Campus News

Winners Announced in Inaugural Cornerstone Call For Art

The Cornerstone Digital Media Wall.
Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2021) — Award winners have been announced for the inaugural call for artwork for The Cornerstone digital media wall. Sixty-four individual artists from across the Commonwealth and beyond submitted more than 70 pieces of artwork. 

The inaugural call focused on two themes: Black Lives in the Bluegrass and Kentucky Confronting COVID-19. Applicants were judged by a jury of UK faculty, staff and community members, which included Sandra Charles, an artist from Louisville, Kentucky; Paul Brown, critic and curator; Yoon Bae, assistant professor of scenic design in the College of Fine Arts Department of Theatre and Dance; and Belinda Rubio, assistant dean in the College of Fine Arts and acting director of the Singletary Center for the Arts. 

Generously funded by a grant from Coca-Cola, 10 cash awards of $1,000 each have been awarded for artistic excellence (five in each open call series) in the following categories:

  • UK Student Award
  • UK Faculty & Staff Award
  • Kentucky Community Award (eligibility limited to non-UK students, faculty and staff)
  • Equity & Inclusion Award (eligibility limited to persons of color)
  • People’s Choice Award (online voting mechanism to select winner)

Below are the winners in each of the categories. 

Black Lives in the Bluegrass:

  • Amber Thieneman (Community Award Winner)
  • Soreyda Begley (Equity and Inclusion Award Winner)
  • Lucy O'Neill (Student Award Winner)
  • Jackson Dunavant (Staff/Faculty Award Winner)
  • William Roberts (People’s Choice Award Winner)

Kentucky Confronting COVID-19:

  • Malcolm Wilson (Community Award Winner)
  • Jingshuo Yang (Equity and Inclusion Award Winner)
  • Maddie Mattheu (Student Award Winner)
  • Chad Eby (Staff/Faculty Award Winner)
  • Samantha Minrath (People’s Choice Award Winner)

All 31 jury-selected finalists will have their images displayed on the exterior digital media wall wrapping the corner of South Limestone and Winslow Street from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and from noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays, April 20 through May 31.

To learn more about the call for art, click here. To stay up to date on future digital art shows and competitions hosted at The Cornerstone and on the digital media wall, visit The Cornerstone’s homepage

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.