Project Row Houses (PRH) and the Center for Art and Social Engagement (CASE) at the University of Houston’s Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts are proud to announce the artists participating in the 2018 CASE-PRH Fellowship: Houston-based artist Regina Agu and Eyakem Gulilat, a PhD candidate at the University of Oklahoma.
The CASE-PRH Fellowship was created to invite artists and cultural practitioners to the Third Ward to work alongside urban planners, educators and policy makers. The fellows will engage in creative collaborations that involve the Third Ward community and address issues important to them.
Agu and Gulilat will receive mentorship from project administrators Sixto Wagan, director of the UH Center for Art and Social Engagement, and Ryan N. Dennis, PRH’s Curator and Programs Director. Local artists, faculty members, community members and selected leaders will offer their support during this process.
“The pilot year of the fellowship was an incredible experience,” said Dennis. “It was amazing to watch Carrie and Carol’s research and projects develop over the course of 2017, and I’m eager to work with Eyakem and Regina in the year to come.”
Upon completion of the fellowship’s pilot year, applications were accepted from over 60 local, national, and international artists and collectives. The applications were reviewed by a panel consisting of Dennis and Wagan; Eureka Gilkey, PRH Executive Director; Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, artist and UH lecturer; and Deidre Thomas, Grants + Capacity Building Coordinator at the Houston Arts Alliance.
“The first year of the fellowships and this last round of applications demonstrate a significant investment and excitement toward what artists bring to the equitable growth of our communities,” stated Wagan. “We are thrilled that the partnership between PRH and CASE contributes to the growing reputation of Houston as an epicenter of responsive and responsible, community-centered creative practices.”
At the conclusion of their fellowships, the two will also present lectures/performances that encapsulate their year of research. We hope you will join us at the Project Row Houses from 11:30 – 1 on February 21 for a pot-luck lunch and for artist talks at 6:30 as we introduce the fellows, their previous work, and questions that will guide their research in the upcoming year.
