willson center for humanities and artsannual report 2023 - 2024university of georgiawillson center for humanities and artsuniversity of georgiaannual report 2023 - 2024university of georgiawillson center for humanities and artsannual report 2023 - 2024willson center for humanities and artsannual report 2023 - 2024university of georgiauniversity of georgiawillson center for humanities and artsannual report 2023 - 2024university of georgiawillson center for humanities and artsannual report 2023 - 2024arrow_rightarrow_leftNICHOLAS ALLENWelcome from the Director “The work of our community in the arts and humanities opens doors for people of all backgrounds into an ever-changing world.”READ MOREDear friends,
The end of summer brings the start of a new year for the university, and this year is a special one for our family as we have a new student in the University of Georgia, the first of our children to go here. Naturally this invites thoughts about time and change, and about the future. I am excited to see him enter this new life, and grateful for all the opportunities he will have. I’m also happy he might call in sometimes unexpected, even if he claims he won’t.
Above all, I am glad he will enter an institution with such brilliant teachers, students, and staff. You will read about some of the work they do in this year’s report. But do know it’s only a fraction of the care and thought put into the work of our community in the arts and humanities, the results of which open doors for people of all backgrounds into an ever-changing world.
Besides the many awards, books, essays, grants, fellowships and installations I want to make a moment to remember a person who gave us all so much of herself, her good humor, and her wisdom over decades of service to the university. Virginia Macagnoni had a warm smile for me from the day I arrived until she passed away last autumn, leaving a legacy as one of this institution’s trailblazing women faculty.
She liked to talk to me about her childhood in New Orleans, and her deep interest in faith and the spirit. She had a great sense of fun and was always good company. We miss Virginia and are grateful for the generous gift she left the Willson Center in support of our faculty, and which we will put to good use in the coming years. May she rest easy.Welcome from our Directorgive TO THE WILLSON CENTERThank you as always for supporting us as Virginia did. The work we do would mean nothing without your enthusiasm and generosity. If you’d like to help us continue you can use the link below to donate to our new Director’s Fund, which will build a new foundation for the Willson Center’s future. As this report shows, we will put to good use.
I send you all good wishes and hope that if you too have a child off to college, they are safe and happy. And say hello when you see me – I appreciate it.
As always,
Nicholas Allen Director, Willson Center for Humanities and Arts Baldwin Professor in Humanities University of Georgia Virginia Mary MacagnoniVirginia Macagnoni’s generosity will support the Willson Center's Faculty Research Fellowships for years to come. You can add to her legacy by contributing to our new Director’s Fund in the Humanities and Arts, which will provide the foundations of support for the next era of Willson Center programs.give TO THE WILLSON CENTER“Be the best person you can be with what you have and the situation you are in because every person is non-repeatable. We are all precious.” Support arts and humanities programs by giving to the Willson CenterAbout the Willson CenterThe mission of the Willson Center is to promote research, practice, and creativity in the humanities and arts. It supports faculty and students through research grants; support for visiting scholars, artists, and practitioners; and public lectures, conversations, conferences, exhibitions, and performances. It is committed to academic excellence and public impact.annual report 2023 - 2024READ MOREBoard of FriendsFaculty Advisory BoardAdministration“The Willson Center serves as a catalyst in bringing together a community of learners. The collaborative spirit and far-reaching support it offers by facilitating grants, enabling interdisciplinary opportunities, and hosting extraordinary events draw the intellectually curious to it like a magnet. Almost ten years after my first introduction, I remain in awe of the exceptional work the center consistently accomplishes.
As a member of the Willson Center Board of Friends, I consider it my privilege to support in any way possible the lectures, performances, and other events that continue to educate, inspire, and make me better aware of and engaged in the world around me. This incredible resource, existing right in our own community, enables such creative and intellectual growth, and I am honored to be able to support it and share it with others.”CONNELL NESMITHEnglish Teacher, Athens Academy Member, Willson Center Board of Friends“I think that one of the most important things about the humanities is that it forces you to get out of your own lived experience and see what other people’s lived experience is.”UGA Class of 2024
A.B., Dance; A.B., English
Certificate, British & Irish StudiesAVERY SCOTTUGA HUMANITIES COUNCILThe Willson Center has taken a leading role in the development of the University of Georgia Humanities Council, which was formed in 2022 to elevate humanities research and practice at UGA and to bring visibility to the diversity and value of the humanities as part of campus culture.
