SBMA brimming with graduates; outreach efforts expanding
Kolton Sizer earned his B.F.A. from IU South Bend in 2019, majoring in drawing and painting with a minor in sculpture. He went on to get his M.F.A. in 2D studio art from Bowling Green State University. Now, he is putting his experience and credentials to use at the South Bend Museum of Art, where he serves as curator of education and public programming.
Located in downtown South Bend in a building adjacent to the Century Center, the South Bend Museum of Art features gallery exhibitions in a wide variety of media from artists both local and international. The SBMA also hosts receptions, festivals, and award ceremonies. In addition to its role as a central visual arts hub for the region, the SBMA also provides outreach to aspiring local artists, especially young people.
Some of the most prominent SBMA programs are Sculpture Quest, Museum Morning, the Professional Artist Workshop Series, and the Scholastic Art Awards. Sizer has spearheaded the launch of two new programs: the Teen Arts Coalition and the Artist Pantry.
“We used to have something called Teen Forum, essentially our club for teenagers, where they could come to the museum and build a community. But by the last time we tried it, only two students showed up,” Sizer says. “I reimagined it and now it’s turned into a six-week professional development where we go to the high schools and work with their clubs and their AP classes.”
The museum team can give advice about useful technical matters, such as how to write an effective artist statement. There’s also a collaborative dimension, for instance a recent Dia de los Muertos project that was eventually exhibited at the museum for public viewing.
The Artist Pantry, funded largely by the donations of local businesses, provides high school and college students with art supplies that are critical for their work, but can too often be out of their price range.
“It can help them get started,” Sizer says. “They can bring me their syllabus, and we can look at what classes they have, and we’ll get them what they need for it: certain paper or charcoal, pens, paint. It might not be enough for the whole semester, but it’s enough to get them started. So that barrier is broken.”
Sizer was acknowledged by the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce as one of the “2025 Michiana Forty under 40,” citing his work as “a driving force behind arts accessibility, education, and community engagement.”
Sizer’s own endeavors in the visual arts have been on exhibit at IU South Bend as well as galleries and museums throughout the U.S. He has taught on an adjunct basis at IU South Bend and the University of Notre Dame. In his artist statement, he says that his work “draws from film, narrative theory, the American class system, gender roles, and behavioral science to explore how experiences shape our comprehension of events and relationships.”
Titan alumni abound on the SBMA’s staff, including curator of education and studio programming Katie Neece (B.F.A. 2013), associate curator and collections manager Josh Miller (B.F.A. 2011), and gallery preparator Morgan Watters (B.F.A. 2024).
“When I work with college students, they always ask me about making a career in the arts,” Sizer says. “It’s rare, especially in Indiana, that you can just be an artist. Usually, you work in an area that’s art-adjacent, like working at a museum. I work with artists, and I get to be surrounded by art. I get to help people make their own art, and I still have time for my own work as well.”
To find out more about the South Bend Museum of Art, visit southbendart.org.
To explore more about Kolton Sizer’s own art and to see examples from his portfolio, visit koltsizer.com.
