2017 JURORS
Ashley Robertson | Founder & Imagineer, West Label Art
Ashley Robertson is a city planner by trade and artist by passion. She currently works as a Redevelopment Planner for a local economic development firm, and operates her art brand West Label Art. It is the intersection of community and art that drives Ashley to create. Since launching West Label Art in 2015, Ashley has shown in numerous exhibits and events, including a solo show at Strivers Garden Gallery in New York. Today, her work and commissions can be found in private collections across the United States. Ashley operates her studio out of her home in downtown Madison, and currently serves as a Dane Arts Commissioner and Artist-in-Residence for 100State and the urban entertainment startup, Intellectual Ratchet.
Cedric Johnson | Mayoral Appointee, Madison Arts Commission
A supporter and promoter of the arts from a young age, Cedric Johnson started as a student editor of Catch, the award-winning arts and literature magazine at Knox College. He was a founding member of the young patron's committee at Rockford Arts Museum in addition to serving on the Rockford Arts Council. It was in Rockford, IL where he launched his independent curatorial activities; from classic gallery exhibitions to large-scale graffiti/performance art shows. He moved to Madison in 2011 as Account Executive for The Onion, followed by fundraising roles at Madison Children's Museum and his current position as Director of Development & Communications with Briarpatch Youth Services. Outside of work, he is active in the community as a board member with Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, The Friends of Henry Vilas Zoo, and as a Mayoral appointee to the Madison Arts Commission.
Brenda Baker | Director of Exhibits, Madison Children's Museum
Brenda Baker is an artist, mother and educator. Brenda earned an MFA from University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BA from DePauw University, and studied at both the Austro-American Institute in Vienna, Austria and Karl Marx University of Economics in Budapest, Hungary. She is the recipient of numerous awards including an NEA grant in sculpture, an Arts Midwest fellowship, several Wisconsin Arts Board, Madison Arts Commission and Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission grants. Her sculpture, drawings, paintings and installations have been shown throughout the US, Canada, Europe and South America, including major solo shows at the Museum of the Republic in Rio de Janeiro and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Bienale Pavilion in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her work is held in collections in Europe, Canada, South America and the US.