READ MOREUGA STUDENTS IN HUMANITIES AND ARTS REAP INTERNATIONAL HONORS University of Georgia students are currently on the leading edge of some of the most prestigious and competitive international awards for undergraduates. The announcement in November 2023 of Mariah Cady’s selection as a 2024 Rhodes Scholar was followed in December by the news that her fellow senior Ashni Patel (pictured) has earned a 2025 Schwarzman Scholarship, which will send her to Tsinghua University in Beijing, China for a one-year master’s degree in global affairs. UGA students were also represented in the previous classes of Rhodes and Schwarzman Scholars – by Natalie Navarrete and Elise Karinshak, respectively.
All four students incorporated the humanities and/or the arts in their scholarship at UGA.
READ MOREWILLSON CENTER SUPPORTS FACULTY IN CONTINUED SUCCESS WITH EXTERNAL AWARDSUGA faculty in the humanities and arts have great success at winning awards and fellowships from national and international organizations as well as honors awarded within the university. The Willson Center offers assistance to faculty with applications for grants and fellowships, and greatly enhanced its external awards support programs in 2023-24. These include a series of online workshops tailored to specific opportunities, led by faculty who have earned major fellowships and grants from institutions including the Guggenheim Foundation, the NEH, NEA, and ACLS.Pablo Lapegna, associate professor of sociology and Latin American and Caribbean studies, and Nell Andrew, professor of art history, were each awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Andrew for her project "The Puppets of Modern Art," and Lapegna for his work from a humanities perspective on "The Dangers and Opportunities of Agricultural Biotechnology."2023-2024 Faculty and Student AchievementsGuide to Applying for Major Grants and Fellowships“The Willson Center Faculty Fellowship provides invaluable time for humanities faculty to carry out their research. I was able to devote three months to writing, conduct a manuscript workshop with top scholars in my field, and finish my archival research within this semester. Since I could fully focus on my manuscript, I know that I will turn in the best possible version to my press in December.”Tracey JohnsonAssistant Professor Department of History; Institute for African American Studies 2023-24 Willson Center Faculty Research Fellow READ MOREhumanities & artsResearchThe Willson Center is an active supporter of scholarly research in the humanities and arts. Its fellowships and graduate awards directly underwrite research and practice in the humanities and arts at UGA, while other grant-funded programs and partnerships provide resources and connections to those engaged in scholarship and creative activity. Faculty Fellows Graduate Research Awards Research Seminars a2ru Arts Lab Research Clusters READ MOREREAD MOREhumanities & arts researchFaculty FellowsWillson Center Faculty Fellows are selected by an interdisciplinary UGA committee of distinguished artists and scholars. Fellowships support excellence in the humanities and arts by providing faculty with time to engage in research and creative activity.From Buddhism, Digital Technology and New Media in Korea: Ŭisang’s Ocean Seal Diagram, to be published by Routledge in September 2024, co-edited by Hyangsoon Yi, Professor of Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies, with support from a Willson Center Faculty Research Fellowship.
