School Notes: School of Art
September/October 2020

Dean’s grants fund 66 summer projects

The School of Art’s inaugural Dean’s Research Grants supported MFA student initiatives conducted during summer 2020. Dean Marta Kuzma’s new grant program consisted of two endeavors: Critical Practice Research Grants, which supported research initiatives that contributed to an extension of the articulation of students’ practices as artists or designers; and Art and Social Justice Initiative Grants, which, in light of the murder of George Floyd, provided support for projects that engaged with the current political climate, recognizing the importance of the artist’s role in bringing forth a civil society and reflecting the belief that the arts can encourage humanity and deconstruct hate in all its forms across communities. The allotment of each grant was $500, and in total the initiatives funded 66 different projects organized by 68 returning and recently graduated MFA students.

Recent alums recognized for their work

Three recent graduates of the School of Art’s MFA program have been selected as the recipients of prestigious awards and residencies. Dannielle Bowman ’18MFA (photography) has been selected as the winner of Aperture’s 2020 Portfolio Prize, an annual award that aims to “identify trends in contemporary photography and highlight artists whose work deserves greater recognition.” Dawn Kim ’20MFA (photography) has been named as the sole recipient of the 2020–21 St. Elmo Arts Residency, a joint project of the Department of Art and Art History and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Finally, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Jiménez ’20MFA (painting/printmaking) has been named a 2020–21 Fulbright Scholar, and for her fellowship she will travel to Brazil to continue exploration of her work.