Zollar of FSU, founder of Urban Bush Women, is “Genius Grant” MacArthur Fellow

Florida State University’s Jawole Willa Jo Zollar received the 2021 MacArthur Fellowship – also known as the “Genius Grant” – for using the power of dance and artistic expression to celebrate the voices of black women and promote civic engagement and community organization.

Zollar, professor at FSU’s School of Dance and founder of Urban Bush Women, will receive the $ 625,000, an unconditional award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, awarded to talented individuals in various fields who have made proof of exceptional originality and dedication in their creative activities.

She is the first FSU faculty member to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

The Foundation announced on Tuesday that 25 people will each receive the grants over five years to use as they see fit. The Chicago-based foundation has awarded the “Engineering Grants” every year since 1981 to help continue the search for exceptionally talented people.

“We are delighted that Professor Jawole Willa Jo Zollar has been awarded the MacArthur Fellowship,” FSU President Richard McCullough said. “She is a national treasure and so deserves this prestigious scholarship which recognizes exceptional creativity.”

Acknowledgement:Ford Foundation rewards FSU dance teacher Jawole Willa Jo Zollar

Lifetime price:FSU dance teacher awarded Lifetime Achievement Award

Women of the urban bush:Urban Bush Women, founded by FSU professor, named one of “America’s cultural treasures”

Over the past 12 months, Zollar’s work, via UBW, has also received support from the Ford Foundation and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

“It is an incredible honor for Jawole,” said Sally McRorie, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. “Florida State University is privileged to have such an extraordinary artist, educator and humanitarian as our colleague, friend, dedicated professor and mentor.”

Zollar founded the famous New York dance company Urban Bush Women in 1984 and joined the faculty of the FSU School of Dance in 1997.

“Professor Zollar has made a truly distinctive mark as an artist and leader,” said James Frazier, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “The MacArthur Fellowship is a deep and well-deserved honor, the result of decades of commitment to her vision of the Urban Bush Women and her outstanding accomplishments as the founding artistic director of the ensemble and as a celebrated choreographer of iconic dances that resonate with emotional integrity and emphasize resilience and transcendence.

Zollar is a choreographer and dance entrepreneur who has forged a style of dance creation and artistic leadership that links dance with cultural identity, civic engagement, community organization and the imperatives of social justice. UBW is known for its ability to weave contemporary dance, music and text with the history, culture and spiritual traditions of the African Diaspora. The company galvanizes artists, activists, audiences and communities through performances, artist development, education and community engagement.

“Movement is the foundation of life,” Zollar said. “Dance transforms this human imperative into an expressive imperative that supports our ability to make sense of and deepen our understanding of this world. Through this lens, I work to strengthen leadership, choreograph new works, and create strategies for community engagement and organization. I am inspired by how, when and under what circumstances people move. It is endless. “

This summer, Zollar’s UBW received a $ 3 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott – one of Scott’s 286 high-impact contributions, part of $ 2.7 billion in donations, made to organizations and historically underfunded communities.

And, in October 2020, UBW received a seven-figure award from the Ford Foundation as part of an initiative to recognize black, Latin, Asian and Indigenous arts organizations negatively affected by COVID-19.

Throughout his career, Zollar has also received numerous accolades, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009 and the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Award from the State of Florida, the highest honor bestowed by the FSU faculty in one of his own.

In October, she will also receive the 2021 Distinction Award from Dance Teacher magazine, which is awarded to outstanding educators for their contributions to their field.

“We at FSU are extremely fortunate to have her among us as she is also committed to her work as a faculty member, leveraging the breadth and depth of her thriving professional experience for her engagement with students and faculty colleagues, ”Frazier said.

For more information, visit urbanbushwomen.org/ or macfound.org/fellows.

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