This summer, 10 area college students will embark on a unique journey through the Gyo Obata Fellowship Program – a chance to learn about arts administration through a local arts nonprofit. The 10-week, paid job training program is administered by the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) of St. Louis and funded by the Gateway Foundation.
“The Gyo Obata Fellowship Program addresses the need for a more diverse, inclusive and equitable local nonprofit arts and culture sector,” said Vanessa Cooksey, RAC CEO and president. “We put the program on hold during the pandemic, and we are thrilled to bring it back in 2022.”
Congrats to the 10 Gyo Obata Fellows and thank you to the organizations taking part!
- Springboard – Zipporah Cunningham
- Central Print – Marissa Camp
- St. Louis Artworks – Tremont Davis
- Cinema St. Louis – Janice Sutton
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis – Nadir Malovic
- National Blues Museum – Kimberly Murphy
- COCA – Orquidea Campbell Epinoza
- Intersect – Virginia GiGi Florek
- Consuming Kinetics Dance Company – Amyah Myah Thompson
- Perennial – Kayla Fields
To be eligible for the program participants must currently be enrolled in any bachelor’s degree-seeking program of an accredited college or university in the greater St. Louis area. Students who are enrolled in an accredited college or university outside of the St. Louis area may apply but must reside in St. Louis City or County. They also must be entering their third or fourth year of undergraduate studies, have at least 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university, or have graduated within a year of the program start date. Due to the pandemic, students who were accepted into the program in 2020 were allowed to participate in the 2022 Gyo Obata Fellowship.
The program is named in honor of the late Gyo Obata. The renowned architect and co-founder of HOK, a global design, architecture and engineering firm, passed away in 2022. In his seven-decade career, Obata designed many world-famous structures, including museums, airports, and a presidential library. In the St. Louis region, he designed the Priory Chapel at Saint Louis Abbey, the main terminal of St. Louis Lambert International Airport, and the Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center.
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