Another MICA alumna who has shed light on the international art scene is Jaime Bennati ’08 ’11, who has spent a lot of time living and working in Brazil. "Since graduating from MICA, I have been interested in work that is created through community involvement," said Bennati, who had received her BFA in sculpture and her MA in teaching.

Over the past two years, Bennati had spent more than a year's worth of time in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Ouro Preto, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro, where she has family. Late last year, she was awarded a partnership to work with the University Federal of Goiás in Goiânia, Brazil, providing insight to college students and assisting with art exhibitions through an artist grant funded by the Maryland Arts Council. "I was invited to present my work and give the students a perspective about the American art scene as well as talk about my experience going to an art school in the United States," she said. She found that MICA's reputation preceded her.

MICA has really established itself as a prestigious school. Many of my friends in Rio in the design department know of the work of M.F.A. in Graphic Design Program Director Ellen Lupton and the school so it is internationally well-known, which is really honorable."

Bennati is currently working with photo and video classes in Goiânia and has plans to begin teaching techniques to a group of women who meet weekly to create crafts out of recycled materials. Earlier this year, a sculpture Bennati made using bus tickets she collected in Brazil was showcased in a paper show at Goucher College called Paper Shapers. "I think now more than ever I am using my experiences at MICA as a way to expand my career in the art field," she said.