Visual Art Students Honored for Exceptional Work

Numerous UArts students were honored for their high-caliber work at the end of the spring 2019 semester—at film festivals; with President’s Awards; and through competitions, scholarships and other prizes. Some of UArts’ visual artists who were recognized include Kayla Mitchell ’22 (Illustration) and Erin Baker ’22 (Illustration), who were awarded the Mary B. Sweeny Scholarship; Jessica Dowicz ’19 (Fine Arts, Painting & Drawing emphasis), who was recognized with the Ted Carey Prize; and Kara O’Brien ’20 (Illustration), who won the Richard C. von Hess Travel Fellowship and Scholarship.

Mary B. Sweeny Scholarship
The Mary B. Sweeny Scholarship is named for Mary Bahls Sweeny (1896–1978), a Drawing faculty member and a 1918 alum of what was then the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. Sweeny served on the Board of Directors beginning in 1935. 

It means a lot to me that my artwork was recognized by the UArts faculty. It has given me even more motivation to continue pursuing a career in illustration. – Erin Baker ’22 (Illustration), Sweeny Scholarship winner

Any Core Studies freshmen planning to major in Illustration may compete for the scholarship, and students are asked to submit eight drawings from their first-year drawing courses that are indicative of their range and strengths. A jury of two Core Studies faculty members and one Illustration faculty member met to review the submissions and select winners.

The winners, Mitchell and Baker, will both receive $3,000 in each of their next three years at UArts. 

“This scholarship represents for me the culmination of my freshman year at UArts,” Mitchell says. “I feel very honored to be a recipient and am grateful that the university gives incoming Illustration majors this opportunity.”

Sweeny Scholarship winner Baker says, “It means a lot to me that my artwork was recognized by the UArts faculty and to have positive reinforcement for something I love to do. It has given me even more motivation to continue pursuing a career in illustration.”

Ted Carey Prize
The Ted Carey Prize is awarded to a senior in good academic standing with a strong portfolio. The $5,000 prize is open to the Painting, Illustration and Printmaking programs and is funded by the Richard C. von Hess Foundation. 

Nine students competed for the prize; the competition was juried by Carol Moore, Laurence Bach and Gerald Nichols, who are all professors emeriti. Dowicz won for her work titled “Sitting Still” (pictured above). 

Richard C. von Hess Travel Fellowship and Scholarship 
The Richard C. von Hess Travel Fellowship and Scholarship is awarded to a junior from the Painting or Illustration department with a strong portfolio, a minimum GPA of 3.0, and financial need. This $7,000 fellowship provides the awardee with travel and study between junior and senior year, and a full-tuition scholarship for senior year. O’Brien will travel to Hawaii, where she will immerse herself in nature, and capture the islands’ biodiversity in her sketchbooks.

“I enjoy creating stories and settings with the ability to spark adventure and imagination in the viewer most of all,” she says. “These are qualities found in children’s books, comics and visual development that have inspired me throughout my life.”