Award Winning Proposals Archive

"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.