Documentary Journalism News Releases Awards

5 Journalism Undergraduates Win Awards in Visual Art and Design Showcase

5 Journalism Undergraduates Win Awards in Visual Art and Design Showcase

The Campus Activity Lets Students Display and Discuss Their Scholarly Work

By Yue Tang

La Habra Boxing Club
Documentary journalism senior Morgan Lieberman took home a $500 prize in the Artistic Expression category for her film on the La Habra Boxing Club in California.

Columbia, Mo. (Feb. 9, 2017) — Five Missouri School of Journalism documentary journalism students won awards in the second Visual Art and Design Showcase.

The Visual Art and Design Showcase is a venue for undergraduates to display and discuss their scholarly work in an exhibition setting. The work of 40 University of Missouri students was on display from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 in Jesse Hall.

Sarah Leen, the director of photography at National Geographic, delivered the keynote address. Leen graduated in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from MU and continued with some graduate courses at the Missouri School of Journalism.

The items featured a variety of artistic expression and applied design, including works of photojournalism, graphic design, architectural drawing, theatre set design, painting, textile and apparel design, and digital storytelling. Students who were selected to participate visited with a panel of guest jury members and competed for $10,000 in professional development funds and other awards.

Retrospecticus
Documentary journalism and film studies senior Steve Gieseke won a Missouri Theatre Display Award for his film “Retrospecticus.”

Five Missouri School of Journalism students were selected as winners.

  • Steve Gieseke, who is studying documentary journalism and film studies, took home one of four Missouri Theatre Display Awards for his film “Retrospecticus.” His film will be shown in the theater for a set period of time.
  • Madeline Cihak, who is studying documentary journalism; Nicky Cook, who is studying documentary journalism and sociology; and Abbey Reznicek, who is studying documentary journalism and film studies; took home the runner-up award and $500 in the Artistic Expression category for their film “Reflection.”
  • Morgan Lieberman, who is studying documentary journalism, took home a $500 prize in the Artistic Expression category. Her project is about an afternoon at the La Habra Boxing Club, a boxing gym located about 45 minutes outside of Costa Mesa, California.

Other journalism students who participated in the competition were:

  • Kayla Myers, who is studying digital storytelling, submitted a photojournalism essay called “Curls.”
  • Zachary Sayer submitted a video called “Doug.”
  • Julia Terbrock, who is studying news design in print and digital news, submitted magazine designs she created for Vox Magazine.
Reflection
Students Madeline Cihak, Nicky Cook and Abbey Reznicek took home the runner-up award and $500 in the Artistic Expression category for their film “Reflection.”

Noted Terbrock, “With the showcase, I hoped to show that visual storytelling is an important piece to the journalistic process and design can make or break a story.”

“It was such an incredible and eye opening experience to speak with a diverse range of professional artists,” Lieberman said. “Every juror had a unique perspective on my work, which contributed to a well-rounded takeaway for my future photo projects.”

Professors Stacey Woelfel, the director of the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism, and Andrea Heiss, the director of the Arts-in-Depth Program at the School, were both on the planning committee for the Visual Art and Design Showcase.

Updated: October 13, 2020

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