The official blog for the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences

Fulbright College Students, Faculty and Alumni Receive 2020 Arkansas Arts Council Fellowships

by | Nov 8, 2020 | Alumni Awards & Achievements, Faculty, Student Success

The Arkansas Arts Council, along with the state’s Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, recently announced the nine 2020 recipients of the Individual Artist Fellowship awards.  

Among this prestigious group are four faculty members, students and alumni from the University of Arkansas’ Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, including Lauren FerebeeMorgan HicksRay Allen Parker and Jody Travis Thompson. 

“We are pleased to be able to recognize the achievements and outstanding talents of [these] Arkansas artists,” said Stacy Hurst, secretary of the department. “These grants help artists pursue their independent projects and endeavors and help perpetuate and build access to the arts statewide.”  

Individual Artist fellowships are unconditional, non-matching awards made directly to individual Arkansas artists. Artists from around the state submit applications, and each year nine winning artists in rotating categories receive fellowships of $4,000 each.  

The 2020 recipients were selected by a jury of professional artists, writers and performers and were honored for their artistic and creative excellence during a special virtual Oct. 15 Fellowship Awards Recognition program.  

This year’s categories and winners include:  

  • Screenwriting – Justin Blake Crum, of Conway; Jasmine Serena Greer, of Conway; and Lauren Ferebee of Fayetteville. 
  • Theatre Director – Morgan Hicks, of Fayetteville; Justin A. Pike of Little Rock; and Erika Wilhite of Fayetteville. 
  • Painting, Except for Works on Paper – Susan Chambers of Little Rock; Jody Travis Thompson of Fayetteville; and Ray Allen Parker of Fayetteville. 

ABOUT U OF A’s AWARDEES 

Lauren Ferebee, of Fayetteville, is an M.F.A. candidate in the Department of Theatre in dramatic writing at the University of Arkansas. She earned a B.F.A. from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and studied screenwriting and playwriting at Einhorn School of Performing Arts in New York City. Ferebee won the Best Film award at the Quarantine Film Festival, as writer. She is also a winner at the Fall Festival at Artemisia Theatre. She is the author of several full-length and one-act plays.  

Morgan Hicks, of Fayetteville, is an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Arkansas. She earned a B.F.A. in acting at Arkansas State University, an M.A. in performance studies at Missouri State University and an M.F.A. in directing at University of Arkansas. She has worked professionally as an actor, dramaturge, playwright and director. She is co-founder of TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, where she serves as the director of Education and Program Development.  

Ray Allen Parker, of Fayetteville, earned a BA and an MFA in English from the Department of English at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he later studied painting and drawing. Parker was senior merchandising manager, senior editor, creative programs development manager and photography director at JC Penney, Nationwide Headquarters, in Plano, Texas, where he worked for more than 30 years until he returned to Arkansas in 2010 to begin painting. He is represented by Boswell Mourot Fine Art in Little Rock.  

Jody Travis Thompson, of Fayetteville, is an instructor in the School of Art at University of Arkansas. He earned a B.A. at NcNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and an M.F.A. at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He has shown his work in New Jersey, New York, Texas and Arkansas. His work is also in private collections in New York, Washington, D.C., Arkansas, California and more. He has participated in residencies in New Jersey and Texas. 

About the Arkansas Arts Council: The Arkansas Arts Council advances the arts in Arkansas by providing services and supporting arts endeavors that encourage and assist literary, performing and visual artists in achieving standards of professional excellence. In addition, the Arkansas Arts Council provides technical and financial assistance to Arkansas arts organizations and other providers of cultural and educational programs. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Andra Parrish Liwag

Director of Communications,

Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences 

479-575-4393 // liwag@uark.edu