Please save the date!
On Wednesday March 12th at 3 P.M. inside the in the Plenary Room at Grainger Hall (975 University Avenue), arts entrepreneurship connect! The Bolz Center for Arts Administration in partnership with Division of the Arts hosts the event where finalists present their proposals in front of judges and an audience. The student-entrepreneurs compete for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes, in the amount of $2000, $1000, and $500 respectively.
Immediately following the event, please join us for a casual reception where you can chat with the finalists, guests judges, faculty, students and staff, as well as learn more about the Bolz Center and the interdisciplinary practice of arts business!



















The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arts Business Competition encourages new thinking and innovative ideas. The campus-wide competition provides support for student-driven projects. Entrants develop and submit a detailed proposal for an arts event, exhibition, performance series, commercial venture, or other artistic project.
LunART Festival gained invaluable experience from participating in the Arts Business Competition! Besides receiving a strong financial foundation necessary for the realization of the project and meeting inspirational and creative peers, working with judges as leaders in the community helped us gain a better understanding of the industry and its best practices, refine our goals, and expand our reach in the community. Thank you for helping us make our dream a reality!
Iva Ugrcic of LunART Festival, 2018 ABC Finalist
Previous Finalists
Below is a list of finalists from previous years. Many projects have been successful! Some finalists’ successful applications are available for use as reference for future applicants.
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2024 Finalists
1st Prize
Tufting with Tony
Tufting refers to a textile process in which a threaded needle pierces through a fabric to create loops or piles. Through social media platforms, artists showcase their tufted creations, share their processes, and connect with a global audience, thus allowing for significant growth in awareness and appreciation in the United States. Tony Sansalone has partnered with Wheelhouse Studios in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Union, with the intention to host and promote classes and workshops in the spring of 2024.
2nd Prize
Cornhusk Collective
Cornhusk Collective -founded by Giselle Oliva with guidance and support from Amber Cornelius- is an artist collective that supports artists, strengthens cultural ties, and contributes to the healing and vitality of The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Artists practicing traditional, hybrid, and contemporary art forms come together to
create. They connect in shared spaces to build community through art and design
opportunities that benefit the collective and community.
3rd Prize
Madison Gamer Symphony Orchestra
The Madison Gamer Symphony Orchestra (MGSO) is an innovative initiative to rejuvenate symphonic music and bridge generational gaps through the transformative beauty of video game soundtracks performed by a professional symphony orchestra. Founded as a doctoral project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by Ben Carlee, MGSO aims to captivate diverse audiences with exceptional orchestral renditions of beloved gaming compositions.
2023 Finalists
1st Prize
The Big Gay Market – Oliver DiPietro, MA student, Gender & Women’s Studies with a Certificate in Leadership and Ashley Shaw Adams, freelance artist
The Big Gay Market, an organization that focuses on hosting accessible and inclusive LGBTQ+ friendly markets in the Madison area, organizes quarterly markets that feature LGBTQ+ makers and allies in a safe, accessible, and comfortable space for everyone.
2nd Prize
Dane County Artist Directory –Augusta Brulla, MA student, Arts and Creative Enterprise Leadership
The Dane County Artist Directory is a user-friendly comprehensive online directory of Dane County’s visual artists, which will break down barriers to connection by providing an easy and affordable way to connect with local visual artists.
3rd Prize
Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival – Sahada Buckley, Master of Music student, Violin Performance and Trace Johnson, Doctoral of Musical Arts student, Cello Performance
The Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival is a professional chamber music series in Fairhope, Alabama that will inspire community involvement in contemporary and classical chamber music at every socioeconomic level by making all festival performances free of charge.
Emerging Artist Awards
CraftingGreen – Isabella Heller de Messer, undergraduate, International Business and Marketing with a Certificate in 3D Studio Design with an emphasis in ceramics
CraftingGreen is an in-person series of ceramic workshops for refugee and immigrant students across the Milwaukee and Madison cities that explore creativity through the expression of identity, experiences, and culture.
