Creating Belonging: Exchange as Practice Artist Panel, a discussion moderated by Madison Boeder and organized by LAB^4, will take place Saturday, August 29th at 3:00 PM.
This panel reimagines “belonging” as an act of co-creation, rather than something that is static. The goal is to create a space where artists and community members actively exchange ideas, stories, and inspirations, revealing how belonging is made through shared creative energy.
Creating Belonging: Exchange as Practice Artist Panel
Mack Bo Ross is a father, husband, and Wisconsin-based visual artist whose work is rooted in family, memory, loss, instinct, and fatherhood. His pieces often include faces, birds, shapes, movement, and color, exploring what we carry, what stays with us, and how emotion can move through a work before its meaning is fully understood. Poetry often becomes part of the work, adding another layer to the emotion, memory, and meaning behind each piece. His practice is shaped by early memories of sitting with his grandad and painting for hours, an experience that continues to guide his work today. Through his art and short film, Through the Eyes of Me, he reflects on family, fear, loss, and the responsibility of guiding his boys through life’s mazes while facing his own fears. Through each piece, he continues to explore the connections between memory, family, and the stories we carry forward.
My work is rooted in exploration, experimentation, and the joy of making. I use art as a way to express the way I see and experience the world, often combining bold color, expressive linework, texture, and layered materials to create energetic and visually playful compositions. My work moves between painting, drawing, mixed media, textiles, and collage, allowing each piece to develop its own language.
I am drawn to everyday objects, nature, animals, flowers, and personal experiences as sources of inspiration. I often exaggerate or simplify these subjects through loose lines, bright colors, and unexpected combinations. I am interested in the balance between structure and spontaneity, creating compositions that may feel chaotic or whimsical at first, but contain intentional layers, patterns, and details for the viewer to discover.
I enjoy allowing my work to develop naturally rather than following a strict plan. Through layering and vibrant color, I embrace... Read More
Jami Balicki is a descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin whose work is grounded within the histories and stories passed down to her through her matriarchal lineage. Her art practice is collaborative and multidisciplinary, incorporating photography, printmaking, papermaking, and writing to trace the intersections between history, community, and personal experience. All of which shape the layered narratives communicated throughout her artistic practice.
Madison Boeder is a Milwaukee-based artist whose practice explores themes of protection, transformation, spirituality, and the unstable nature of home. Working primarily through painting, installation, and mixed media, Boeder creates immersive spaces that function as portals—sites for reflection, healing, and connection. Drawing from personal experience, folklore, nature, and Pagan and Druidic traditions, her work frequently incorporates symbolic imagery such as trees, thresholds, and architectural forms to examine belonging, fear, and resilience.
Boeder received a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art... Read More
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.
Our galleries are normally open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.