The book applies Huayan Buddhist philosophy crystalized in the Ocean Seal Diagram (pictured), a graphic poem of 210 Chinese characters by the 7th-century founder of the Korean Hwaeom school, in 21st-century contexts of digital technology and poetics.READ MOREhumanities & arts researchGraduate Research Awards Graduate Research Awards provide support toward research‐related expenses for arts and humanities projects that are essential components of a graduate degree program. Application is open to any humanities and arts graduate student registered for an advanced degree.Poster for OUTDOOR/UNFRAMED: A Collective Art Project on Community Trails in the Woods, an applied project led by Maria Paula Reynaldi (MAEd, Art Education) with support from a Graduate Research AwardREAD MOREhumanities & arts researchResearch Seminars Willson Center Research Seminars support faculty organizing year-long interdisciplinary discussion groups on particular research topics. Seminars bring scholars from other institutions to the UGA campus. Printmaker, poet, and book artist Suzanne Coley gave a visiting lecture as part of the Symposium on the Book: “Unbinding Book History," which was held in September 2023 with support from a Willson Center Research Seminar grant.humanities & arts researcha2ru The Willson Center is a participating member of the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), a partnership of institutions committed to ensuring the greatest possible support for the full spectrum of arts and arts-integrative research, curricula, programs, and creative practice for the benefit of all students and faculty at research universities and the communities they serve. A2ru regularly hosts a national conference and an Emerging Creatives Student Summit, and creates publications including field reports and the Ground Works journal to serve as resources for arts practitioners and scholars.Four graduate students from UGA participated in a2ru’s Emerging Creatives Student Summit at the Rochester Institute of Technology in March 2024. Saurabh Anand (English), Emily Dustman (Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), Jana Ghezawi (Art), and Christina James (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) joined students from across the a2ru network to explore the theme of “Play,” with activities including a visit to the Strong National Museum of Play.READ MOREhumanities & arts researchArts LabThe Arts Lab is a multi-year initiative spearheaded by the UGA Arts Council to enhance research, practice and community engagement in the arts. One of its functions is to award Arts Lab Fellowships to faculty and graduate students which facilitate research and practice projects. Adah Bennion, PELT (She Was Always Such a Pleasant Girl), performance documentation, 2024. Materials: hand-sewn plastic dress, pine straw, found hanging devices, cord, binder clips, wooden block, asphalt, whitewashed cardboard produce boxes, mechanical timeclock. Produced with support from a 2023-24 Arts Lab Graduate Fellowship.READ MOREhumanities & arts researchResearch ClustersThe Willson Center’s Research Clusters support groups of faculty who are organized to address large-scale humanities and arts questions in partnership with colleagues from allied departments, colleges, centers, and institutes. The program is designed to build research capacity in the humanities and arts and increase the profile and competitiveness of faculty for grants and support.Michelle Clayton, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Comparative Literature at Brown University, joined the Interdisciplinary Modernisms Workshop, a Willson Center Research Cluster, for a roundtable presentation and discussion in March 2024.
Humanities and arts faculty and graduate students at UGA publish a diverse and impressive array of books each academic year, including works of academic research, poetry, novels, criticism, translation, and more. The Willson Center supports many of these projects through its own research programs, and by providing assistance with applications for external grants and fellowships. READ MOREWILLSON CENTER“Receiving the Willson Center Graduate Research Award enabled me to visit one of the most important repositories of primary sources for my work… At least one chapter of the dissertation will be based mainly on sources I acquired during my visit to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in Austin. Without these sources, my dissertation would be incomplete.”Patrick SheridanPhD Candidate, Department of History Spring 2024 Willson Center Graduate Research Awardee Recipient, Janelle Padgett Knight Graduate Award for highest ranked GRA proposal READ MOREUGA PHINIZY LECTURE COLSON WHITEHEAD Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead visited UGA and Athens for the Ferdinand Phinizy Lecture, which was organized by the Willson Center in partnership with the Department of History, the Institute for African American Studies, and the University of Georgia Press. The Phinizy Lectureship is endowed through the University of Georgia Foundation and administered by the Department of History.arrow_rightarrow_leftREAD MOREUGA PHINIZY LECTURE Community members of all ages and backgrounds filled the UGA Chapel to capacity for Whitehead’s public event.arrow_leftarrow_rightCOLSON WHITEHEAD UGA PHINIZY LECTURE Whitehead engaged in conversation with Willson Center Director Nicholas Allen and with the audience following his lecture and reading.COLSON WHITEHEAD arrow_leftarrow_rightAt the end of his public event in the Chapel, Whitehead signed books and spoke with scores of attendees.UGA PHINIZY LECTURE arrow_rightarrow_leftCOLSON WHITEHEAD UGA PHINIZY LECTURE UGA undergraduate and graduate students met with Whitehead at the Willson Center for an informal conversation moderated by Professor Ed Pavlić.COLSON WHITEHEAD arrow_leftarrow_rightUGA PHINIZY LECTURE Whitehead visited with students in Montu Miller’s AP African American Studies class at Cedar Shoals High School.COLSON WHITEHEAD arrow_leftarrow_rightUGA presented its second annual Humanities Festival, a series of public events showcasing the richness and diversity of research and practice in the humanities at UGA and throughout our extended community, March 11-22, 2024. The festival was organized by the Willson Center and presented by the UGA Humanities Council. UGA Humanities FestivalOpening Reception The 2024 UGA Humanities Festival began with a public gathering featuring refreshments, conversation, and recognition of outstanding achievements in the UGA humanities community by Humanities Council co-chairs Jeanette Taylor, vice provost for academic affairs, and Willson Center director Nicholas Allen. UGA presented its second annual Humanities Festival, a series of public events showcasing the richness and diversity of research and practice in the humanities at UGA and throughout our extended community, March 11-22, 2024. The festival was organized by the Willson Center and presented by the UGA Humanities Council. UGA Humanities FestivalA. E. Stallings Oxford Professor of Poetry and UGA Classics alumna A.E. Stallings gave the opening lecture of the 2024 UGA Humanities Festival, presented by the Department of Classics, the Felson Classics Endowment, the Willson Center, the Jere W. Morehead Honors College, the UGA at Oxford Program, the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, and the UGA Humanities Council.UGA presented its second annual Humanities Festival, a series of public events showcasing the richness and diversity of research and practice in the humanities at UGA and throughout our extended community, March 11-22, 2024. The festival was organized by the Willson Center and presented by the UGA Humanities Council. UGA Humanities FestivalLives and Careers of Humanities Graduates This conversation brought together UGA alumni who have achieved happiness and success in careers spanning a diverse variety of fields, who reflected on how their scholarship in the humanities prepared them for life after graduation.
