A distinguished three-person panel of Professors May Farhat (FAAH), Alexander Hartwiger (English), and Maher Jarrar (CVSP/Arabic) has selected seven proposals from AUB faculty members for Mellon awards ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 in 2012-13. This year’s winners are:

• Tariq Mehmood Ali, Festival of Stories; public performances, workshops, and outreach involving professional storytellers from local and international traditions, AUB students in the creative writing program, and local Lebanese school children.
• Kaoukab Chebaro, Archives of the FAAH Department at AUB; a project to index, catalog, digitize, and exhibit a collection of materials including photographs, lecture notes, syllabi, teaching materials, etc. documenting the history of the Fine Arts and Art History (FAAH) Department at AUB  prior to the Lebanese civil war.
• Marwan El Sabban, Invigorating Photography at AUB; competition, exhibitions, and training sessions to promote and stimulate a culture of photography at AUB involving the Photography Club, the Center for Civil Engagement and Community Services (CCECS), and Dar Al Mussawir.
• Lina Ghaibeh, Beirut-Reyak Railway: Illustrating of Time-Arabic Comics Album and Exhibition; a ten-page graphic narrative (comic book/graphic novel) and exhibition of a two-day journey from Beirut to the Beqaa.
• Crystal Hoffman, Rusted Radishes: The Beirut Literary and Arts Review; a project to publish Rusted Radishes, which will include student writing, student artwork, and submissions from non-AUB, Beirut-based writers and artists as well connecting AUB students with the greater Beirut arts and literary scene.
• Thomas Kim, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion: Performance, Art Exhibit, and Lectures; a multi-modal investigation including a public performance, lectures, and art show of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion.
• Cornelia Krafft, “Salome versus Bluebeard,” a performance in cooperation with Massrah al Madina; a theatrical composition based on Oscar Wilde’s Salome and Maurice Maeterlink’s Ariane and Bluebeard choreographed by Cornelia Krafft and acted by an ensemble of AUB students, alumni, and professional artists at Massrah al-Madina.

Commenting on this year’s Mellon awards, AUB President Peter Dorman noted that the panel had chosen from among 16 particularly interesting proposals.  “The University is deeply grateful to the Mellon Foundation for its multi-year support to promote a dynamic and stimulating cultural life on campus.”