As the profile of the arts at UVA continues to grow, the UVA Arts Council has announced an annual awards program that will recognize outstanding students in five arts disciplines (music, studio art, dance, drama, and architecture) at the University with at $2,000 prize. The Inaugural UVA Arts Council Distinguished Artist Awards program, spearheaded by Tim Michel (Arch ’76) and whole-heartedly approved by the entire Council, was created to celebrate an undergraduate’s achievement in the Arts, and to provide a new vehicle for faculty to publicly acknowledge their outstanding students. The awards are intended for rising fourth-year students, and nominees are selected by department chairs, based on criteria including superior execution of the art form, a deep understanding of the subject matter and artistic process, and originality and creativity. The inaugural winners were:

Savannah Hard (Drama)
Savannah, a drama major, is a superbly talented and highly motivated member of the theater community at UVA. Her original plays, including Eggs and White Zinfandel, have received high praise in performances at the University, and she gave a memorable performance as #46 in last fall’s acclaimed production of The Wolves. While her title for the 2018 Drama Department production of Urinetown was Assistant Stage Manager, her true role included everything from acting stage manager to stand-in-actor, shoulder-to-cry-on, first one to the theater and the last one to leave. In her “spare time,” Hard served as President of the Virginia Players, a student organization she is credited with revitalizing.

Amy Dalrymple (Dance)
“During her time at UVA,” Kim Brooks Mata, Head and Artistic Director of Dance, said, “Amy has consistently challenged herself and taken risks on various projects in multiple areas: as a performer, choreographer, and engaged citizen. That engagement showed itself strongly in her role as lead research assistant for Reinterpreting the Pollock’s Branch Watershed, an interdisciplinary research project at the intersection of landscape architecture, dance, and community mapping.” Tasked with researching the historical significance of Anna and Lawrence Halprin’s creative process to better understand the successes and failures of post-urban renewal in Charlottesville, Dalrymple helped to organize the community element and mapping workshops at Clark Elementary, Walkable Watershed, and JABA’s Mary Williams Senior Center, where she quickly won favor with members.

Gabby Fuller (Studio Art)
A student of both studio practice and art history, Gabby Fuller’s interest in making things at UVA was first piqued by animation. She spent her early new media classes creating bright renderings of animals and fantastical creatures. As she deepened her knowledge in art history and her engagement with contemporary social conditions, Gabby has ventured into topics surrounding her bi-racial heritage and issues surrounding African-American identity and the history of African Americans on Grounds, which she learned in part through her father, a UVA graduate. This year she is working to track down and document her uncle’s square on the once-prominent AIDS quilt, and exploring the intellectual territory of conceptual art. 

Nicholas Rupert (Music)
An outstanding cellist, Nick is greatly admired by his cello teacher and his contemporaries at UVA. He is a well-rounded musician, combining strength in technical matters such as rhythm and tone with confidence and emotional expressiveness, as well as a strong stage presence. He is currently participating in the Performance Concentration, which will give him a performance credential beyond the standard music major. Nick performed a Distinguished Major recital in his last semester, and has been active in ensemble work with the Charlottesville Symphony, while excelling in his academic music classes as well.

David Shim (Architecture)

David demonstrates a noteworthy combination of exceptional design talent, a strong work ethic, and an easy-going personable character. After transferring into the School of Architecture from the University at large, David quickly excelled, showing tremendous growth as a designer. Ambitious, extremely interested in design, eager to learn, experience, and grow, David shows impressive attention to detail in both aesthetic and technical design as well as a strong graphic sensibility through a wide range of techniques. He combines these skills with impressive communication abilities that add to his proposals and bode well for his future as a designer. He holds the top GPA in his class, at 3.899.