Image: Art Preserve, Sheboygan
Brianna Stehling Santacruz, a Colombian-American visual artist based in Milwaukee, is among five emerging regional artists invited to take part in the 2026 Midsummer Festival of the Arts at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan. The festival runs July 18–19, 2026, with programming on the grounds of the Arts Center and Sheboygan’s City Green.
The Arts Center describes the Midsummer Festival as a free, family-friendly weekend built around more than 100 juried artists, live music, performances, hands-on artmaking, food, and an emerging artist area. The 56th edition is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, July 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The festival page also notes that the weekend includes live music and performances, exhibitions, demonstrations, food, and activities for visitors of all ages.
Stehling Santacruz’s artist page says her work spans 2D and 3D practices and centers on abstraction. She uses color to explore emotional transformation, identity, and the cyclical nature of growth and rebirth. The Arts Center also says her practice is rooted in community engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration, framing her festival participation within a broader studio approach that moves between object-making, public work, and collaborative projects.
According to the artist profile, Stehling Santacruz completed an artist residency in 2024 with the CIMPA Math Department at the University of Costa Rica, where she created a large-scale mural integrating mathematical concepts with organic, natural forms. The page also notes an Art & Community Residency in Oaxaca, Mexico, and collaboration with local artisans, including Taller Teñido A Mano, on graphic and social media content promoting workshops through ExpresiónArte.
The Arts Center’s emerging artist area is presented as an initiative to make arts festivals more accessible to early-career artists. The five selected artists this year are Brianna Stehling Santacruz, Amanda Langer, Cassandra Xiong, Jade Pergl, and Matthew Braunginn. The center credits artist consultant Frank Juárez of Artdose Magazine with selecting the artists, and says returning mentor R-Lo will again work with the group.
The festival listing also invites the public to attend artist talks with the emerging artists on Friday, July 17, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at Paradigm Coffee & Music. Alongside the artist area, the festival will feature free art making in the Festival Green Activities Tent and Social STUDIO, strolling performances, 16 food trucks, and additional exhibitions and programming inside the Arts Center. The event is presented by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in partnership with presenting sponsors Acuity and WOMT-98.9.
