05/15/2026
Three CoA+A faculty receive Creative Renewal Fellowships from the Arts & Science Council 🌟
Professor of Dance Kim Jones, Professor of Art Marek Ranis and Assistant Professor of Dance Ashley L. Tate are among 10 local artists awarded the fellowship, which is designed to "reinvigorate experienced artists by offering the time, resources and freedom to explore new directions, deepen their practice and sustain their long-term creative vitality in Charlotte-Mecklenburg."
Ashley will attend the Versa-Style Dance Intensive in Los Angeles, a six-day immersive program in hip-hop and street dance with master choreographers, deepening her practice in house, locking and whacking while developing new choreographic work that integrates street dance with contemporary and interdisciplinary approaches.
Marek will expand "Landscape of Identity," his long-term project exploring how landscapes shape personal and collective identities in the context of environmental change and human migration. He began the project in 2024 in Norway and this summer will expand it to Finland through two artist residencies, collaborating with multi-generational farming families, Sámi community members, and immigrants and newcomers.
Kim will travel to NYC and Korea for mentorship, observation, documentation and artistic exchange with elder practitioners who are recognized as cultural heritage carriers as part of "Echoes of the Drum: Reconnecting Korean Folk Lineage in Contemporary Dance Practices." This builds on years of research into the life and work of Choi Seung-Hee, an artist who is regarded as the first Korean modern dancer.
Congratulations, Ashley, Marek and Kim 👏
📸: Toby Schuetze, Marek Ranis, Botticelli Foto
