Holly Hughes Receives Guggenheim
Associate Professor Holly Hughes has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2010 – 2011, in recognition of her “exceptional creative ability in the arts.” Hughes intends to use the fellowship to support the development and performance of “Let Them Eat Cake,” an interactive performance piece which stages the debate on gay marriage, created in collaboration with Megan Carney and Maureen Angelos. The piece was workshopped in Chicago at About Face Theatre, will première in Ann Arbor in October 2010 featuring performances, costumes and sets by U of M students who can receive academic credit for working on the project. A performance in scheduled for New York City and a national tour pending. The piece is being developed in association with Lambda Legal Defense and About Face Theatre. Seed money was provided by Arts of Citizenship, OVPR, and IRWG.
Besides developing this piece, Hughes will also be touring a new solo performance, “The Dog and Pony Show (Bring Your Own Pony)” which premiered at Chicago’s Victory Garden Theatre, and finishing a book project, “Memories of the Revolution: The first ten years of the Wow Café,” under contract from University of Michigan Press. She will divide her time between NYC and Ann Arbor.
Hughes comments, “Twenty years ago I was vilified in the national press, attacked in the US Senate as a degenerate artist for doing lesbian work. To receive this prestigious award for work that engages with LGBT issues is a tremendous honor and a validation. I’m deeply humbled, and grateful to the Foundation and to the many friends who have supported my work over the years.”
Holly Hughes is an Associate Professor in Art and Design, Theatre and Drama and Women’s Studies. She is also co-lead faculty with Malcolm Tulip of the new BFA in Interarts Performance. Hughes is the recipient of 7 NEA grants, an Obie award winning writer and performer, and the author of three books: “Clit Notes; A Sapphic Sampler,” “O Solo Homo: The New Queer Performance,” co-edited with David Roman and winner of a Lambda book award, and “Memories of the Revolution,” co-edited with Alina Troyano, forthcoming from University of Michigan press.