OhlyProps – Jack Ohly, undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering and Communication Arts: Radio, Television, & Film
Moving creating replica film props from a hobby to a for-hire prop shop in Madison, Wisconsin.
2022 Finalists
1st Prize
Mocha Books – Kyla Pollard, BA, Radio, Television and Film
Mocha Books is a project dedicated to bringing visibility to the lives and stories of Black youth by partnering with schools and organizations to distribute blank books to students to write and publish their autobiographies.
2nd Prize
The Mycological Menagerie – Savannah Gentry, Ph.D. candidate, Botany Nora Dunkirk, Ph.D. candidate, Botany, Naamon Peyton, BS, Microbiology
The Mycological Menagerie is a multi-media art exhibition aimed to support the understanding of fungi in the eyes of the public by demonstrating how fungi unites us all.
3rd Prize
Unframed – Logan Butson, MBA candidate, Marketing Analytics and Insights
Unframed aims to tell the stories and cultural awareness of the underrepresented in the world through their artwork.
Emerging Artist Awards
Flow Project Gallery – Julia Buskirk, BA, Journalism | Conservation Biology, Alexandra Lakind, Ph.D. candidate – Environment and Resources | Curriculum and Instruction, Anna Heinen, BFA, Art | Environmental Studies
The Flow Project Gallery brings Wisconsin’s water issues to the forefront through art by connecting UW student artists with water professionals across the state.
Your African Quest – Joel Baraka, BS, Civil Engineering, Anson Liow, MS, Civil Engineering
Your African Quest is a board game (8 years-old and above) aiming to satisfy the curiosity and knowledge about the diversity in Africa through different categories including countries and cities, food, nature, people and cultures.
2021 Finalists
1st Prize & Audience Choice
Trade Winds Ensemble – Midori Samson, Doctor of Musical Arts, Music: Performance
Trade Winds Ensemble is a group of teaching artists who offer music composition workshops for children in partnership with social impact organizations worldwide. They create innovative curricula, which integrates music and social work principles.
2nd Prize
Atelier Unlimited – James Harrington, Doctor of Musical Arts, Music: Performance
Atelier Unlimited is a creative agency dedicated to equipping artists with the information and skills required to evolve their artistry, expand their influence and create unique productions in live and virtual spaces.
3rd Prize
(Hi)Storytellers Breaking Borders – Grace Pimentel Simbulan, M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies, Gioconda Coello, Ph.D., Curriculum and Instruction, and Kassim Hussein Rajab, Congolese leader of Madison Refugee Union
(Hi)Storytellers Breaking Borders is a space for the reflective art of five African refugees who discuss the concerns and beauty of the worlds they make in diaspora. Their stories include photography, voice recordings and creative writing and will be curated in a virtual gallery.
2019 Finalists
1st Prize
Emeka – Tiffany Ike – B.A. Communication Arts and Certificate in Leadership (May 2019)
An online multimedia quarterly literary magazine that celebrates storytelling by women of color. Four written submissions will be reinterpreted through photography and one submission will be adapted into a film.
2nd Prize
Clay It By Ear – Johnny Yan – B.S. Mechanical Engineering and Certificate in Studio Art (May 2019)
An interactive exhibition featuring functional musical instruments made out of ceramics. Exhibition goers will have the opportunity to interact and play the instruments.
3rd Prize
I Am Here – Emily Her – B.B.A. Marketing and Certificate in Asian American Studies (May 2021) and Katie Chong – B.B.A. Finance and Certificate in Spanish and Development Economics (May 2021)
A brand that creates original designs to facilitate discussions about problems that marginalized groups within the U.S. face and to help ease tensions between different communities.
2018 Finalists
1st Prize
Gaining STEAM! – Khoa A. Tran, Bayleigh E. Benner, and Holly Walter Kirby
A project teaching scientists how to convey their research through stories, including through comics. Additional participants will include graduate students and community artists.
2nd Prize
LunART Festival – Dr. Iva Urgcic, Kyle Johnson, and Satoko Hayami
LunART Festival’s mission is to support, inspire, promote, and celebrate women in the arts through public performances, exhibitions, workshops, and interdisciplinary collaboration as they navigate gender imbalance in artistic fields. There will be over 30 individuals involved in planning and performing in the festival held in Madison in late June 2018.
