Now Presenting
Saint Kate’s Artist in Residence


Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel in downtown Milwaukee is among the first hotels to broadly celebrate the arts in its many forms – from painting and sculpture to music, poetry, and performing arts. To further our connection and support of the arts, Saint Kate is proud to announce its Artist in Residence program.

The residency is an opportunity available once per year for artists working in any genre or medium in the Midwest. The program supports artists by providing studio space, a stipend, consistent access to the Saint Kate Curator, and networking opportunities. The structure of The Artist in Residence program and the artist’s duties reflect the core values of Saint Kate: Creativity, Curiosity, Community, Collaboration, and Common Ground.

The Current Artist in Residence

JULIA BRADFISH

Julia Bradfish is a Milwaukee-based painter originally from central Wisconsin. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 2023, where she received multiple competitive scholarships, including the Laurence Rathsack Art Scholarship.

After receiving her BFA, she has had the opportunity to exhibit in venues across the country. Bradfish also participated in the Bridge Work 09 artist-in-residence cohort through the Plum Blossom Initiative, an opportunity reserved for promising emerging artists. In addition, she is actively involved in arts education and community outreach through mentorship programs and ongoing conversations with local universities.

Bradfish is excited to continue hosting her studio practice at Saint Kate for a second year, as the first artist granted the opportunity to extend her residency. She is also looking forward to managing operations for a new local art-handling business, Handlers with Feelings. Through her work, she hopes to further uplift Milwaukee’s local art community and build meaningful connections with fellow creatives and visiting guests from her studio.

Email: juliabradfish@gmail.com
Website: juliabradfish.com
Instagram:@juliabradfish_art

Saintkate Arts

"At its core, my work is about finding a balance between control and accident, and letting that tension shape the final piece. I look forward to all of the connections that will be made during my time at Saint Kate and how each conversation and each fragment of information will build into my art practice just as each element in a collage culminates into a dynamic environment".

Julia Bradfish

Join Us

AIR Time: Art & Studio Tour

Join Artist in Residence Julia Bradfish for a cocktail and tour of the Saint Kate permanent collection, feature exhibitions, and her residency space.

Julia will guide you through the public spaces of Saint Kate to view and discuss diverse works of art as part of our Seed Collection and rotating feature exhibitions. The tour will then culminate in the Artist in Residence Studio, where you will be invited to experience her practice.

Saturdays
5:00-6:00 PM

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On the second Saturday of each month, alongside Curator in Residence Shane McAdams, Julia also offers a special Portrait Drawing Class. Each exclusive session—limited to just 12 guests—begins with a blind contour warm-up followed by a creative partner-drawing activity.

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Saintkate Arts
RECALLING
Past Artists in Residence

THE THIRD ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

MEGAN WOODARD JOHNSON

2024-2025

Megan Woodard Johnson is a mixed-media abstract artist, inspired by how accumulated everyday experiences create our personal histories. Her abstract work explores memory and nostalgia and is imbued with the joy found in discovering that we often share common memories with apparent strangers.

By combining vintage paper ephemera, paint, various drawing media, and found objects, Johnson creates heavily layered mixed media paintings with bold color, strong composition, and rich detail.

WEBSITE

Saintkate Arts

THE SECOND ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

ANWAR FLOYD-PRUITT

2023-2024

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt was an artist, curator, and puppeteer from Milwaukee, WI. He held a BA in Psychology from Harvard University (2000), a BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (2017), and an MFA (2020) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Chazen Museum of Art, Edgewood College, Mount Mary University, and the Museum of Wisconsin Art have hosted solo exhibitions of his collages, paintings, and abstract mixed-media self-portraits.

In addition to leading puppet-making workshops, Floyd-Pruitt wrote and performed a family-friendly sing-along called Hip Hop Puppet Party and was awarded a grant from the Jane Henson Foundation to engage youth in puppetry. Anwar held the position of Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Wisconsin Art and maintained a studio at the House of RAD (Resident Artist Doers) in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood.

WEBSITE

VIDEO

Saintkate Arts

THE FIRST ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

JEFF ZIMPEL

2022-2023

Get to know Saint Kate's inaugural Artist in Residence.

Jeff Zimpel is an interdisciplinary artist whose art practice promotes the importance of life-long learning through an exploration of mark-making and an interrogation of the space where painting and photography meet. He develops site-specific installations and invites creative participation based on these art experiences.

WEBSITE

VIDEO

Saintkate Arts