting sessions, I placed a white sheet underneath my art, allowing various mediums to stain and leave their marks on it. It was through this process that I was able to create the hijab prayer garment depicted in the images, symbolizing a claim to my identity.
“Identities” – The identity of being a Muslim, Palestinian American is difficult to visually represent. There are roles and expectations to fulfill based on culture, politics and religion. The roles often clash if they are not balanced with caution. As I stand between red and green street lights, I embody the struggle of when to express myself and when to hold back.
“Middle Eastern Identity 3” – Most of my paintings contain minimal abstracted shapes to represent the emotions of standing out as a Middle Eastern person in the American lifestyle.
Geornica Daniels | Cedarburg, Wisconsin
“I am so excited for the opportunity to share my voice and art. I want black and brown children, including my own, to know that the lives they dream of, especially in the arts, are achievable. It’s never too late to make a change. Opportunities to be recognized and heard as an artist of color are scarce. I feel incredibly grateful.” – Geornica Daniels
My wish is for perfect memories and the vessels to hold them. But this is impossible. I want to encapsulate and arrest the essence of my memories, but the fragile materials, such as paper, beeswax, floral foam, acrylic, and found objects, reveal the fragility and malleability of our memory and its often-fleeting nature. My sculptures often undergo a metamorphosis from pliable and moist states to structured and rigid forms, embodying the tension between the instinct to safeguard and the admittance of limitations within all relationships.
Geornica Daniels is an interdisciplinary artist working in sculpture and site-specific installation. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, she currently lives in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Her recent work explores the embedded histories of found objects and the portrayal of memory in three dimensions: what memory looks like and how we reshape those thoughts in attempts to suppress or control our memories.
She received her BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2023 and is currently a graduate student pursuing her MFA in sculpture at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has exhibited regionally at galleries such as Brook Stevens Gallery Milwaukee, Between Two Galleries Milwaukee, Grey Area Milwaukee, Kenilworth Square East Gallery Milwaukee, and Var Gallery Milwaukee. Geornica is an Advanced Opportunity Program Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and plans to expand her studio practice while continuing her studies.
Gabriela Marván | Viroqua, Wisconsin
“I’m eager to engage with other Fellows and the public, sharing the transformative process of translating ideas into tangible 3D sculptures. Drawing from my cultural heritage and lifelong experiences, I look forward to illustrating how these elements shape my artistic practice, offering insights into both cultural and naturally inspired representations. I’m also excited about the opportunity to explore diverse perspectives and artwork from fellow participants.” – Gabriela Marván
Photo: Hanna Agar Photography
Gabriela Jiménez Marván (Gabriela Marván) is a Mexican-born sculptor working with recycled and natural materials. Her artwork combines cartonería techniques (cardboard, recycled paper, and flour paste) with natural elements like willow, reed, and corn husks. Her sculptures explore themes of nature and cultural identity. She is currently creating sculptures that symbolize the duality of life and our connection to the land. Nature serves as her primary inspiration, captured through photography to inform my artistic patterns. One of the reasons she loves working in this medium is that it continues to strengthen her deep connection to her Mexican heritage. In collaboration with her husband, she is developing a significant sculpture for a local farm in the Driftless Area, aiming to integrate art with the natural landscape.
Gabriela Marván is a sculptor originally from Mexico, living in Viroqua, WI since 2019. Having a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and a specialty in Media Design she started studying sculpture in 2016, under a traditional cartonera (similar to paper maché) artist and a contemporary sculptor (Flor Molina) from Cuernavaca. Gabriela’s style fusions both, traditional techniques and a contemporary and experimental touch on her colorful and expressive pieces. She is the co-founder and director of the Mexican Folk Art Collective.
Fernando Rico | Madison, Wisconsin
“Art is an obligation we have towards others; it is something that does not belong to us and that we have the duty to externalize, because art is light for humanity”. This was said by the Colombian writer Fernando González, and I can only subscribe to his words.
A recent trip to my hometown Medellín, Colombia, has become an inspiration to my work capturing the green color of the exuberant Colombian nature into my paintings. Although my background is in graphic design, I approach my studio practice in a deliberately anarchic way. I have always been passionate about images and color.
Fernando Rico (b. 1974 – Medellín – Colombia) is a Latin American artist residing in Madison, Wisconsin. He primarily paints alternating between oil and acrylic, placing special emphasis on chance as a guiding element in his work. He trained as a graphic designer, which means that color and image have been present in his life and in his work. He continues working, discovering, desiring and painting.
Mentors
Liala Amin | Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Artist Info
“In this year’s emerging artist program, I am again looking forward to connecting with the other artists and building fruitful creative connections. It is an honor to be able to share my growth as an artist and continue expanding creatively.” – Liala Amin
“In your light, I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.” – Rumi
At its core, art is a visual journal of documentation and discovery. Utilizing art as a tool to explore her identity, Liala narrates and expresses themes of faith, spirituality, and symbolism through figurative allegories. She finds inspiration in all facets of life; symbols, the deepest emotions, and faith practices. Working intuitively, Liala rarely starts work with a definitive plan, rather trusting the process to create a free flow of patterns, colors, and imagery. It is within this process she finds a union of creativity and transformation.
Liala Amin is a multidisciplinary artist living and working out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her work focuses on themes of faith, spirituality, personal identity, and symbolism.
