Charlie Watts, Neda Abghari, Jerushia Graham, and Ashley L. Schick accept Emory University's 2013 Creativity & Arts Community Impact Award on behalf of TCP.Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts announces the recipients of the 2013 Creativity & Arts Awards, recognizing Atlanta and Emory community members who have made significant artistic and administrative contributions to the arts.
Among the winners are Cathy Fox, founder and editor of ArtsATL.com; Neda Abghari, executive director of The Creatives Project; Marium Khalid of Saïah; gallery owner Yu-Kai Lin; and Professor Matthew Bernstein of Film and Media Studies.
The awards will be presented at the 6th Annual Creativity & Arts Soiree, September 6, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. in Emory’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. The soiree celebrates the beginning of the Arts at Emory season with performances and activities; it is free and open to the Atlanta community.
Read more about this year’s award winners:
Community Impact Arts Administrator: Cathy Fox
Cathy Fox is executive director and editor of ArtsATL and its chief art critic. ArtsATL was founded in 2009 and serves as the only news source for comprehensive coverage of the arts in Atlanta. Fox was art and architecture critic at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for 27 years, during which time she was Cox Writer of the Year, twice winner of Cox awards in criticism, and received Green Eyeshade Awards and an award from the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. She holds a master’s degree in art history from the University of Michigan. She was assistant curator of the Arts Festival of Atlanta's 1981 Site Works Program, has written for ARTnews and other publications, and is a co-author of Noplaceness: Art in a Post-Urban Context, the first volume of Atlanta Art Now, devoted to critical discussion of Atlanta's visual artists. She and her publication have significantly impacted countless arts organizations, artists, and the community as a whole.
Community Impact Artist: Marium Khalid
Marium Khalid, is a founding member of Saiah, an Atlanta-based performing arts group located at The Goat Farm. From Pakistan, Bangladesh, England, the United Arab Emirates to the United States, her family's relocation for business throughout her childhood shaped her. These experiences led her to major in drama at Kennesaw State University, and Khalid runs Saiah with her husband and KSU drama alumni Phillip Justman. She performed in "City of Lions and Gods" (2011), based on the experiences of her great-grandmother during the struggle for Pakistani independence, and she directed "Moby Dick" (2012). She received Arts Atlanta's 2011 Critics' Choice Award for best theatrical performance, and she was praised by the Prague Fringe Festival reviewers for her performance and 'sensitive and nuanced direction.' Her 2012 production was mounted in a huge, decrepit warehouse, but was noted for being visually enthralling in its use of space.
Community Impact Organization: The Creatives Project
The Creatives Project offer arts education opportunities to under-served youth, as well as opportunities for long term housing, studio and art space residencies for artists. These artists in turn provide mentorship to young, under-privileged teens and teach them their crafts. Artists awarded with work space or housing must dedicate a portion of their time to structured youth-arts outreach, developed and overseen by Neda Abghari, executive director. These programs often target low-income communities or special-needs youth. With programs like the Capture Project, The City-Wide Art Supply Drive, photo-journalism projects with Jacob's Ladder Learning Center, and the Do Good Beautification Project in south Atlanta's Capitol View neighborhood, the organization has impacted over one-hundred students throughout metropolitan Atlanta.
Alumni: Yu-Kai Lin
A 2001 Emory graduate with a degree in music, Yu-Kai Lin is owner and director of Kai Lin Art. For more than a decade, he has worked with curators, architects and designers to collect art. Named 'Top 50 Most Creative Atlantans' and voted 'Best of Atlanta' by Jezebel Magazine, he is active in the Atlanta art community, and giving back to his alma mater as president of the newly formed affinity group Emory Alumni Creative (EAC). Kai Lin Art hosted the group’s first social event. He has served as a speaker for Emory’s industry night for undergraduates, and he also enjoys teaching piano.
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The Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts (CCA) advances the creation, scholarship and enjoyment of the arts. The CCA aims to make encounters with art and creativity cornerstones of the Emory experience by encouraging artistic collaboration, experimentation, and participation.
