Announcing the 2021 Benenson Award Winners
Fourteen Duke students received a Benenson Award in the Arts this year to support and sustain their work over the summer months and help launch the graduating seniors into the next phase of their life.
Each year, Duke University awards Benenson Awards in the Arts, which provide funding for arts-centered projects proposed by undergraduates, including graduating seniors. This year, the Benenson selection committee awarded prizes to fourteen students for creative projects spanning music, film, theater, visual arts, audio, and writing.
“While the spring has brought some hopeful, positive news regarding vaccinations and arts institutions beginning to return to work, there are still concerns and considerations about safety and the industry as a whole has undergone tremendous financial upheaval. Summer 2021 is still uncertain on many fronts.
With this current circumstance in mind, we made the choice to continue distributing a set award amount and asked this year’s applicants to construct summer plans with that amount and the continuing COVID circumstances in mind. In early April, the faculty committee, representing the array of visual, performing, and creative arts departments at Duke, met, evaluated proposals, and selected awardees. The hope is that these funds will support and sustain their artistic work that continues to compromise and comply with COVID restrictions.
Like last year, we’ve asked this year’s awardees to share their stories about meeting this moment and look forward to sharing those stories with you next fall.”
Jules Odendahl-James, Ph.D
Chair, Benenson Selection Committee
Director of Academic Engagement, Arts & Humanities
Lecturer, Theater Studies
2021 Benenson Award Winners
Arlene Arevalo
Class of 2021
Major: Global Cultural Studies
Project Area: Creative Writing/Audio
Lillian Clark
Class of 2022
Major: Statistical Science
Certificate: Documentary Studies
Project Area: Creative Writing/Audio
Ryan Briggs
Class of 2021
Majors: Environmental Science & Policy; Music
Project Area: Music
Alexa Rose Burnston
Class of 2022
Major: Program II: Understanding the Concept of Value Through the Lens of Classical Musical Traditions
Project Area: Music
Sarah Derris
Class of 2021
Majors: Visual & Media Studies (Cinematic Arts concentration); Global Cultural Studies (Film & Media concentration)
Minor: Environmental Sciences & Policy
Project Area: Film
Anya Dombrovskaya
Class of 2021
Major: Philosophy
Minors: Visual & Media Studies; German
Project Area: Film
Katherine Gan
Class of 2022
Major: Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies
Minor: History
Project Area: Creative Writing
Daniel Kim
Class of 2021
Major: Theater Studies
Minor: Biology
Project Area: Film
Sophia Li
Class of 2021
Major: Neuroscience
Minor: Photography
Project Area: Visual Arts
Elena Rivera
Class of 2022
Major: Visual & Media Studies
Minor: Economics
Certificate: Documentary Studies
Project Area: Film
Tia Smith
Class of 2023
Major: Theater Studies
Project Area: Visual Arts
Nia Williams
Class of 2023
Major: Visual & Media Studies (Cinematic Arts concentration)
Minors: Biology; Art History
Project Area: Film
Aaron Zhao
Class of 2022
Majors: Visual Arts; Biology
Certificate: Documentary Studies
Project Area: Visual Arts
María Zurita Ontiveros
Class of 2021
Majors: Theater Studies; History
Minor: German
Project Area: Theater
Browse Past Benenson Projects
What have other Duke students done with support from a Benenson Award in the Arts? Check out previous awardees here (you can also filter by artistic medium!).