KALEIGH
ATKINSON
ARTIST
BIO
Upon graduating college in 2010 with a BFA from UW - Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts, the filmmaker and photographer began working in the field of documentary film. She has always been driven to create beautiful, moving imagery with a deeper meaning to help the community. She has participated in multiple gallery night’s showing her photo work in The Arts Building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's 5th Ward each season from 2010-2012 and during Bay View Gallery Night in autumn of 2012.
Her films have been screened at UW – Milwaukee’s Student Film Festival, winning 2nd place Audience Award for her short documentary ‘THREES’ in the spring of 2010. Other collaborative work has been screened in the renowned Milwaukee Film Festival and all over the country. She was also featured in a short film titled ‘Boudoir’ by Film Milwaukee explaining her artistic drive to create a healthy and positive body image with her work that got national attention. She was Associate Producer on an Independent Lens funded documentary, As Goes Janesville, which was nominated for an Emmy in 2013. Recently she has begun to create films independently, such as a music video for Enabler that premiered on Metal Injection and a documentary about her life and past with an eating disorder is currently in production.
T E S T I M O N I A L S
"Kaleigh is an exceptional designer, photographer and social media expert. In a short period of time we saw a dramatic improvement due to the social media campaign she expertly crafted. Not only leading to an increase in our traffic but it also lead to financial results too." - Sanjay Hackett, owner of Swami's Yoga Retreat, Sydney, Australia
"Kaleigh brings such a unique touch to her work that really stands out. Her attention to detail and professionalism was always reliable and each project was enhanced by her creative eye capturing some of the most beautiful shots and designs. I would recommend Kaleigh's work as a virtual assistant, creative and artistic director to anybody who is looking for someone to enhance their product, message and overall business." - Maria Viall, owner Back to Food with Maria, Certified Holistic Nutritionist
"Kaleigh greeted me with a big, beautiful smile and made me feel comfortable right away! She's great at giving directions and I had a great time working with her." - Ashley Petry, Fashion Model
"Kaleigh did a great job with the photos I hired her for my yoga and Pilates business. Her approach to the photoshoot was very organic - I moved about the Pilates machinery as I would during any workout, and she moved about me taking photos at different angles. As I was into the movement, I was barely aware that she was photographing. I could not have been more pleased upon receiving the photos - her eye and angle is unique and intimate. Rather than just capturing me doing a specific pose or exercise, she followed her intuition and focused the camera on something that caught her eye. The photos didn't look posed or forced at all, they looked organic, and brought to light different things that I might have otherwise missed. Kaleigh's work is truly beautiful, it is no secret that she is passionate about what she does." - Jamie Landry, Pilates & Yoga Teacher
"Kaleigh was great to work with, just what we needed at the time! I was drowning trying to figure out where to start with all the social media/newsletter... business side of things while also maintaining all of my teaching hours. Kaleigh listens and creates all of the stepping stones. I gave her some of the content and she added her talent and creativity to it and made it happen in a very timely manner! She is great at organization and getting the “to-do list” completed quickly. I highly recommend Kaleigh!" - Jesse Masche, owner of East Side Pilates
R E S U M E
Freelance Artist 2010 - present
Photographer, Filmmaker
Virtual Assistant 2014 - present
AddeoFit, fitness center, Milwaukee, WI
Headshots, Social Media
mke MindBody Wellness, wellness clinic, Milwaukee, WI
Graphic Design, Web Design, Rebranding, Social Media
My Disordered Eating
Documentary – in progress
2014 – Present
Abundelicious, holistic nutritionist, Milwaukee, WI
Headshots, Food Styling, Graphic Design, Web Design, Rebranding, Social Media
Koha Yoga + Abundelicious, acro yoga/nutritionist, Punta Uva, Costa Rica
Documentary Portraits, Graphic Design, Social Media
Ashtanga Yoga Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
Documentary Portraits, Social Media
East Side Pilates, Milwaukee, WI
Documentary Portraits, Graphic Design, Social Media
Swami's Yoga Retreat, Sydney, Australia
Documentary Photography, Rebranding, Social Media
Close My Eyes by Enabler
Music Video - 2014
Directed, Shot and Edited by Kaleigh Atkinson & Sam Bowman
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee 2013-2014
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - AmeriCorps Art Teacher, Yoga Instructor
Arts Advocate for JMACC was an incredible experience. Here I organized fine art classes but focused more on human expression. We'd create everything from paintings and drawings to learning yoga and mindfulness and took this work further by learning about nutrition and did cooking classes.
On Student World Volunteer Day we revamped the high school's huge (unused) courtyard into victory gardens where we grew pounds and pounds of organic vegetables to use in our course. We planted seedlings using garbage collected around school (plastic containers, cups, lunch time scraps, etc) that literally gifted us fruits of our labor.
From Milwaukee’s ‘Boudoir’ 2012
A short film featuring Kaleigh Atkinson and her photography work based on positive body image as inspiration
Milwaukee Film Festival
‘No God, No Master’ a film by Terry Green - 2012
Production Assistant
Volunteer at Golda Meir School 2011
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Volunteer Art Teacher year 4 & 5
With budget cuts the students no longer had any classes outside the basics: math, science, history, etc. I collaborated with another artist to create expressive and fun projects to break the classroom mold. We built cardboard cities, painted and interpreted students' Rorschach inkblots, and so much more.
371 Productions 2008-2011
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Documentary Filmmaking Production Coordinator
Creating independent documentaries from start to finish with a small group of filmmakers. Kaleigh began as an intern in 2009 and grew to Production Coordinator in 1 year. Forming ideas for future projects while simultaneously organizing equipment, footage and producing shoots for current projects while also recording sound and shooting additional camera was a regular day at 371. This was a fast paced environment that was exciting and extremely helpful in forming my relationship with documentary film.
‘Not In Our Town’, a PBS Series - 2013
Still Photographer
Milwaukee Film Festival
‘Penelope’ a film by Brad Lichtenstein - 2013
Associate Producer, Additional Camera, Sound
‘Once You’re Dead’ a film in production by 371 Productions - 2011
Lead Researcher and Associate Producer
‘Wisconsin Foodie’, an Emmy Nominated Television Show - 2012
Additional Camera and Sound
‘As Goes Janesville’ a film by Brad Lichtenstein - 2012
Associate Producer, Still Photographer, Sound, Additional Camera
‘Penelope’ a film by Brad Lichtenstein - 2013
Associate Producer, Additional Camera, Sound
Bon Ton fashion photo shoot - 2011
Photographer’s Assistant
Milwaukee Gallery Night - Arts Building
Photography work displayed seasonally in 2011 & 2012
Bay View Gallery Night - Alterra Coffee
Photography work displayed in fall of 2011, 2012, 2013
Milwaukee Film Festival
‘Parasol’ a film by Tate Bunker - 2011
Assistant Art Director
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Experimental Film / Photography BFA
2007-2010
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee’s Student Cinema Film Fest - 2007
‘A Morning With Emma and Opa’ a film by Kaleigh Atkinson
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee’s Union Juried Art Show
Photography work displayed in 2009 & 2010
Mondo Lucha - 2009 & 2010
Still Photographer
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee’s Student Cinema Film Fest - 2010
2nd Place Audience Award
‘Threes’ a film by Kaleigh Atkinson
Theatre Gigante’s ‘Three Other Sisters’ - 2010
Still Photographer
Columbia College Chicago
Film Directing major
2006