On Monday, May 27, the Lewis Center for the Arts celebrates graduates of the Class of 2024 who earned certificates and degrees through the Programs in Creative Writing, Dance, Theater & Music Theater, and Visual Arts.
A Note from the Lewis Center for the Arts Chair Judith Hamera
Welcome to the Matthews Theatre in the McCarter Theatre Center, where we join family, friends, and members of the Lewis Center for the Arts community to celebrate the culmination of our students’ time with us. Our LCA Class of ’24 arrived amidst a global pandemic and departs amidst multiple global upheavals that, once again, challenge us all. Class of ’24, I hope your work in the LCA—your rigorous and generous collaborations, your pursuit of foundational questions around what it means to live a good and worthy life, your courage, and the care you extended to those with whom you shared this time—has given you multiple ways to see yourselves making positive differences in these complicated times, sustained by the conviction that you are part of a community of artist-scholars who can accompany you as you do so. Thank you for the work you did here, all good wishes for the important work ahead, and warm congratulations to you on behalf of the entire LCA.
Certificate Program Graduates
Creative Writing
Kenza Benazzouz, Juliette Carbonnier, Anna Chung, Arlette V. Cojab, Sydney Eck, Andi Grene, Ananya Grover, Sydney Hwang, Ashley Hyun, Sal Kang, Lara Katz, Sabrina Kim, Amanda Kural, Abbie Lambert, Kate Lee, Ellen Li, Ethan Luk, Hailey Mead, Zoe Montague, Tobias Nguyen, Anurag Pratap, Olivia Ragan, Claire Schultz, Mollika Jai Singh, Sierra Stern, Grady Trexler, Cathleen Weng, Emmett Willford, Henry Wright, Briony Zhao, Valeria Zuluaga-Sánchez
Dance
Haley Baird-Dibble, Olivia Buckhorn, Mei Cecilia Geller, Laura Maria Haubold, Ive Jumadeh Jones, Jewel Justice, Isabel Byers Kingston, Vivian Li, Zi Han Liu, Ethan Luk, Ayla-Rose Kapili’ulaokekaupoku Naehu-Ramos, Sanghyun “Chris” Park, Jasmine Minerva Rivers, Aniyah Storm Stokes, Kristen Umbriac, Julia Zhou
Theater & Music Theater
Theater Certificate Students:
Kenza Benazzouz, Juliette Carbonnier, Sandra Chen, Sarah Duntley, Nica Evans, Kerstin Fagerstrom, Kira Fitzgerald, Lana Gaige, Sydney Hwang, Sabina Jafri, Taneyah Jolly, Cooper Kofron, Charlotte Kunesh, Madeleine LeBeau, Jessica Lopez, Ethan Luk, Anaika Mehra, Tanaka Dunbar Ngwara, Raquel Ramirez, Chloe Satenberg, Aneekah Uddin, Aaron Ventresca, Bethany Villaruz, Jay White
Music Theater Certificate Students:
Casey Beidel, Juliette Carbonnier, Sarah Duntley, Sydney Hwang, Carrington Johnson, Cooper Kofron, Charlotte Kunesh, Madeleine LeBeau, Ethan Luk, Tanaka Dunbar Ngwara, Aaron Ventresca, Jay White
Visual Arts
Certificate Students:
David Akpokiere, Miriam Beams, Arianna Borromeo, Hazel Flaherty, Sreesha Ghosh, Lana Glisic, Max Jakobsen, Petr Karpov, Erin Macanze, Kirsten Pardo, Warren Quan, Collin Riggins, Luke Shannon, Julia Stahlman, Justin Zhang, Noori Zubieta
Practice of Art Students:
Daniel Drake, Evan Haley, Emma Mohrmann, Cary Moore, Ayla-Rose Kapili’ulaokekaupoku Naehu-Ramos, Lauren Olson, Magnolia Wilkinson
Student Awards
A number of seniors receive awards for outstanding achievement in each Program and top academic prizes are awarded by the Lewis Center Program Directors for overall achievement in the arts.
Top Academic Prizes
Presented by Judith Hamera, Chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts and Professor of Dance
The Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, presented annually to one or more graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence or the highest standard of proficiency, in performance or execution or in the field of composition in the following general areas: music, theater, dance, painting, sculpture or photography, is awarded to Tanaka Dunbar Ngwara and Ethan Luk.
The Toni Morrison Prize that honors the late Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize Laureate and Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus, will be given to one or more graduating seniors whose individual or collaborative artistic practice has pushed the boundaries and enlarged the scope of our understanding of issues of race. This prize honors work in any form that, in the spirit of Morrison’s, is “characterized by visionary force and poetic import.” Aniyah Storm Stokes and Ayla-Rose Kapili’ulaokekaupoku Naehu-Ramos are recipients of this year’s award.
