Anika Kowalik

About

b. 1995   —   Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs Anika Kowalik boar roots in Milwaukee, WI and completed a BFA in Printmaking at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2017. Kowalik’s current practice channels personal experiences as a young black femme to explore the depths of institutionalized racist ideology, ancestry and the coming of age to create works that record their own history. As a person who is apart of a marginalized group, it is vital to unpack the truth through many facets of documentation. Kowalik finds it easier to communicate these personal experiences through materiality, expanding beyond the physical body we commonly search for. Kowalik recently completed their first Artist-In-Residence at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in April 2021. They like to keep things relative by immersing themselves in areas of other interest such as social politics, history and grassroots organizing. Some accomplishments include...Magik Wand Making Workshop (2021); MKE Seen: Floral Installation Neighborhood Project (2020); How to Be an Ally to BIPOC/QBIPOC presentation and workshop at Milwaukee Art Museum (2019); Project COZY Workshop at Woodland Pattern and Book Center (2018); Artist Curator and Juror at Riverwest FemFest (2016-2017).