Albert P. Weisman Award Exhibition Best in Show awarded to Book & Paper alumna Teresa Pankratz

Since Spring semester, a select group of young creatives at Columbia have been diligently working on pieces they are passionate about, waiting for the big moment to show their work.

From the Photography Department to Center for Book & Paper Arts, these students have one thing in common: their work was made possible because of the Weisman Award.

The Weisman gave these 35 students a grant to complete a gallery-quality piece (or collection) of work. Awarded in February, students are given the semester to finish their work, with the award paying half of all expenses related to the piece, up to $4000.

“Students complete an application process that includes work samples from their project,” said Tim Long, Executive Director of Career Initiatives. “A team of judges (people who work in the same or related media) selects the best project / applications to be awarded.”

For the most part, the judges are looking for projects that are clearly defined and can be completed in the cycle of the award, which is about eight months, Long said.

At the start of each fall semester, the awardees’ work is placed on display in collaboration with Columbia’s Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces (DEPS). The 2010 winner’s work will be displayed until October 15 at 618 S. Michigan Ave., in the Arcade Gallery. Weisman recipients convened on September 9 to show off their work, with two Best in Show pieces selected.

Film & Video graduate student Deidre Lee’s piece “Pass Through Fire” was selected as Best in Show in the film category.

“It’s a complete honor. I couldn’t have done the film without the Weisman,” Lee said. “It has been a journey, to say the least. All films are. But to have the support from not only the Portfolio Center but from the Columbia community has been amazing.”

The overall Best in Show winner was Book & Paper Arts graduate student Teresa Pankratz, with a piece titled “the Dream House Collection OR Tale of Narrow Escape.”