Award Winning Proposals Archive

Echoes of a Mockingbird is a multidisciplinary immersive exhibition that delves into the art of visual storytelling as a means of re-establishing cultural iconography, reinterpreting them through contemporary lens while allowing new layers of meanings and perceptions. Merging tactile and ethereal mediums, the exhibition explores the disparity between Bengali folklores and the lived experiences of rural women in Bangladesh, creating a space for marginalized voices to be heard.  Set in an immersive environment, Echoes of a Mockingbird works as a setting stone for a much broader objective of revival of Bangladeshi rural women, offering them with new stories and legends that they can embody and aspire to, allowing them to step into their own heroic narratives as the powerful protagonists. The exhibition bridges the folklores and reality by flipping the narrative surrounding rural women, by successfully transforming their stories of repression into powerful visual expressions of strength, resilience, and freedom through the iconography of “birds”. Each bird depicted in the stories embodies a rural woman that defies societal norms, soaring beyond the cultural limitations to claim her own freedom and voice, becoming the heroine of her own story.

Project Title: Soul-to-Soul

Soul -to-Soul is a restorative care integrated through dance workshop series aimed at providing reformative solutions by using critical thinking pedagogy, talking circles, community conversations and using speculative choreography. These joined practices inform the movements, aiming to address individual and collective socio-emotional issues and explore movements that embody empathy, accountability, and enable differential perspectives in situations. The workshop serves as an experiment to engage the younger population and provide them with creative alternatives towards disciplinary action.

Project Title: The Athens Quilt Trail

Caroline Murphy is a dual-degree graduate student of the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts at Ohio University, pursuing her M.F.A. in Graphic Design and M.A.A. area specialization in Visual Arts Management. As a designer and an Appalachian local, Murphy is creating The Athens Quilt Trail, a workshop series and exhibition celebrating the cultural and artistic heritage of Appalachian Ohio.

Rooted in the local legacy of the Quilt Barn Trail and Athens’ strong support for Appalachian arts and community, this project places collaborative, quilt-based workshops within the community. The storytelling, history and visual language of quilting is translated into accessible crafting and art making techniques, so everyone can connect with the rich history and meaning of quilt making (no sewing necessary!)

From collaborative murals to storytelling though printmaking and much more, the artwork made at each workshop will be displayed in Donkey Coffee during March and April of 2026 for all of Athens to experience and enjoy. Over the course of this workshop series, the history and spirit of quilting is used to stitch together participants in crafting and community, facilitating the exploration of personal and interpersonal connections. Each workshop in the series, each “stop” on The Athens Quilt Trail, aims to foster a deeper connection to community and culture within Athens, Ohio.

Project Title: From Athens, With Love: A Short Experimental Travelogue Film

From Athens, With Love is a short experimental travelogue film that interweaves photographs, letters, and the urban textures of Athens, Ohio, through the perspective of a queer immigrant grappling with social isolation, homesickness, and the complexities of assimilation. Inspired by the narrative approaches of Chantal Akerman, Agnès Varda, Jonas Mekas, and Chris Marker, the film employs a collage format, blending diaristic photography, observational details of Athens, and stop-motion techniques to construct a deeply personal visual narrative.

Project Title: From Athens, With Love: A Short Experimental Travelogue Film

From Athens, With Love is a short experimental travelogue film that interweaves photographs, letters, and the urban textures of Athens, Ohio, through the perspective of a queer immigrant grappling with social isolation, homesickness, and the complexities of assimilation. Inspired by the narrative approaches of Chantal Akerman, Agnès Varda, Jonas Mekas, and Chris Marker, the film employs a collage format, blending diaristic photography, observational details of Athens, and stop-motion techniques to construct a deeply personal visual narrative.

Project Title: An Iliad and the Chekhov Technique

I intend to produce a one-actor and one-musician collaboration of An Iliad by Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson. This play tells the ancient story of the Trojan War, but through a single narrator named The Poet. With the help of their Muse, a representation of both the ancient Greek myth of the Muses and a grounding entity for the narrator, The Poet attempts to convey the horrors of war to their audience by relating the events of the Trojan War to our contemporary world.

