The Vera List Center for Art and Politics is pleased to announce the winners of the 2010-2011 Art Collection Writing Award. Named in honor of the late philanthropist Vera List, whose support was catalytic for both the Vera List Center for Art and Politics and The New School Art Collection, the writing awards are given annually to honor the best essays by New School students inspired by works in the university’s art collection.

This year’s competition garnered entries from six New School divisions – Drama, GPIA, Lang, Parsons, NSGS, and NSSR – by students from Bachelor, Master, and PhD programs with diverse concentrations such as Acting, International Affairs, Governance & Human Rights, Fiction & Non-fiction, Literary Studies, Media Studies, Sociology, Product Design, Philosophy, Poetry, and Fine Arts.

On Thursday, April 7, 2011, the winners celebrate their accomplishments by reading their winning entries during Noir Now: Student Voices, a night of reading that highlights original texts by New School students, and is part of the week-long Noir Festival.

First Prize Creative Response ($400)
Edwin Rivera, MFA Creative Writing: Fiction, NSGS
For his short story ATONE FOR JOAN’S BONES
Inspired by Adrian Piper, Let’s Talk, 1992

Second Prize Creative Response (tie, $200)
Lenea Grace, MFA in Creative Writing: poetry
For her poem Pressure Drop
Inspired by Robert Mangold, Frames and Ellipses, 1988

Second Prize Creative Response (tie, $200)
Tikva Hecht, New School for Social Research, MA in Philosophy
For her short story Bird’s Eye
Inspired by Whitfield Lovell, Uncle, 1990

2010-2011 Jury
Althea Hanke-Hills, MFA in Creative Writing, The New School for General Studies
Carin Kuoni, Director/Curator, Vera List Center for Art and Politics
Joshua Mack, member, Vera List Center Advisory Committee
Rosemary O’Neill, Associate Professor of Art History, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons The New School for Design
Robert Polito, Director, Writing Program and MFA in Creative Writing, The New School for Public Engagement
Silvia Rocciolo, Curator, The New School Art Collection
Wendy Walters, Assistant Professor of Poetry, Department of Literary Studies, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts