The art of conservation: UWM grad ma Sean Kiebzak has two very different degrees from very different institutions. After he graduated high school, Kiebzak attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guilford, England, where he earned a degree in music performance in drumming. Three years later, after working at a summer camp that piqued his interest in environmental education, he re-enrolled in college, this time majoring in conservation and environmental science at UWM. He’s found the perfect job to use both of his degrees. Kiebzak is the Chief Operating Officer of Arts @ Large, a non-profit that seeks to improve arts education for students in Milwaukee. He now inspires the youth of the city to create art, become environmental stewards, and grow their own businesses. You chose to study two vastly different subject areas. How did you make the jump from music to conservation and environmental science? I was working on the whole left-brain/right-brain thing – all aspects of my well-rounded education!
Sean Kiebzak (middle) works with some student “foremen” to clear brush and weeds as part of a project for Arts @ Larrge, a nonprofit that helps enhance arts education for students in Milwaukee. Photo courtesy of Sean Kiebzak.
10 • IN FOCUS • June, 2019
So, what exactly is Arts @ Large? Arts @ Large was founded in 2001 and funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The focus was to work with classroom teachers on using arts as a vehicle to achieve their goals for learning standards. We now serve about 55 schools and upwards of 12,000 students. We work with upwards of 100 community artists that we hire to come in and supplement programming, working with classroom teachers to provide creative artistic residencies – anywhere from visual arts to performing arts to multimedia, photography, spoken word. How does that mission translate into the community? We found that many of our projects fall in one of four categories that we have established as Cornerstones of the organization. We have our Eco-Literacy cornerstone. We do a lot of work with the Paliafito Eco-Arts Park and we’ve also partnered with Reflo Sustainable Water Solutions and the Green Schools Consortium of Milwaukee. We come in and work with teachers to incorporate lessons about sustainability and the environment in their classrooms.
