Current MIller Arts Scholars Award Recipients
Class of 2026
Henry Boland, Music
Rising 3rd Year Award
Self-Produced Pop E.P.
I will write, record, and produce a pop E.P. (a collection of 4-6 pop songs) and release it on all streaming services in January 2025. The primary focus of this project will be to further develop my skills as a producer, which include curating unique sonic palettes, creating impactful mixes, recording live instrumentation, and optimizing my workflow. Additionally, I want to elevate my songwriting by incorporating jazz vocabulary into my chord progressions and melodies and writing lyrics that present authentic narratives. I am requesting funding for equipment that will enhance my ability to make songs from home.
Faculty Mentor: Michael Rasbury
Department: Drama
Faculty Mentor: Michael Rasbury
Department: Drama
Kailash Patel, Music
Rising 3rd Year Award
An Exploration of Musical Styles Through Composition
An opportunity to explore the framework of different types of music from a theory standpoint will be quite beneficial for my growth as a musician. I plan to collaborate with Professor Daniel Sender, employing his guidance and expertise to achieve my desired product. In order to complete my project, I am applying for a grant to allow me to purchase resources such as composition tools, recording and processing equipment, instruments, and services to present my work to the desired audience. I am requesting an arts award of $3000 to meet my goal.
Faculty Mentor: Daniel Sender
Department: Music
Faculty Mentor: Daniel Sender
Department: Music
Lucas Piette, Studio Art
Rising 3rd Year Award
Shooting Analog: 16mm and 8mm Motion Picture Film
I am requesting a total of $3,000 to be used for the purchase of both a 16mm and 8mm (Super 8) film camera to use as I progress through the cinematography concentration of my studio art major at UVA.
Faculty Mentor: Kevin Everson
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Kevin Everson
Department: Studio Art
Reese Robers, Studio Art
Rising 3rd Year Award
UVA Community Zine Series and Public Video-Zine Screening
I am requesting funds to create and distribute a series of short zines that will be based on community submissions of all forms of art and later converted into a video zine, where the submissions will be incorporated into a video presentation to be screened at a public community event at which the paper zines will also be distributed. With this funding, I will be able to 1) travel to New York City for two days and attend the East Village Zine Fair, where I can learn about and engage with a well-established zine-making community and further develop my project ideas before bringing them to Grounds, 2) afford the materials to physically produce the paper copies of the zines, and 3) have access to video programs and production equipment that will allow me to create a cohesive, stylized, and high-quality presentation of a video version of that zine, which will be screened at a public event for the contributing artists and community members to enjoy and find pride and appreciation for the culmination of their work.
Faculty Mentor: Mona Kasra
Department: Drama, Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Mona Kasra
Department: Drama, Studio Art
Lilla Woodard, Drama
Rising 3rd Year Award
A Summer of American Theater
I am requesting a total of $2,662 to fund tickets to theater performances in the Washington DC and New York City area, as well as offset the costs of traveling and staying in New York City.
Faculty Mentor: David Dalton
Department: Drama
Faculty Mentor: David Dalton
Department: Drama
Class of 2025
Carly Ault, Studio Art
Rising 4th Year Award
Framing Lost Familial Locations with Large Format Film
I will be requesting $2,998 in order to travel to Southern Germany and buy large format film, darkroom paper, film sleeves, and darkroom filters. This semester I have been working on a photo series about my relationship with my dad, and want to extend this train of thought and practice on a broader scale in order to make work about my relationship with my foreign identity and relatives.
Faculty Mentor: James Scheuren
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: James Scheuren
Department: Studio Art
John Barnes, Drama
Rising 4th Year Award
Low Life: Making a High-Quality Short Film
I am requesting funding to produce a coming-of-age short film loosely based on my experiences working at a movie theater chain at 14 years old. This story has been a passion project of mine for many years, as I have been working sporadically on a feature-length screenplay for this film since 2019. The funding would support film production expenses, professional post-production costs, and film festival submission fees for the 2024-2025 school year. Additionally, I am requesting that a small portion of my grant be used toward travel costs for the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2024. I attended the festival in 2023 and it was greatly beneficial for networking and immersion in the film industry.
Faculty Mentor: Kevin Everson
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Kevin Everson
Department: Studio Art
Jesper Braley, Studio Art
Rising 4th Year Award
An Exploration of Experimental Animation
This summer, I plan on creating an experimental animation that involves digital and traditional components. With this Arts Award, I would be able to purchase a Wacom Cinq screen tablet—a comfortable, efficient, and powerful tool used by professional animators. Not only would this purchase assist me with this summer project, but it would allow me to continue creating works for my future professional endeavors. Immediately following this summer project, I would use this tablet to start working on my fourth year UVA art thesis project(s). I am also applying for a DMP in Studio Art, for which I may use this summer’s animation as a blueprint or sister work.
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Alex Burijon, Music
Rising 3rd Year Award
New York Summer Internships
With the help of the Miller Arts Scholars program, I plan to live in New York City this year from late May through early August to pursue two internships, one in-person within the music industry and one remote in the administrative realm through UVA’s Internship Placement Program. I intend to gain more experience to assist in determining my career path, network among the New York music and theater scenes, work on my vocal proficiency, and earn money.