3rd Prize
OFF THE WALL – Simone Doing and Max Puchalsky
OFF THE WALL is a nighttime, outdoor screening series of contemporary video art from a wide range of artists at various points in their careers, shown in Madison in August 2018.
2017 Finalists

1st Prize
Art En Route – Yusi Liu and Alexandra Polach
Connecting literary works with visual art on public transportation. Creative writers and visual artists will collaborate to create unique commissioned works of art which will be photographed and then printed on exterior wraps on Madison Metro Transit buses. Original works will also be shown in an exhibition.
2nd Prizes
Cosmos – Kai Rasmussen
Clothing line that connects scientific research, flowers, space flight and art. The socially responsible fashion line will also come with a note that explains certain aspects of spaceflight and astrobotany.
Makers and Their Tools: Tharu People – Julia Fillingame, Luisa Fernanda Garcia-Gomez, Erin E. Tenderholt
Traveling exhibition featuring an indigenous group in Nepal with their stories and cultural crafts presented through an artistic lens. Artisan products will also be available for sale during the exhibition.
NO EXIT – Brittany Graham, John P. Drescher, Sruthi Suresan
Avant-garde audience-centered theatrical experience based on the play No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre. Audience members will find themselves going through an immersive ‘hell’ via various mental and physical experiences.
2016 Finalists

1st Prize
Mira… Indigenous Lives Through Indigenous Eyes – Ligia Lopez, Gioconda Coello and Dr. Faisal Abdu’Allah
Interactive traveling photographic exhibit curated by novice Maya teachers in Guatemala
2nd Prizes
Environmental Art Series – Alexandra Lakind, Emili Earhart and Rob Lundberg
Environmental art workshop and event series exploring the intersections between knowledge production and contemporary art
Sound Out Loud Ensemble – Satoko Hayami, Kyle Johnson and Garrett Mendelow
Create growing circle of musicians and audiences to share the excitement of the innovative, contemporary language of newly/recently composed classical music through a series of creative concerts and presentations primarily in the city of Madison
Artworking’s Boom! Snap! Clap! Holiday Pop-Up Shop – Jeremy Nuttall, Lance Owens and Laura Falkenberg
Holiday “Pop-Up” shop at Hilldale Mall, Madison, that will feature original art and handmade products produced by the artists at Artworking
2015 Finalists
1st Prize
A new approach to the design and manufacturing of saxophone mouthpieces, for unique tonal qualities – Alexander Buehler
Design and manufacture saxophone mouthpieces using additive manufacturing through altering the internal geometries of the mouthpiece, giving more artistic liberties to saxophone players
2nd Prizes
The Bellhops Blues and Hip Hop Record Project – Taylor Scott, Hiwot Adilow and Nathan France
A recording project by the Bellhops, involving over 20 artists, many of whom are students and alumni of UW–Madison from diverse backgrounds
UPDATE: Click here to check out “Hero of my Own Tale,” the finished product from the Bellhops that was funded by the New Arts Venture Challenge grant. Congratulations!
Gravity Maker: A Contemporary Hub for Creative Wisconsinites – Sarah Woldt and Kathryn Weenig
Building a network for Wisconsin artists and appreciators of the arts by offering coverage for arts initiatives, facilitating dialogue on the role of the arts and offering an engaging experience for its users.
Shedding new light on neural activity – Samantha Dunn, Felipe Gutierrez and Nicholas Kjorlie
An exhibit that facilitates interactive learning and discovery of the inner workings of the mind.
An Alternative Odyssey: Stories from Behind the Walls – José Vergara, Megan Kennedy and Samantha Link
Evolved into Artists in Absentia. Showcasing the creative work produced by the men who participate in Oakhill Prison Humanities Project through a public reading, a multimedia exhibition and a small publication.
UPDATE: Artists in Absentia exhibit was held at local public libraries beginning March 3, 2016. Visit the website for more information.