The "Dance4yourlife" project, designed by Fedra Tavia Hunte, aims to bridge the gap in dance education on the Caribbean Island of Antigua by offering young performing arts students and professionals an immersive experience to enhance their skills and prepare them for higher education. Through a 5-day workshop at the University of the West Indies Open Campus, participants will engage in diverse dance sessions, discussions on dance education, and community-based activities. Hunte will collaborate with local organizations and leverage social media influencers to maximize outreach to aspiring dancers aged 16 to 25 in the region. Hunte hopes this workshop will lay the groundwork for a longer-term, transformative initiative that fosters mental, physical, and intellectual growth in Caribbean dancers, empowers tomorrow's dance leaders, and redefines the possibilities of dance education within the Antiguan community.

Michael Binder Jr. is a graduate student at Ohio University in the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts. The exhibition, Between Idealism and Reality revolves around Binder’s experiences as a “Katrina kid” a term used to describe children along the Gulf Coast who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, as a category 3 hurricane, claiming over 1800 lives and causing $125 Billion in damages. Binder’s work is a reflection of those experiences, as well as an effort to raise awareness. “With climate change, hurricanes are only becoming more frequent and more powerful,” Binder said. “In the next few decades, we’re going to see a lot more of the issues we saw during Katrina concerning displacement, refugee situations, search and recovery efforts, and assessment of severe damage.”

This project, aims to explore the histories of early brass band groups in Ghana, highlighting their socio-cultural significance and evolution. Collaborating with two Ghanaian graduate students, Bernard Agorsor (M.F.A. Film Production) and Nina Asiamah (M.F.A. Commercial Photography) at Ohio University, this project takes a novel approach by incorporating audiovisual elements into ethnographic studies, enhancing the depth and accessibility of the research. By leveraging their expertise in video and photography, we will visually document and interpret historical accounts, interviews, and archival materials, enriching the narrative and engaging a broader audience through an academic documentary titled “Sound of the Coast.” Supported by professors at the University of Cape Coast, including Dr. John Doe Dordzro (Department of Music and Dance, University of Cape Coast) and Professor Paschal Younge (School of Music, Ohio University), and drawing on our insider knowledge of Cape Coast, cultural values, and established connections, this collaboration ensures a comprehensive and culturally sensitive approach to data collection and analysis. This collaboration promises to yield valuable insights into Ghana’s brass band culture through meticulous project planning, nuanced data collection, and ethical considerations.

First Night Out is a short film about a bisexual man who is married to a woman and part of his journey figuring out how he fits into the queer community. The film was shot at the local Athens bar, The Union, and was produced by a cast and crew from the greater Athens and Columbus communities. The funds from the grant will be used to hire an editor to put the film together, a composer to create an original soundtrack/score for the film, and a sound designer to do a final sound mix. The film was written and directed by Jordan Spayd, who graduated with a M.F.A. from Ohio University's School of Film.

Sam K. Sernavski, is a Ph.D. candidate and Teaching Assistant in both the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and the School of Music. This event, titled "The Aspects of Performativity in Toru Takemitsu's Music," is scheduled for December 2024.

Sernavski's presentation delves into the intricate challenges of interpreting the musical compositions of renowned Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. It meticulously examines the hurdles faced by performers in conveying the complexities of Takemitsu's works, drawing profound insights from extensive research. A highlight of the event includes performance recordings featuring Takemitsu's works, skillfully executed by the Akikazu NakamuraMusic Ensemble in Japan. This promises the audience a firsthand auditory experience, immersing them in the unique fusion of modern Western and traditional Japanese musical elements characteristic of Takemitsu's compositions.

Employing an interdisciplinary approach blending musicology, ethnomusicology, and composition, Sernavski's presentation aims to engage the audience in a profound exploration of the cultural and artistic dimensions embedded in Takemitsu's music. As a Ph.D. candidate at Ohio University, Sernavski's expertise in twentieth-century art music, traditional Japanese music, and Japanese cultural studies enriches the depth and breadth of the event. Under the mentorship of Dr. Garrett Field in musicology and ethnomusicology, along with Dr. Robert McClure in composition, Sam K. Sernavski brings a unique blend of scholarly and artistic expertise to the event.