Faculty Mentor: Noel Lobley
Department: Music
Faculty Mentor: Noel Lobley
Department: Music
Alex Burijon, Music
Rising 4th Year Award
Fourth Year Preparation: MAS DMP Proposal
I humbly request $3,000 for the preparation and execution of my Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) project through the Music Department, set to be completed by May 2025. At present, I am planning to unpack the musical Hadestown using vocal and guitar performance, academic research, and critical analysis to present the relationship between speaking about and speaking to within the arts.
Faculty Mentor: A.D. Carson
Department: Music
Faculty Mentor: A.D. Carson
Department: Music
Hunter Colson, Music
Rising 4th Year Award
Funds Towards Distinguished Major Project
I am applying for a fourth-year award to purchase two instrument libraries and a Zoom Field recorder for use in my upcoming distinguished major project. The distinguished major project is the culmination of my past few years at UVA and will build on my existing composition skills and training by allowing me to focus on a large scale composition. This three part project will involve studying how to write idiomatically for classical guitar, writing a classical inspired multi-movement piece for guitar and piano, and will conclude with a live recital performance of the composition.
Faculty Mentor: Matthew Burtner
Department: Music
Faculty Mentor: Matthew Burtner
Department: Music
Zoe Edelman, Studio Art
Rising 4th Year Award
Forming Landscapes Through the Art of Tufting
My proposal is to create a rug through tufting to demonstrate large changes to our landscapes due to climate change. The goal is to scale the landscapes down to be more tangible for audiences to view and feel for themselves. I hope to center this project around my final thesis for the new media concentration in my studio art major. I am requesting about $2,000 to fund the unique tools for the tufting process.
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Ava Flory, Studio Art
Rising 4th Year Award
Creating Pottery to Explore Beauty, Service, and Gift-giving
I am seeking $3,000 to buy materials, training, and equipment to create an exhibition of hand-painted pottery vessels. This multi-piece exhibit will be entitled “Cup Overflowing.” As I create this project, I will gain skills through personal experimentation, an 8-week pottery class, and guidance from my faculty mentor Conrad Cheung.
Faculty Mentor: Conrad Cheung
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Conrad Cheung
Department: Studio Art
Mary Hall, Drama
Rising 4th Year Award
Exploring Black Womanhood through the Dramatic Lens
With the help of the Miller Arts Scholars Program, I am requesting $3000 to aid in my research for my undergraduate thesis project: writing a one-act play surrounding Black womanhood and how aspects of it transcend time, then staging and producing it. The Distinguished Majors Program in the African American and African Studies Department is the primary sponsor for this project. Professor Theresa M. Davis has agreed to be my thesis advisor and faculty mentor for Miller Arts, having an extensive background in devising work and the overall field of Black Theatre. The plan is to write a 60 to 90-minute play surrounding two generations of Black women, a mother and daughter, and how they experience life as Black women independently and together. This will be accompanied by a dramaturgical packet: a packet detailing the research and methodology that went into writing the script. My script and dramaturgical packet will be informed by research in areas such as Black feminist theory, queer theory, and social science, in addition to autobiographical perspectives as I pull from lived experiences.
Faculty Mentor: Theresa Davis
Department: Drama
Faculty Mentor: Theresa Davis
Department: Drama
Abby Kim, Music
Rising 3rd Year Award
Learning the Viola
My proposal is to learn the viola through both personal study and guidance from Professor Daniel Sender while continuing my studies in violi
Faculty Mentor: Daniel Sender
Department: Music
Faculty Mentor: Daniel Sender
Department: Music
Meg Kosefeski, Studio Art
Rising 3rd Year Award
1.8 Cents a Can
I’m asking Miller Arts Scholars for about 1000 dollars to achieve this project. Most of the cost accounts for transport, cleaning, and assembly, because the sad fact is trash itself is everywhere; it is extremely easy and inexpensive to work with and source.
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Jolinna Li, Studio Art
Rising 4th Year Award
归舟 Gui Zhou (The Return)
I want to adapt and realize this script as a 20 minute narrative film with documentary and experimental elements, casting myself as the main character in the story contemplating cultural and generational gaps.
Faculty Mentor: Anna Hogg
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Anna Hogg
Department: Studio Art
Emily Liu, Studio Art
Rising 4th Year Award
Murmured Memories
I plan to create a large digital archive of images, embodying the act of observation and chronicling beauty in mundanity. For this project, I am requesting $3,000 for supplies, which will be detailed in the budget breakdown.
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Department: Studio Art
Grace Sellers, Studio Art
Rising 3rd Year Award
Exploring Printmaking through an Ordinary Day
I am requesting $3000 for resources to create a series of prints and explore advanced printmaking techniques.
Faculty Mentor: Akemi Ohira
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Akemi Ohira
Department: Studio Art
Grace Sellers, Studio Art
Rising 4th Year Award
A Puppet’s Life
I am requesting $3000 to make a series of prints that investigate the psychological effects of control and obedience through representations of puppets, exaggerated facial expressions, theatrical scenes, and gothic elements.
Faculty Mentor: Akemi Ohira
Department: Studio Art
Faculty Mentor: Akemi Ohira
Department: Studio Art
Amanda Yo, Music
Rising 3rd Year Award
Funding for a Piccolo
With my own piccolo, I would be able to practice piccolo pieces/parts on my own time without having to borrow it from the university, which can be difficult to coordinate due to the need of the piccolo in other areas.
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Sulick
Department: Music
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Sulick
Department: Music