UGA presented its second annual Humanities Festival, a series of public events showcasing the richness and diversity of research and practice in the humanities at UGA and throughout our extended community, March 11-22, 2024. The festival was organized by the Willson Center and presented by the UGA Humanities Council. UGA Humanities FestivalHumanities Trivia Night This second annual event reunited hosts Usha Rodrigues, Professor of Law, and Aaron Meskin, Professor and Head of Philosophy, to officiate an evening of humanities-related trivia, prizes, and fun – this time with a St. Patrick’s Day theme.UGA presented its second annual Humanities Festival, a series of public events showcasing the richness and diversity of research and practice in the humanities at UGA and throughout our extended community, March 11-22, 2024. The festival was organized by the Willson Center and presented by the UGA Humanities Council. UGA Humanities FestivalHua Hsu The Willson Center’s Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hua Hsu, was the Humanities Festival’s closing keynote speaker. His reading and conversation with Ed Pavlić, Distinguished Research Professor of English, African American Studies, and Creative Writing, was presented in partnership with the Institute for Asian Studies and The Georgia Review. UGA HUMANITIES FESTIVALUGA HUMANITIES COUNCILarrow_leftarrow_rightCULTURE AND COMMUNITY AT THE PENN CENTER NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK DISTRICTThe Willson Center’s partnership with St. Helena, South Carolina’s Penn Center had its third year of public programs, including public conversations, an annual artist-in-residence, and on-site classes and workshops with students and faculty from the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states. The partnership project is funded by a $1 million grant to the Willson Center by the Mellon Foundation. Annual report 2023 - 2024 LEARN MOREPanelists considered how their engagement with Gullah Geechee culture and history uniquely enables them to speak to audiences today in “Remembering Pasts, Contemplating the Present, and Envisioning Futures: Gullah Geechee Cultures and Black Creativity,” an October 2023 Penn Center Community Conversation.Students in the Spring 2024 Research Residencies took a boat excursion through the coastal waterways near St. Helena, Port Royal, and Beaufort, SC, which included a discussion of the marine ecosystem and local history by Captain Henry Brandt and Annie Boyd, and a talk by Penn Center Community Research Partner Ed Atkins about his life fishing, oystering, and crabbing in the area – and the environmental changes affecting the Gullah community’s ability to sustain these practices.The renowned photographer Cecil Williams engaged with students, faculty, and other Research Residencies participants in a talk and conversation about South Carolina civil rights history and his work documenting the 20th-century African American freedom struggle beginning in the 1950s.Maurice Bailey (left) and Nik Heynen (right), co-directors of UGA’s Cornelia Walker Bailey Program on Land and Agriculture on Sapelo Island, Ga., have led an indigo-dyeing workshop each year of the Penn Research Residencies. Heynen is Distinguished Research Professor of Geography at UGA and a visiting scholar at Spelman College, and Bailey directs the Sapelo Island nonprofit Save Our Legacy Ourself.
