On March 11, 2026 the Bolz Center for Arts Administration, in partnership with the Division of the Arts, held the 2026 Arts Business Competition. Celebrating its 17th year, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arts Business Competition (ABC) is a campus-wide competition created to support student-driven artistic projects such as an art exhibition, event, series, commercial venture, or other artistic entrepreneurial ventures. Entrants from across campus develop and submit a detailed proposal which is evaluated on creativity, innovation, added value to the arts, and potential for success.
Three finalists were selected to pitch their ideas at the in person competition.
Fatemeh Fani, an Iranian researcher, activist, interdisciplinary artist, and an MFA candidate in Studio Art at UW-Madison, earned first place ($2,000) for her solo art exhibition, “I wasn’t asked: What do we carry, and what carries us,” is a long-term research project dedicated to raising awareness about the realities of compulsory hijab; a symbol of broader control that restricts, holds back, and denies Iranian women freedom in every aspect of life.
Maja Hastings, graduate student in the Bolz Center for Arts Administration in the Wisconsin School of Business, earned second place ($1,000) for The Crafty Critters, a free after-school program for second graders at Aldo Leopold Elementary School. Meeting weekly, each session includes a lesson on recycling or sustainability, an art activity using repurposed materials, and time outdoors collecting litter from the school grounds and surrounding areas. At the end of the year, students will host a community art exhibition to showcase their work and celebrate their efforts.
Maya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art: Graphic Design from UW–Madison. She has worked across the humanities, including market research, strategic communications, writing, and event coordination at the Madison Symphony Orchestra, as a designer for the Wisconsin Historical Society, and as Co-President of Belly Dancing UW.
Peter Goitom, graduate student in the Bolz Center for Arts Administration, earned third place ($500) for Then and Now, an immersive experience that allows guests to witness what it would be like if artistic minds from different eras were brought together in the same place at the same time. Generational greats including Frida Kahlo, Tupac Shakur, and David Bowie will share their works by displaying art pieces, reading poetry, or offering musical performances. Throughout the experience, these icons will be engaging with one another as well, sharing their perspectives on their work, life, and the evening as it progresses.
Peter currently works as the Artistic Experiences’ Assistant for the Overture Center for the Arts, scouting potential immersive experiences for them to bring to Madison. During his undergraduate years UW-Madison, he was the business manager for Fundamentally Sound – Men’s A Cappella, overseeing all the group’s bookings, as well as their first studio album. Upon graduating, he moved to New York City, where he completed the Upright Citizen’s Brigade’s core improv curriculum, was the cast member of an award-winning web series, and ran the cocktail program for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Café.
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