Sam Dubose, Part of the They That Matter series by Larry Collins

The Ohio Arts Council awarded three Miami University faculty members with the Individual Excellence Award for FY '21. Individual Excellence Awards are peer recognition of an artist's body of work that exemplifies their specific discipline and advances the larger artistic community. These awards support artists' development and recognize their work in Ohio and beyond. Professor of painting Dana Saulnier and Associate Professor of foundations/illustration Larry Collins, who teach on the Oxford campus, were selected in the Visual 2D Arts category. Adjunct faculty member Rachel Girard Reisert, who teaches photography at the Regionals, was selected in the photography category. 

Members of the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) board annually approve grant funding to be awarded to Ohio artists through the OAC's Individual Excellence Awards program. This year, the board approved $300,000 to be awarded to 75 artists. Applications in crafts, design, interdisciplinary arts, media arts, photography, visual arts 2D, and visual arts 3D were accepted. Each award is $4,000. The grants were approved at the OAC board's winter board meeting on Jan. 20. "I am excited to see our talented faculty honored for their creative achievements, but not surprised," shared College of Creative Arts Dean Liz Mullenix. "Having three of our educators selected for individual excellence speaks to the excellence of our faculty at Miami."

Professor of painting Dana Saulnier teaches art by seeking to introduce his students to their creative relationship to a life lived. Saulnier received a BFA degree in Painting from the University of Cincinnati and an MFA degree in Painting from Cornell University. Saulnier is represented by First Street Gallery in New York City. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States and in Europe. Image: ‘Untitled (1220)', oil on canvas, 39.5 x 45”.

Larry Winston Collins received his BFA degree from Columbus College of Art and Design and his MFA degree from the Maryland Institute, College of Art. Collins also received a fellowship to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. The "Artist to Africa Fellowship" presented by "ACE" (Arts for Community Expression) facilitated Collinstravels to Dakar, Senegal in West Africa. Collins exhibits widely in Ohio and throughout the United States. 

Rachel Girard Reisert's work combines historic and digital photographic processes to address the complexities of perception and the intersection where personal experience is unique and universal. Reisert has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in Canada, Italy, and Hungary. She holds a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design and an MFA in photography from Arizona State University. Image: Unfixed #01, Archival inkjet from unique lumen print, 16" x 20"