How We Made the Art

U-M students participated in three workshops in January and February 2026 facilitated by artist Katie Hammond at Ann Arbor Artist Studios to create their pieces for No Strings. Each artist illustrated one quote from a guaranteed income recipient about what the no-strings-attached cash meant to them. 

Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan commissioned six U-M students to illustrate quotes given by GIG A2 participants during research interviews. Lauren Slagter, director of communications and public engagement at Poverty Solutions, curated the exhibit with support from Trevor Bechtel, former student engagement and outreach manager at Poverty Solutions. 

The student artists are: 

• Mia Echlin, BA Law, Justice, and Social Change + Urban Studies ‘28

• Lila Hudgins, BA Art History ‘26

• Emma Ostermeyer, BA Art and Design '26

• Lauren Parker, MPP ‘26

• Mrinaalika Sivakumar, MPP ‘27

• Victoria Sung, MS Information and UX Design ‘27

Ann Arbor native and artist Katie Hammond facilitated three workshops at Ann Arbor Artist Studios where the students created their pieces for No Strings. The workshops included guidance on the artistic process, an overview of public benefits policy in the U.S., collaborative brainstorming among the artists to conceptualize their pieces, and group critiques of the near-finished illustrations. 

Special thanks to: Chris Bennett of Image Works Fine Art Printing for digital captures and prints of the art; Ann Arbor Artist Studios for hosting the workshops; and Alison Rivett of U-M’s Arts Initiative for early thought partnership on this project. 

Tip sheet: Using Art to Foster Conversations about Guaranteed Income