The 2025 Albert P. Weisman Award recipients were celebrated on Thursday, Nov. 20, at an opening reception at the Student Center gallery, marking the public debut of their completed creative projects.
Emma Bolas, who graduated in spring 2025 with a BFA in photography, is among this year’s recipients.
Bolas spent four years working on her displayed project, “Soul Provider,” which captures the lives of single parents and their children in their homes. She applied for the Weisman Award 24 hours before the application deadline and won, giving her the opportunity to bring her project to completion.
Bolas encouraged current students to apply for the award, even if they are hesitant. “Do your best, and even if it doesn’t feel like your best, other people might think so,” Bolas said.
The Weisman Award is the longest-running award at Columbia, and has granted over $1 million to more than 1,000 students.
The gallery exhibit was curated and installed by students in the “Gallery Management: Practicum” course, giving them hands-on experience in exhibition design and arts management. Students worked in teams on installation, graphics, labels and technical setup.
“A lot of what we did here is only possible because we were able to work together and know each other and trust each other,” said Aja Martin, a senior fine arts major enrolled in the class. “The environment that we create and putting this together is something that lasts for a long time.”
Martin said that everything done in the course mimics what will be done once they graduate.
Robert Blandford, associate professor in the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, watched his students’ exhibition go from “concept to completion.”
This year’s exhibit features projects across multiple disciplines, including photography, fashion, illustration and film.
“The exhibits have become a forum for a conversation about ideas,” Blandford said. “I think this is a good conversation about contemporary creativity and what current creatives are thinking about and talking about.”
Founded in 1974, the art competition gives students the opportunity to win a $2,000 grant for completing a significant body of work. To apply, students must submit work-in-progress of a project in their chosen creative discipline. The award is highly competitive with less than 20 winners who receive the grant when their project is completed.
The award was named after the late Albert Weisman, who was a communicator, journalist, publicist, mentor, teacher and trustee of the college, and is intended to honor excellence in all aspects of communication. The judges for the award are past recipients and Columbia alums.
Dirk Matthews, interim vice president of development and alumni relations, has overseen the award since 2013 and has been able to fund work in every discipline at the college.
He said he hopes the award can continue to support students, as it gives them the opportunity to have their art displayed at a higher level and for the practicum students to have hands-on experience in arts management.
“Our goal is just to continue to support student work, because that’s really at the core and the heart of it,” Matthews said.
The exhibit will be on display throughout the third floor of the Student Center through March 17, 2026.
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