Anika Kowalik is a Multidisciplinary artist residing in Milwaukee, WI. They completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2017. Their current practice channels personal experiences as a young black femme, exploring the depths of institutionalization, ancestry, and the redefining of place to gain autonomy over their historical narrative. Kowalik believes in grounding truths through many facets of documentation to preserve differing narratives outside those we are taught traditionally. They find it easier to communicate these personal experiences through materiality, expanding beyond the physical body.

Some recent accomplishments include Arts Leader for the National Leaders of Color Fellowship 2022-2023 cohort as the Representative for the state of Wisconsin; Grant recipient of the Gener8tor x Sherman Phoenix 12-week Art Accelerator Program in April 2023 (Milwaukee, WI); A two-time recipient of the Artistic Excellence Award and spotlight feature in the Circle Foundation for the Contemporary Arts publication in 2023 (Europe). Kowalik’s work has been shown at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in 2023 (West Bend, WI); the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art for the Wisconsin Triennial in 2022 (Madison, WI); the Freeport Art Museum in 2022 (Freeport, IL); ARC Gallery in 2022 (Chicago, IL); the John Michael Kohler Arts Center during their residency in 2021 (Sheboygan, WI).