This Friday, MarKEt, a new nonprofit art group, will host their inaugural event MarKEt/FORWARD. From 1:45 p.m. to midnight in the Imperial Ballroom of The Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee art professionals will each lead a 40-minute talk followed by a 15-minute Q-and-A session.
Here are some of the artists set to make an appearance:
Niki Johnson: Johnson is the founder of MarKEt and currently finishing up her post as The Pfister Hotel’s Artist in Residence. At 9 p.m. she will reveal the legacy artwork piece she is donating to the hotel’s permanent collection. You may remember Johnson as the artist who in 2013 created a portrait of former Pope Benedict XVI using 17,000 condoms.
Reginald Baylor: Baylor was The Pfister’s first Artist in Residence in 2009. The experience inspired him to create Plaid Tuba, an open studio in the Third Ward that acts as a place for a collaboration of artists to work and exhibit their art. In this space, Baylor works on his colorful color-by-number style paintings.
Kayle Karbowski: Karbowski is MarKEt’s assistant director. She is set to graduate from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) this May. She is currently the lead coordinator for the Netherlands Gallery in the Milwaukee Fortress Building.
Paul Oemig: A food photographer, Oemig has worked for several clients, including Strauss Brands Inc., Kellogg Innovation Network and Bartolotta Restaurant Group. He also is a contributor for The American Society of Media Photographers’ blog Strictly Business.
Melissa Dorn Richards: A MIAD grad, Dorn Richards is an affiliate of Plaid Tuba. Her work can be found around the city in corporate collections including Tax-Air, Northwestern Mutual, Mandel Group and MIAD.
Jill Sebastian: Sebastian is a sculpture, with works in the Wisconsin Center, the Washington Heights neighborhood and along State Street in Madison. She is also a professor of sculpture at MIAD.
Mark Fairbanks, Cynthia Thomas, and Molly Dvora Rosenblum: The team of Translator, a digital experience, strategy and design company will make an appearance at the event to discuss the intersection of art and entrepreneurship.
Kat Murrell: Murrell teaches art history classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MIAD. She has written for Shepherd Express, Urban Milwaukee Dial and Wisconsin Gazette.
MarKEt/FORWARD (March 27). Imperial Ballroom. The Pfister Hotel. 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., 414-273-8222, mkemeetsart.org.
