About Awen
We produce events and film, run civic and governance campaigns, and build the software that ties them together. Milwaukee, working everywhere.
Who We Are
Ian "Cullah" McCullough
Principal, Awen
Ian “Cullah” McCullough is a multi-disciplinary artist, engineer, and entrepreneur whose visionary approach bridges creativity, technology, and community. Best known for his work as Cullah, a recording artist with an unparalleled 20-year streak of annual open-source album releases, Ian’s creative journey naturally led him to found Awen. Drawing from deep roots in music, philosophy, and open-source innovation, he launched Awen to inspire collective experiences that blend artistic expression with emerging technology, governance, and community-led systems.
With a Master’s in Philosophy in Music and Media Technologies from Trinity College Dublin, Ian pairs academic rigor with decades of software development and blockchain advocacy. His career includes building artist-first licensing frameworks and driving policy conversations that champion distributed, equitable digital ecosystems. At Awen, Ian brings technical expertise, mythic storytelling, and a generational pulse of musical tradition into a future-forward platform for co-creation.
Visit cullah.com to learn more.
Maggie "Mie" Schmidt
Co-founder and Director of Public Affairs
Maggie “Mie” Schmidt is a multidisciplinary artist, art director and policy writer who has helped build Awen since its start. She shapes how Awen looks, sounds and makes its case, leading creative across brand, web, film, print and live experience.
Her policy work sits where law, technology and ownership meet. She researches and writes briefings on digital assets, intellectual property and the rules that decide who owns creative and financial work online, then turns them into plain-language communications for artists, builders and lawmakers: briefs, explainers, campaigns and press. As President and a founding member of the Wisconsin Digital Business Council (WDBC), she brings that work to Wisconsin’s policy conversations.
A trained vocalist and recording artist, Mie brings a performer’s sense of audience to every brief and every brand. Visit therealmie.com to learn more.