Fighting Gentrification and Publishing Photos in Rolling Stone
Corcoran Students Kick Off the Academic Year with a Slate of Accomplishments
Corcoran students have had an incredible Fall 2021 semester, from creating ground-breaking installations, winning prestigious awards, to photographing for Rolling Stone. Here is a recap of just some of their accomplishments last fall, achieved in the midst of a pandemic as they return to campus for the first time in nearly two years. Check out faculty and alumni accomplishments, too!
Floralscapes Fights Gentrification
Graduate student Adele Kenworthy (Social Practice '22) created a botanical project in May 2021 to protest gentrification and displacement in Ivy City, a historically Black neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Later that month, Mayor Bower announced $20 million in funding to restore a community center in Ward 5.
GW Student Featured in LA Times Article Commemorating COVID-19 Deaths
GW’s Lily Nikias was seen in the Los Angeles Times article, which covered the public art exhibit “In America: Remember.” The piece described the exhibition, which featured more than 650,000 white flags to represent those lost during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nikias, a marketing major and graphic design minor, was at the installation as part of Interaction Design's "Narrative Media" class, taught by Professor Kevin Patton, with a class visit arranged by Professor Erica Wortham.
Insider academic advice from seniors
Be sure to check out tips from Phebe Grosser, a photojournalism major and GW Hatchet photographer, who shared: “One thing we see in our community is the way that both students and faculty come together to support each other because of their mutual love of the arts."
Hadley Chittum, BFA '21, won a gold medal at the College Photographer of the Year competition for her portrait of Lashonia and Sean Thompson-El, violence prevention advocates who were convicted of murder as teenagers. (Photo: Hadley Chittum)
Corcoran Students Awarded Prestigious College Photographer of the Year Competition
Three students from the Corcoran won awards at the prestigious College Photographer of the Year competition. Hadley Chittum, BFA ’21, won three awards: gold medals in the portrait and feature categories and an award of excellence for interpretive projects. Sydney Walsh, a senior majoring in photojournalism with a minor in Spanish and Latin American languages, literatures and cultures, won both a bronze medal and an award of excellence in the illustration category. Senior photojournalism major Maansi Srivastava won a bronze medal in the documentary category. Congratulations to Hadley, Sydney, and Maansi!
Cultural Upbringing Taking Root in Art
Fine Arts B.F.A senior Maricarmen Solis Diaz uses her work as a way to express her family and identity in her Chicana culture while sharing her perspective on socio-political issues. Over the summer, she completed an internship at the Getty Research Institute at the Getty Center under the Research and Public Programs Department in Los Angeles. Maricarmen said, “This internship has introduced me to a career in museum programs where I would be making sure that the community is exposed to as much artwork as possible.” Congratulations on all your impressive work, Maricarmen!
Eddie Adams Workshop Honors
Six Corcoran students were selected for the prestigious Eddie Adams workshop, which is a tuition-free photojournalism seminar. Applicants submit portfolios for consideration, and only one hundred participants, selected solely on the merit of their pictures, team up with top professional photographers and editors for a four-day gathering that includes assignments, portfolio reviews, panel discussions, and presentations. Congratulations to Arielle Bader, Candace Chambers, Sarah Goolishian, Hunter Lacey, Gabrielle Rhoads, and Maansi Srivastava! (And kudos to their professors, Matt Eich and Susan Sterner, for encouraging them to apply!) Learn more about these students' impressive accomplishments.
Capturing History with Rolling Stone Magazine
Maansi Srivastava (Photojournalism ‘22) was recently featured in Rolling Stone, where she photographed Kevin Chmielewski for their article on exposing the corruption of former EPA chief Scott Pruitt.
"I am so excited to share some portraits of Kevin Chmielewski, made on my first assignment for Rolling Stone,” Maansi said. “It was an honor to spend time with Kevin and his family for this story… What a crazy feeling to see my work in a major print publication for the very first time.”
The article is available to read on the Rolling Stone website. Congratulations on your impressive work, Maansi!