Flowing between mediums to explore the intuitive process of art making, Amin’s work includes mixed media paintings, drawings, and textiles. She views her practice as healing, emphasizing art as an outlet to express personal narratives. Through her work and experiences in creative arts education, Amin has emphasized the medicinal nature of art and the self-discovery it opens. She is an advocate for accessible and equal opportunity within the arts and it is a lifelong passion of hers to share creativity with others.
Amin’s work has been displayed in Midwest galleries and exhibitions and has received features in several publications. She is a current Artist in Residence at Var Gallery in Milwaukee
Amin graduated from the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2014 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Fibers and Alverno College in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy.
Nehemiah R. Edwards | Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“I am most excited about helping the new cohort of emerging artists to have a successful MFA weekend! I also look forward to simply being present and connecting with the people in attendance. Whenever I get the opportunity to share my art with others and engage in dialogue about why I create what I create, some of the most memorable and meaningful conversations take place.” – Nehemiah R. Edwards.
Love is the answer. Love is the ultimate and final answer. It is the sole solution to the challenges we face as humans. This is because the very essence of what we all are, is Love. That is why Love is our deepest desire. We crave it because we are it.
If we reject Love, we reject the fabric of our being. When we choose not to showcase Love, we go against our own nature. When we resist our nature, we invite dissension into our lives. When we have dissension in our lives, we are not at peace within ourselves. And because we desire for others to feel how we feel, we choose to disrupt the peace inside of others.
For this reason, it is of the utmost importance that we understand the true characteristics of Love. This is why I create the art that I create. We are all in search of our inner peace, and my objective is to help people find that peace within themselves.
Love yourself. Love others. Love always. It is what matters most and the key to your desired life.
Nehemiah R. Edwards, also known by his moniker, Nemo, is a contemporary artist based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Having studied electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Nehemiah is self-taught in painting and digital art.
With a unique expressionistic style, Nehemiah’s playful iconography of angel and demon characters showcases the complex relationship between our morality and vices. His works are imbued with a sense of whimsy and humor, inviting viewers to reflect on their own inner struggles and the human condition.
His ultimate goal is to educate and assist others in knowing what it means to experience true Love and to find inner peace — despite one’s circumstances. He believes that art has the power to transform lives and seeks to use his talent to make a positive impact in the world.
Nehemiah’s works have been featured in numerous exhibitions, including at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel and Trout Museum of Art, and has collaborated on projects with major institutions such as the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC), Aurora Health Care, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and the City of Milwaukee. He was also selected as a grant recipient for the gener8tor x Sherman Phoenix spring 2023 cohort, as well as the inaugural emerging artist program at JMKAC.
Nehemiah has gained a strong following of collectors and admirers, and his dedication to his craft and passion for uplifting others through art make him a rising star in the contemporary art world.
Sonia Vasquez | Manitowoc, Wisconsin
“I’m thrilled to be returning to Midsummer Festival of the Arts for a second year. I love being able to meet and chat with all the people that attend!” – Sonia Vasquez
My paintings intersect traditional techniques with contemporary concepts. My work is influenced by romanticism, religious iconography, queer studies, and 19th century academic painting. Each piece becomes part of greater narrative world-building that connects my bodies of work. My paintings are often small and paired with vintage and antique frames.
Sonia Vasquez is an oil painter based in Manitowoc, WI. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts and went on to study with several classically trained artists. She currently works as an artist and is the Lead Art Instructor at the Rahr-West Art Museum.
About Artdose Magazine
Founded in 2013, Artdose Magazine LLC is an independent print and digital art magazine based in Wisconsin committed to connecting and supporting the visual arts in the Midwest. Published by Frank Juárez, the magazine is premised on the belief that we all share common goals of introducing, engaging, educating, and offering diverse art experiences. In 2023, our journey expanded to include the following states: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
About the John Michael Kohler Arts Center
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC), located north of Milwaukee in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is known for promoting the understanding and appreciation of the work of self-taught and contemporary artists through exhibitions and commissioned works of art.
Founded in 1967, JMKAC has preserved, studied, and exhibited artist-built environments, earning a worldwide reputation. Art environments involve an individual significantly transforming their surroundings into an exceptional, multifaceted work of art.
The Arts Center’s downtown Sheboygan facility includes eight galleries, two performance spaces, a café, a museum shop, and a drop-in art-making studio. Among its program offerings are community arts projects; artist residencies; presentations of dance, film, and music; a free weekly summer concert series; classes and workshops; an onsite arts-based preschool; and approximately twelve original exhibitions of the work of self-taught and contemporary artists annually. JMKAC also administers the renowned Arts/Industry residency program, which is hosted by Kohler Co.
Source: jmkac.org
If you go:
Friday, July 19, 5 – 7 pm
Emerging Artists’ Art Talks
Paradigm Music & Coffee, 1202 N 8th Street, Sheboygan, WI 53081
FREE
Saturday, July 20, 10 am – 5 pm
Midsummer Festival of the Arts Emerging Artists Program (artists located in the Matrix)
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 608 New York Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 53081
FREE
Sunday, July 21, 10 am – 4 pm
Midsummer Festival of the Arts Emerging Artists Program (artists located in the Matrix)
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 608 New York Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 53081
FREE
Click here to read about the 2023 Emerging Artists Program Cohort.