The exhibition was featured on the front page of the February 18 issue of Isthmus. Click here to read the story!
2014 Finalists
1st Prize
Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra: 2014 Summer Concert Series – Mikko Utevsky, director and orchestra conductor
Summer chamber orchestra for high school and college age musicians in Madison
2nd Prizes
CrowdArt – Dylan Shae Contois, Alex Faber and Chun-See Tsao
Using the power of the crowd to commission original art
Dream Collectors – Megan Marsh-McGlone, Andrew Salyer and Katrina Schaag
Collecting oral dream histories in pop-up tents around Madison
These Canoes Carry Culture – Marcus Cederström, Colin Connors and Thomas A. DuBois
Building canoes with Native American master craftsman, Wayne Valliere, to preserve the tradition of birch bark canoe making and to connect American Indian students to their culture and language.
2013 Finalists
1st Prize
Victorian Eyes: An Exhibit on “seeing” through Art, Literature, and Statistic – Frederic Boehm, Catherine De Rose and Carrie Roy
View the website for their exhibition or read an update from UW Libraries from 2013. You can also follow their updates on Twitter @VictorianEyes
2nd Prizes
Clocks in Motion – Dave Alcorn, John Arnold, John Jeffrey Gibbens, Sean Kleve and Conuelo Sanudo
Percussion ensemble that breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program.
kinetic (aspect) – Kat Cameron and Henry Holmes
Dance project using GoPro camera
Cooking with Frank N. Foode – Karl Haro von Mogel, Ariela Haro von Mogel and German Mingramm Yarza
Series of how-to cooking videos that will explain some of the science behind the foods we grow and eat
2012 Finalists
1st Prize
Loading Zone: Visual Art Pop Up Gallery – Darian Pearlmutter and Kelsey Wenberg
2nd Prizes
Clocks in Motion – Dave Alcorn, John Arnold, Jeffrey Gibbens, Sean Kleve and Conuelo Sanudo
Percussion ensemble that breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program.
DEEP SONG by Classical Revolution – Andrea Kleesattel, Zou Zou Robidoux and Laura Weiner
Adventurous concert exploring the meaning of being an American today
ARTworks – Jordan Snider
Bare Pursuit Theater – Kristen Hammargren
Evolved into Theatre in All the Wrong Places, which specializes in small-scale professional theatre in unexpected places
2011 Finalists
1st Prize
New Music Everywhere Festival – Paola Savvidou, Jerry Hui and Jonathan Kuuskoski
2nd Prizes
Classical Revolution – Andrea Kleesatel, Zou Zou Robidoux and Laura Weiner
Haunt House – Kate Hewson, Marina Kelly and Liz Sexe
A version of a traditional haunted house with a short, intimate guided performance responding to Virginia Woolf’s short story “A Haunted House.”
Outdoor Collaborative Theater – Kristen Hammargren
2010 Finalists
1st Prize
Ephemeral Art – Janelle Bentley and Shelby Sonnenberg
Flashmob dance events across campus celebrating the 100th anniversary of the UW–Madison Dance Department
2nd Prizes
Music Rx – Mary Perkinson
Evolved into SOUND HEALTH, innovative music project using UW–Madison musicians to play concerts in UW Children’s Hospital
2009 Finalists
1st Prize
VIBES – Charlie Workinger and Rachel Felton
In partnership with five Madison-area high schools and the UW–Madison School of Music, VIBES facilitated several events to promote small ensemble music. Through VIBES, UW student chamber musicians mentored and coached emerging high school chamber ensembles in order to revitalize chamber music for younger audiences.
2nd Prizes
Fly Boy Carnival Fashion Show – Chris Martinez and Kevin Burgess
A fashion show born of a company that promotes lifestyle as well as fashion.
Madison Music/Future Festival, “Beyond Genre, Beyond Limits” – Douglas Jurs
Modeled after the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which, rather than choosing the best proposals, allows every proposal the chance to play. Jurs wanted to build a festival that would be fun above all, that would empower classical musicians to be creative and have a good time on their own terms.