Announcing the 2018-2019 IA/JGS Fellows
Imagining America (IA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2018-2019 Imagining America/Joy of Giving Something, Inc. Fellowship (IA/JGS Fellows Program). Eight undergraduate students from across the IA consortium were chosen as this year’s fellows.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Joy of Giving Something, Inc. (JGS), Imagining America annually selects a cohort of student artists from IA member institutions to receive a tuition award of $2,000 and to join a national working group of engaged media makers. The goal of the IA/JGS Fellows Program is to elevate photography and digital media as a pathway for students to pursue their careers and make a difference in their communities. The program particularly aims to provide support to students for whom economic and family circumstances render such pathways challenging.
“Joy of Giving Something founder Howard Stein believed in the power of photography to unite people through our shared histories, and to transform our future by envisioning the unknown,” says JGS Director of Outreach and Education Wayne Maugans. “The IA/JGS Fellows Program is an opportunity for young artists to engage in a conversation that interrogates the narratives of our past, and challenges the assumptions of our future.”
IA Faculty Director Erica Kohl-Arena shares, “I am excited about the continuation and deepening of the IA-JGS partnership through this new group of fellows. We are tremendously grateful for JGS’s continued commitment to supporting students who use art and media making as a vehicle for social change. This year’s focus on building a supportive cohort of first generation college students advances the impact of the IA/JGS Fellows Program even further.”
In 2010, Maugans approached IA about partnering to expand support for young adults interested in pursuing photography in post-secondary education. Initially, an initiative to provide scholarships to high school students affiliated with IA member institutions, the program expanded over the years to support graduate and undergraduate students.
This year, the IA/JGS Fellows Program has been restructured to a focus on undergraduate students with a particular emphasis on supporting first-generation college students. In addition to providing tuition awards, the reframed program also increases professional development opportunities through mentorship from professionals in the field and provides more robust support for community-based projects. Fellows will also receive travel awards to convene at the 2018 Imagining America National Gathering, October 19-21, in Chicago, Illinois.
The 2018-2019 JGS Fellows
• Ezra Asfaw, University of Washington, Seattle, studies communication with a minor in digital media arts.
• Annielly Camargo, Hampshire College, studies photography, Latin American studies, and film.
• Jocelyn Contreras, University of California, Irvine, studies literary journalism and digital film.
• Markele Cullins, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, focuses his studies on intermedia.
• Michael Khuth, Macalester College, focuses on media and cultural studies with a minor in French and studio art.
• Jeanette Lam, University of Richmond, studies leadership studies and journalism with a minor in film studies.
• Anjel Newman, College Unbound, studies organizational leadership and change.
• Bade Turgut, Macalester College, studies biology and political science.
• Annielly Camargo, Hampshire College, studies photography, Latin American studies, and film.
• Jocelyn Contreras, University of California, Irvine, studies literary journalism and digital film.
• Markele Cullins, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, focuses his studies on intermedia.
• Michael Khuth, Macalester College, focuses on media and cultural studies with a minor in French and studio art.
• Jeanette Lam, University of Richmond, studies leadership studies and journalism with a minor in film studies.
• Anjel Newman, College Unbound, studies organizational leadership and change.
• Bade Turgut, Macalester College, studies biology and political science.
Learn more about the IA/JGS Fellows Program, here.
Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