Amiri Geuka Farris, 2023-24 Penn Center Artist in Residence, took part in multiple Culture and Community events and programs, in addition to opening solo exhibitions at the Penn Center York W. Bailey Museum and the Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens.Grammy-nominated tenor Victor Ryan Robertson (pictured) and pianist-composer Adrianne Duncan performed and discussed their current collaborative work in "Gullah Meditations – Reimagined Gullah Spirituals for Voice and Piano," a Penn Center Community Conversation in April 2024.Students in the Research Residencies met with Black veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps and Army at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall in Beaufort, S.C., which the veterans have restored and now steward.Culture and Community partnership co-director Dr. Barbara McCaskill models a hip-hop battle vest designed by Dr. Charles Norton and his students from Coastal Carolina University. They led a hip-hop jewelry-making workshop during the Research Residencies.arrow_leftarrow_rightUGA ARTS COLLABORATIVE The UGA Arts Collaborative is a catalyst for innovative, interdisciplinary creative projects; advanced research and critical discourse in the arts; and for creative applications of technologies, concepts, and practices found across disciplines. It is a collaborative network of faculty, students, and community members from all disciplines of the visual and performing arts in addition to other disciplines in the humanities and sciences. The Arts Collaborative enables all stages of creative activity, from concept and team formation through production, documentation, and dissemination of research. annual report 2023-2024 READ MOREStudents get a first look at Issue 4 of Treehouse Zine, a community-based print and web arts publication supported in part by the UGA Arts Collaborative, at the issue’s December 2023 release party in the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Hsu took part in a public conversation with Gerald Maa, director and editor of The Georgia Review, during a zine-making workshop in the Delta Innovation Hub.UGA and Athens community members took part in the zine-making workshop with Hsu in the Delta Hub.
Hua Hsu and Ed Pavlić, Distinguished Research Professor of English, African American studies, and creative writing, conversed onstage following Hsu’s reading at the Georgia Museum of Art.Students at Clarke Central High School interviewed Hsu in a panel discussion in the CCHS Media Center.Hsu had an informal conversation with UGA graduate and undergraduate students in the Willson Center during his visit.arrow_rightarrow_leftDelta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding HUA HSUThe Willson Center welcomed Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hua Hsu to UGA March 20-21, 2024 as the annual Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding. His visit was presented in partnership with the Center for Asian Studies and The Georgia Review. The Delta Chair hosts outstanding global scholars, leading creative thinkers, artists, and intellectuals who engage with audiences on and off the UGA campus through lectures, discussions, performances, and other community events. READ MOREannual report 2024 - 2025Global Georgia Public EventsThe Global Georgia Initiative public event series brings world-class thinkers to Georgia. It presents global problems in local context by addressing pressing contemporary questions, including the economy, society, and the environment, with a focus on how the arts and humanities can intervene. The Spring 2024 series overlapped with the UGA Humanities Festival, and encompassed a total of ten events.READ MOREMary Reynolds Bestselling author Mary Reynolds gave the Odum Environmental Ethics Lecture on “We Are the ARK,” the international practical movement she founded to “shift the environmental game in nature’s favor.” The event was co-presented with the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program, the College of Environment + Design, and the Office of Sustainability. Robert Adams Dr. Robert L. Adams, Jr., executive director of the Penn Center in St. Helena, South Carolina, gave a talk on “Telling Stories Across the Water: The Challenge of Reconstructing Race and History at the Penn Center.” The event was co-presented with the Institute for African American Studies in connection with the Mellon Foundation-funded Culture and Community at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District partnership. Alexander Chee Bestselling author Alexander Chee’s talk “On Productive Ambivalence,” was presented as the Department of Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies’s annual Betty Jean Craige Lecture, co-sponsored by the Willson Center in partnership with the Department of English, The Georgia Review, and the Creative Writing Program.Noa Yedlin Bestselling author Noa Yedlin, named by Haaretz Magazine one of “66 Israeli Women You Should Know,” gave a talk on “Crafting Unconventional Narratives: A Journey in Literature (and Television)” The event was co-presented with the Department of Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies.Kellie Carter Jackson Author and scholar Kellie Carter Jackson, the Michael and Denise Kellen ’68 Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, gave the Women’s History Month Keynote presented by the Institute for Women’s Studies. Valerie Babb, Greg Taylor, and Ed Pavlić Valerie Babb, Andrew Mellon Professor of Humanities at Emory University, joined Ed Pavlić, Distinguished Research Professor of English and African American Studies, and Greg Taylor, the former and founding executive director of the NBA Foundation, for a conversation around Babb’s new book The Book of James: The Power, Politics, and Passion of LeBron. The event was co-presented with the Institute for African American Studies.TRUTH TOLD SLANTPhotographers Tommy Kha and Jill Frank, both included in the High Museum exhibition Truth Told Slant, participated in a conversation moderated by Jon Feinstein. The event was presented in partnership with the Lamar Dodd School of Art and the High Museum of Art. [Photograph: Tommy Kha, “The Small Guardian (The Isle of Misfit Toys), The Shoals, Alabama,” 2018]