"My project, “Vanishing Points”, involves the creation of an immersive art exhibition which illustrates one of the most egregious threats to the Appalachian landscape: mountaintop removal mining. Working alongside local activists and community members, I will conduct extensive research and documentation of former mining sites. My goal is to inspire authentic, nuanced discussions about extraction, energy and sustainability within our region. Making its debut at Ohio University Art Gallery, “Vanishing Points” will make mountaintop removal visible, accessible, and offer viewers a space to meditate on the innumerable forests, streams, and peaks that have been lost to the destructive mining process."

Made possible through research funded by The I. Hollis Parry/Ann Parry Billman 2023-2024 Fine Arts Award, Clarissa Raybon presents her Master of Fine Arts thesis –a devised solo work titled My Fat, Black Pussycat. This solo show represents a culmination of research begun upon Raybon’s entrance into Ohio University’s Professional Actor Training Program. A seminar in Applied Theater led her to study the practice of Ritual Poetic Drama under Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates. Expanding upon this methodology, Raybon’s thesis explores the potential of performance as a therapeutic process. Support from the Billman Award enabled her to study in New York City both in the discipline of Drama Therapy and at the prestigious Stella Adler Studio of Acting in their Actor Warrior Training Course. This training enabled her to engage responsibly and knowledgeably with the concepts of therapeutic performance that define the crux of her thesis.

“Arts education is essential to the world we are longing to live in - a world in which wisdom prevails over ignorance, kindness over cruelty, and curiosity over the inevitable apathy that invades through cynicism... In order to foster a new age of opera, a new age of art, and a new age of American culture, it all must begin with education.” Said Doug Grimm, Graduate Assistant and first year masters student in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. This new program, which has been titled “Schoolhouse Opera” as an homage to Schoolhouse Rock, will not only create performing opportunities for four Ohio University students, but also provide music and opera education to schools which might not otherwise receive such enrichment.

Old Dongola was the capital of the Christian Nubian kingdom of Makuria, one of the
most powerful states in the medieval history of Africa, in what is today Sudan. In 2021, a large
cathedral was discovered in Old Dongola by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology,
the University of Warsaw (PCMAUW). The pictorial and architectural material of my research
covers an important period in the medieval history of this region, and ranges in date from the
ninth to the eleventh centuries. My intent is to travel to Sudan to study the cathedral's
architecture and cycle of wall paintings, along with other medieval structures in the area.

Twin Inc. is proud to announce its upcoming performance of “The Gifting” on 10/27/2023 at the Ridges Auditorium in Athens, Ohio. This highly anticipated performance will showcase the talents of Deon Baptiste and his company of dancers from Trinidad and Tobago (Twin Inc) and promises to be a captivating evening of dance. This choreographic journey is one that draws on my own fascination, now turned calling, to walk a spiritual path that is undeniably connected to the art I am ordained to make. That calling required me to experience several spicritually led processes, one of them referred to as "Moaning" by the Spiritual/Shouter Baptist faith that also draws parallels with Orisha/Ifa traditions and belief systems. "Moaning/Moaning Ground" is a process of fasting and praying for several days where one finds their true spiritual purpose.

The second-year film exhibition will be a one-night event promoting the work of the coming-of-age story 100 under 13, following a young track runner. The film is showcasing Talisa Lilli Lemke research and creative abilities gained through the School of Film in her first two year of her graduate studies. Talisa’s work and stories continually work around the themes of grief, womanhood, family and often the pressure of sport or passion. Utilizing these themes as well as her personally experience, she explores dramatic stories through interpersonal relationships of characters and external pressure. Playing with the emotional and physical view of the characters, Talisa’s stories have often a feeling of hope and sense of progression to them. Combining the visual storytelling with the deep exploration of young characters, Talisa is trying to create a feeling of togetherness and growth, helping people to find comfort in the exploration of loneliness in the characters on screen.