Current Recipients

Congratulations to the 2025 Albert P. Weisman Recipients.

Emma Bolas

Sole Provider
Sole Provider is a project that tells the stories of single parenthood. The images represent 23% of U.S. children who live with one parent and no other adults, compared to 7% of children worldwide. Solo parenting focuses on the parent and child in challenging circumstances.

Olivia Byam

Meet the Robinsons
This collection is heavily inspired by the film 'Meet the Robinsons'. Through fusing retro futurism and fashion this collection creates wearable art that envisions a bright future ahead. Through emotional nostalgia and story telling the Robinsons meet the runway.

William Duwe

Metamentis
Humans have been replaced as the apex predator by Artificial Intelligence and Organoid Intelligence. These successors are the physical manifestation of the 'nature vs. nurture' of the human species. AI is a form of synthetic apathy where as OI is liberation via nature.

Ayu Eini and Camryn Mather

The R.I.A Experiment
The Real Innovative Artists (R.I.A) are launching a series of dynamic events aimed at fostering creativity, unity, and community engagement. Our mission is to provide artists with the tools and platforms needed to succeed while creating immersive and enriching experiences for our audience. Our events and exhibitions are thoughtfully curated to engage the human spirit, creating spaces where people's needs for connection and meaningful social interactions are truly met. Our event series includes live music performances, workshops, film screenings, and the fundraising gala- To elevate these experiences, we plan to invest the Weisman Award grant into professional event equipment.

Dominic Frugoli

Sardinia
Sardinia is a hardware audio project that is based around the art of sampling: taking tiny slices of audio and reshaping them into completely new sounds that are hidden within.

Thien Hoang Bui

Wanderer
After the sudden disappearance of Alzheimer grandmother, Nien, a poor 13-year-old boy from the working class, embarks on a journey to find her.

Samuel Kirkwood, Jr.

Cotillon
Cotillon is the first chapter of The Manchild Expedition - a story about a young man's journey back into the world of dance. This piece ceremoniously debuts our adventurer, showcasing his internal struggle as he transitions from spectator to spectacle.

Carmen L. Ordonez

Medio Oeste Lowriders
Medio Oeste Lowriders is a photo series capturing Chicago's Mexican American lowrider culture. It challenges stereotypes, showing the beauty and passion passed down through generations.

Hossam Moussa

The Righteous Killer

Log Upon realizing that all of his past murders have been people of color, a seasoned white serial killer sets out on a journey to change by becoming more inclusive in his murders. The Righteous Killer is a dark comedy that explores the interplay between entrenched power structures.

Haley Patton

Appealing Me
Struggling to define his identity, awkward and single Max peels off his face and tries new ones on between failed flirtations at a local bar. This funny and heartfelt short film explores the ideas of self-acceptance and courage in the face of self-hatred and isolation.

Ravia Rasool

Silence on Set

The short fiction film explores the decline of Pakistan's film industry in the mid-90s through the story of a visionary filmmaker, trapped in a commercial project he despises, faces a domineering producer wielding toxic control, and forcing him to question his moralities.

Fatemeh Rezaeipour

Jack The Fetcher
Jack The Fetcher is a dark-comedy murder mystery crafted as MFA thesis film in a TV pilot format. Jack, a narcissistic sociopath sketch artist with an obsessive love for dogs, commits murder trying to rescue a dog from its abusive owner.

Ziyi Yuan

Days Flow By
Amidst urbanization in Sichuan Province, the last resident of a fading village, an old man, fights to preserve his home and its heritage. Diagnosed with cancer, as his family returns to the village, it reveals that his life is fading along with the old village in their memory.

Linhan Zhang

Carve Out The Mad Stone
This is a 15-minute short film. On the eve of the rumored Mayan apocalypse, a broken family, torn apart by years of indifference and resentment, is forced together to take their first (and last) family photo.

Jiamin Zhao

Conversation Among The Ruins
A short narrative film centered around the intertwined yet detached relationship between two women who met in a photography museum in Lianzhou, China. In ways these women can barely perceive, their relationship becomes a catalyst for the social reproduction of their desires.