The School of Art Photography, Video and Imaging Program (PVI) enthusiastically nominates Quinn Standley for the 2022 College of Fine Arts Creative Achievement Award. Quinn has distinguished himself as a leader in our program and an exceptionally dedicated learner with a cumulative GPA of 3.951, and was awarded the Andrew W. Eddowes Memorial Photography Scholarship for the 2022-2023 academic year. He is a CFA Dean’s List recipient of highest academic achievement every semester since he transferred to the University of Arizona from Seattle University. It is notable to everyone who works with Quinn that he is exceptionally well- prepared for class, has a highly productive engagement with thought and theory, and has strong writing, production, and conceptual skills. He often leads discussions in the classroom, being generous with everyone around him and providing unique perspectives and insight to assigned readings and artwork.

PVI faculty frequently and proudly note Quinn’s engagement and production. Professor Sama Alshaibi highlights his “intellectual curiosity, rigorous work ethic and high creative output”, applied to her hybrid arts and digital humanities course “Migration As Practice”. His participation in the course resulted in the production of videos and academic papers investigating the public spaces of Tucson, identity, and time. Alshaibi stresses his “capacity to turn thematic assignments into purposeful prompts for his specific practice”, demonstrated during the seminar, evidence of his agency and awareness as an artist and a researcher.

I worked with Quinn in “Documentary Practice”, “Introduction to Imaging”, “Artists’ Video”, and we are now doing an independent study focusing on an exploration of the subsequent levels of PVI’s new “Imaging” program, which were not offered in time for his graduation. I accepted Quinn’s proposal based on the high quality of work, dedication to course content, and his advanced understanding and engagement with new imaging technologies and practices, such as creative coding. This is strategic to the implementation of the “Imaging” program and aligned with Quinn’s ambitious goals for the continuation of his creative research and transition into graduate school in Fall 2023.

In his complex and poignant artistic practice, Quinn produces sophisticated photography, video and installation work that completely exceeds expectations at the undergraduate level. His philosophic-creative quests are forged in deep poetic entanglements of personal experience, science, the material world, and the materiality of media. Quinn’s ability to deal with the unknown, the uncanny, the abject, the sentient, and to do it poetically, denotes an extremely heightened sensibility and an elevated sense of aesthetics and critique. He creates introspective experiences and engages viewers in unconventional ways of seeing, in his constant journey to identify and employ media and thought. These highly sensorial encounters present engaged philosophical reflections on topics such as our perceptions of reality and lived-experience, mental illness, and the roles of science and technology in contemporary society. The future of Quinn’s practice is bright. It might be precisely through a committed and responsible engagement with the contradictions and darkness that make us human, when our eyes adapt to the right sensitivity, that we will find light and complexity in knowledge that can propel us, our sensibilities, and our science. We continue to look forward to learning alongside Quinn.

Sincerely,

Marcos Serafim
On behalf of the faculty of the Photography, Video and Imaging Program

It is my pleasure to write a letter in support of Sasha Reist for the Fall 2022 Creative Achievement Award in the School of Dance. Sasha consistently stands out as an eager and open individual in the program, and has utilized her passion for dance, performance, and film to the fullest during her time here. Her progress as a dancer and choreographer has been tremendous during her time here! It has been an absolute pleasure to have her in class and rehearsals, and she has diligently applied constructive critique, is eager to learn and grow, and is a kind and confident person who is obviously supportive of her peers and committed to all of her many pursuits at the University of Arizona. In addition to Sasha’s BFA in Dance, she is pursuing a BA in Film and Television.

As a performer Sasha has showcased her versatility throughout her time at the U of A and has been cast in numerous faculty and graduate works in the ballet, modern, AND jazz areas.

In addition to her dedication as a performer, Sasha has used her skills in film to collaborate with undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and the community at large to create video work from Fall 2020-Fall 2022. Her work has been appreciated by all in the School of Dance and nationally recognized in many venues. She was recently the Resident and Administrative Intern for Earl Mosley Diversity of Dance Summer Intensive and Production Assistant and Second Cameraman with Dare to be Films this last Summer 2022. Her work entitled “Changement”, a documentary about the use of traditional gender roles in ballet premiered at the Loft Cinema in Fall 2021. In addition, she was nominated for a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Student Production Award and choreographed for the Jamaica Dance Festival in Jamaica Queens, New York in the Summer of 2022.

I look forward to seeing what the future holds for such a bright, committed, and hard-working young woman truly deserving of the Creative Achievement Award in the School of Dance this year.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth George
Associate Professor and Undergraduate Advisor, School of Dance

I am pleased to write this letter in support of Mallory Mahoney for the 2022 CFA Student Creative Achievement Award. Mallory is a senior music education and bassoon performance major. She has proven to be a self motivated student who has demonstrated creative scholarship and innovation and a deep passion for the arts. Her accolades prove she is a multifaceted student who will bring valuable insight as a leading performer and music educator to positively impact the future of the arts.

Mallory has performed in the Arizona Wind Ensemble Arizona Symphony Orchestra as well as a bassoon and saxophone duo. She has also served as section leader of the low brass section of Arizona Pride and was a semifinalist at the 2021 Fred Fox School of Music President’s Competition. This past summer, Mallory dedicated her entire summer to honing her bassoon performance skills. She attended the Glickman-Popkin Bassoon camp as a scholarship recipient. There she played in masterclasses for Catherine Chen, principal bassoonist of the Milwaukee Symphony, and collaborated with other professionals in the field. A few weeks later, Mallory traveled to Bayview Michigan where she performed in a wind quintet as part of Bayview Music Festival’s chamber music institute. Mallory was invited to stay an extra week to perform in the musical where she coached a high school student and performed with Bayview Festival faculty.

Beyond her performance, Mallory has demonstrated an eye toward innovation and entrepreneurship. Last semester, Mallory’s capstone project for her careers in music course was organizing and planning a studio benefit concert. Her charity of choice was the University of Arizona Arboretum, home to the beloved turtle pond where she planned the 45 minute recital to take place. The concert was a success, engaging all of the studio and reaching regular music audiences and passerbys alike.

Mallory is a natural leader motivated by a desire to improve and grow. She absorbs information quickly and thoroughly, applying what she learns to her playing and her teaching. Mallory continuously proves to be an asset to the Fred Fox School of Music with her camaraderie, enthusiastic spirit, and devotion to improve. I highly recommend Mallory for the CFA Student Creative Achievement Award.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Professor Marissa Olegario, M.M
Assistant Professor of Bassoon

On behalf of the faculty in School of Theatre, Film & Television, I am delighted to nominate Tatiana Hernandez for the 2022 Creative Achievement Award. Tatiana is a highly exceptional student; a double major with one foot in the Film & Television Bachelor of Fine Arts program and the other in the Theater Bachelor of Arts program. She holds a 4.0 GPA in both degrees! Very few students have made substantial artistic accomplishments at the highest level as both a major in film and in theatre, and as a First Generation college student, like Tatiana has. Moreover, Tatiana is a generous collaborator who approaches her creative activities joyfully and often playfully.

In my Fiction Production class, Tatiana and her classmate and collaborator Zack Richardson, demonstrated their comedic film directing and writing skills in Once A Pawn A Time. In the film, two roommates go to extreme lengths to beat each other at a game of chess, which neither knows how to play. Their film uses familiar film conventions, like the Western showdown, and a self-deprecating inner dialog of the main character, which take the comedy to ludicrously hilarious heights. Their actors, cast as opposite personalities, one smug and the other gullible, deliver memorable and endearing performances which are shaped by Tatiana’s skills in directing and editing. The pacing is tight and punctuates the comic timing of the performances.

Tatiana has become known as the post-production guru among her classmates. When nobody in the fiction class volunteered to edit the Magic Hour promotional trailer, Tatiana stepped in and cut the trailer in one sitting. Audio is even more her specialty; she’s interested in pursuing a career in sound. Over the course of the year she worked on 11 films as a production sound mixer and/or boom operator and she created the sound design on 4 senior thesis films. Her sound work was recognized with the Adobe Award for Excellence in Sound Design by the 2022 I DREAM IN WIDESCREEN jury, which included the Director of Film Festival Programming at SXSW. 

Professor Jacob Bricca writes, “Tatiana was brave, generous, and absolutely tireless in her sound post-production work on the senior films. She overcame noisy tracks, missing files, and difficult deadlines to deliver professional-grade and highly creative work.”

Tatiana has impressed the faculty across the School. Dr. Jessica Maerz notes, “As a BA Theatre student, Tatiana brings significant gifts and talents to her work in the Theatre program. She has emerged as a natural leader in her BA student cohort in the Theatre area and has demonstrated her abilities in several capacities.”

Tatiana has performed in BA area productions, including the Next Performance Collective, which is the main production arm for the BA student training program. She recently served as a devisor and performer in our New Directions Festival, where her contributions were exceptionally valuable. She contributed to a devised piece about body image and the pressures women face from negative body image messages. Dr. Maerz adds, “She is an engaged learner and very creative thinker. She elevates the discourse and outcomes in every class she enrolls in.”

There is a story about Tatiana that defines her generous character. Last Fall a classmate of hers lost his entire documentary sound design created in ProTools when his hard drive crashed the night before it was due for the public screening.  He had no backup thus, the sound mix had to be re-created from scratch in ProTools. Tatiana stayed up with him all night helping him to redesign his sound. She is indefatigable in her willingness to help others. Her good-natured temperament, characterized by her occasionally breaking out in laughter, song, or a hip hop dance move, surely raises the spirits of those she works with, even in or especially in, moments of creative crisis.

Creatively, academically and personally, Tatiana exemplifies the traits and accomplishments that mark her current work as excellent and indicate a high potential for future success. Tatiana is deserving of an award that recognizes her ability to create both fun and socially relevant stories across the disciplines of film and theatre. She has an incredibly bright future; we are fortunate to have her here at the UA for the time being.  The TFTV faculty are happy and proud to nominate Tatiana for the Creative Achievement Award.

Sincerely,
Yuri Makino, Associate Director, Film & Television program
School of Theater, Film & Television