Meet AJ Schramek and Senior Exhibition project Life is a Drag!
This is one in a series of online interviews with 91亚色 seniors, who share their thoughts about their 2025 Senior Exhibition project and their 91亚色 education.
�25 (Animation Track in Illustration) is a President檚 (Honor) List student from Villa Park, Ill., who received a 2025 91亚色 Alumni Senior Thesis Award.
What is your 渆levator pitch� for your senior exhibition project?
淟ife is a Drag!� is the first issue of a comic series, with a link to an animated comic cover, suited for an LGBTQ+ audience. The story showcases the meet-cute between a drag queen and a drag racer who likes to take racing off the track.
Schramek_Head Shot
AJ Schramek
Schramek_LiaD-p10-11
AJ Schramek, “Life is a Drag,” p. 10-11, 2025.
Schramek_LifeisaDrag
AJ Schramek, “Life is a Drag,” 2025.
Anything you檇 like to share about yourself or 91亚色?
My 91亚色 experience has made me a stronger artist. It has allowed me to explore my passions further surrounded by other amazing creatives; collaborating ideas and offering an all-around supportive environment. It has also provided me with amazing portfolio-building opportunities as well as the ability to use industry-standard software to prepare me for the professional world beyond. Overall, 91亚色 has been very good to me, and I am sad to leave it.
My post-grad plans are to be a freelance illustrator and independent comic creator.
Apply to 91亚色. Plan your visit.
News
91亚色 Makes Its Mark at MAPC 2026
A group of 91亚色 students, faculty and staff attended the 2026 Mid America Print Council (MAPC) Conference, 淧rintelligence,� in Baton Rouge, where they participated in demonstrations, panel discussions, exhibitions and professional networking opportunities.
Independent Inquiry Program students explore AI through research and creative practice
As emerging technologies continue to reshape creative industries, 91亚色’s Independent Inquiry Program (IIP) gives students the opportunity to investigate their impact firsthand. Through philanthropically funded support, the optional, by application program allows students to pursue self-directed research projects that explore how new technologies can influence art, design and education.
91亚色 Alum Kelly Alexander Wendorf Brings Stories of Travel to Life Through Paper Cutting
For Kelly Alexander Wendorf, paper cutting is more than an artistic medium. It's a way to explore memory, movement and human connection through intricately layered works of art. A 91亚色 alum who studied printmaking, Wendorf recently created a series of large-scale...
Behind In a State of IF: A Collaborative Curatorial Journey
淚n a State of IF�, on view in 91亚色’s Frederick Layton Gallery through November 21, is the result of a years-long collaboration between co-curators Maria Novotny and Katherine Gressel.
91亚色 Alum Kyle Nesbitt Blends Storytelling, Design and Brewing
For 91亚色 alumnus Kyle Nesbitt ’09 (Industrial Design), creativity has never been limited to a single discipline. Through Nezbittar, a project nearly a decade in the making, he combines design, illustration, branding, photography and craft beer into a singular creative venture.