The Lewis Center for the Arts Action Based Community Engagement Award is awarded to the student or students whose contributions to the Lewis Center embody a commitment to “interrogating that which is accepted or understood in an attempt to break into the territory of the unknown or under-explored.” Jasmine Minerva Rivers and Magnolia Wilkinson are the recipients of this year’s award.
Creative Writing Prizes
Presented by Ilya Kaminksy, Professor of Creative Writing
Theodore H. Holmes ’51 and Bernice Holmes Poetry Prize — Ethan Luk
Theodore Weiss Award — Tobias Nguyen
Samuel Shellabarger Memorial Prize in Creative Writing — Anurag Pratap
Joyce Carol Oates Award — Claire Schultz
Outstanding Work by a Senior — Gloria Wang, Kenza Benazzouz, Henry Wright, Arlette V. Cojab, Madeleine Burns
James Richardson Award — Ananya Grover
Edmund Keeley Literary Translation Award — Ellen Li
Read a description of each creative writing award
Dance Prizes
Presented by Rebecca Lazier, Professor of the Practice and Acting Director of the Program in Dance
Francis LeMoyne Page Class of 1922 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative Arts — Zi Han Liu, Mei Cecilia Geller, Isabel Byers Kingston, Vivian Li
Ze’eva Cohen Senior Award — Sanghyun “Chris” Park
Outstanding Senior Independent Project — Olivia Buckhorn, Haley Baird-Dibble
Sustained Community Achievement Award — Laura Maria Haubold
Read a description of each dance award
Theater & Music Theater Prizes
Presented by Jane Cox, Professor of the Practice and Director of the Program in Theater & Music Theater
Francis LeMoyne Page Class of 1922 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative Arts — Juliette Carbonnier
Innovation in Theater Making Award — Taneyah Jolly, Nica Evans
Outstanding Contribution to Theater — Sydney Hwang
Creative and Community Leadership Award — Madeleine LeBeau
Outstanding Work by a Senior in Theater (Senior Prize) — Aaron Ventresca, Anaika Mehra, Aneekah Uddin, Bethany Villaruz, Carrington Johnson, Casey Beidel, Charlotte Kunesh, Chloe Satenberg, Cooper Kofron, Ethan Luk, Jay White, Jessica Lopez, Juliette Carbonnier, Kenza Benazzouz, Kerstin Fagerstrom, Kira Fitzgerald, Lana Gaige, Madeleine LeBeau, Nica Evans, Raquel Ramirez, Sabina Jafri, Sandra Chen, Sarah Duntley, Sydney Hwang, Tanaka Dunbar Ngwara, Taneyah Jolly
Outstanding Contribution to Music Theater — Aaron Ventresca, Carrington Johnson
Tim Vasen Award for Talent and Citizenship — Sabina Jafri
Read a description of each theater & music theater award
Visual Arts Prizes
Presented by Jeff Whetstone, Professor and Director of the Program in Visual Arts
Jim Seawright Award in Visual Arts — Emma Mohrmann
Lucas Award in Visual Arts — David Akpokiere, Miriam Beams, Arianna Borromeo, Daniel Drake, Hazel Flaherty, Sreesha Ghosh, Lana Glisic, Evan Haley, Petr Karpov, Erin Macanze, Emma Mohrmann, Cary Moore, Ayla-Rose Kapili’ulaokekaupoku Naehu-Ramos, Lauren Olson, Kirsten Pardo, Warren Quan, Luke Shannon, Julia Stahlman, Magnolia Wilkinson, Justin Zhang
Read a description of each visual arts award
Land Acknowledgement
The Lewis Center for the Arts is working to create a living land acknowledgement, one that is embodied in its consideration of—and engagement with—the past, present, and future. As we continue this work, we acknowledge that this building sits on land considered part of the ancient homelands of the Lenni-Lenape peoples and that this campus was built on this land with no recorded consultation with the Lenni-Lenape peoples. We acknowledge that learning about history and making this statement isn’t enough. Equally important is our ongoing work to understand past harms; build awareness in present relationships and actions; and bring imagination, creative problem-solving, and community-building to the future of our programs. We are taking actions towards these goals within our curriculum, pedagogy, and programming. We invite you to learn more about the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Princeton.
Lewis Center for the Arts
Chair: Judith Hamera
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young
Director of Princeton Atelier: Paul Muldoon
Director of the Program in Creative Writing: Yiyun Li
Acting Director of the Program in Creative Writing: A.M. Homes
Acting Director of the Program in Dance: Rebecca Lazier
Acting Associate Director of Dance: Susan Marshall
Director of the Program in Theater & Music Theater: Jane Cox
Director of Fellowships: Stacy Wolf
Producing Artistic Director of Theater and Music Theater Season: Elena Araoz
Director of the Program in Visual Arts: Jeff Whetstone
Associate Director of Visual Arts: Pam Lins
View a list of Lewis Center for the Arts faculty
View a list of LCA staff members
The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of many alumni and other donors. View a list of LCA Supporters