Cassie Chantel and Julien Berger Composer Julien Berger and composer/lyricist Cassie Chantel performed “The Mask You Wear,” their new piece for vocals and saxophone quartet, and took part in a discussion with moderator Nkululeko Zungu. The event was presented in partnership with the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the Athens Hip Hop Harmonic. arrow_leftarrow_rightWILLSON CENTERSHared ProgramsThe Willson Center supports dozens of public offerings each year through recurring funded programs and special provisions. These include visiting artists and speakers, performances, screenings, discussions, and other events that are shared with the community on campus and beyond.READ MORE Distinguished Artists and Lecturers Public Impact Grants Cinema Roundtables Short-Term Visiting Fellows Spotlight on the Arts Special EventsREAD MOREDistinguished Artists and Lecturers The Willson Center Distinguished Artist or Lecturer program supports individual faculty or interdisciplinary groups in bringing leading thinkers and practitioners to campus in support of ongoing and innovative research projects.The SOLI Chamber Ensemble performed at Ramsey Concert Hall in October 2023 with support from a Distinguished Artist or Lecturer grant.READ MOREPublic Impact Grants The Willson Center Public Impact Grant supports faculty in the organization on campus of conferences, exhibitions, and performances that showcase humanities and arts research in a broad context. The Public Impact Grant is designed to offer interaction between national and international scholars and UGA faculty, students and the community.A Public Impact Grant supported UGA and community master classes and a pre-performance talk with artists from the Dance Theatre of Harlem, as well as a performance for community youth, during the company’s visit in January 2024.READ MORECinema Roundtables The Willson Center Cinema Roundtable meets to discuss topics of film history, criticism and theory. Richard Neupert, Wheatley Professor of the Arts, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and film studies coordinator in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, organizes and moderates one roundtable each semester. Audiences are invited to participate and the events are free and open to the public.Dudley Andrew, one of the world’s top experts on French film history and theory, took part in a Cinema Roundtable on the research, writing, and audience for books on France and its cinematic legacy with UGA’s Rachel Gabara and Richard Neupert in March 2024. [Image: A still from Jean Renoir’s La regle du jeu (The Rules of the Game), 1939] READ MOREShort-Term Visiting Fellows Willson Center Short-Term Visiting Fellowships bring distinguished artists to the arts and humanities community at the University of Georgia. Visiting Fellows conduct intensive workshops for faculty and students, and give public presentations of their work.Naheed Phiroze Patel, author of the novel Mirror Made of Rain, gave a reading and craft lecture as a Short-Term Visiting Fellow in October 2023. READ MORESpotlight on the Arts The University of Georgia spotlights its arts programs and venues during an annual November festival that includes concerts, theater and dance performances, art exhibitions, readings, film screenings, discussions, lectures, and more.The Georgia Review, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, the Lamar Dodd School of Art, and the Willson Center presented SPOTLIGHT x Spotlight Ecologies – a public event featuring presentations and conversations on ecologically informed creative projects with composer Peter Van Zandt Lane, photographer Dana Montlack, and poet Felicia Zamora – as part of UGA’s November 2023 Spotlight on the Arts festival.READ MORESpecial Events The Willson Center supports numerous public events each academic year outside of its recurring grant-funded programs. Many of these events are hosted and sponsored by the Willson Center itself, or in collaboration with on- and off-campus partners. Others are hosted by faculty and/or students with Willson Center support through Research Seminars, Research Clusters, and other programs.The Willson Center and the Lamar Dodd School of Art hosted the leaders of the Handshouse Studio: Notre-Dame Project for a five-day workshop and public open studio event and panel conversation in February 2024. The Notre-Dame Project is an initiative that began in 2021, when Handshouse Studio led a team of experts and students in Washington, DC to begin reconstructing one of the trusses that once supported the great cathedral's roof, which was destroyed by fire in 2019.GIVE TO THE WILLSON CENTER
