The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine has awarded fellowships to four students of color for one of their two-week summer workshops. This marks the second year Columbia College Chicago and Haystack have partnered to send students to Haystack's prestigious craft school. The partnership will continue until 2021.  

This year’s award recipients are: Book and Paper MFA candidate Julia Arrendondo (who is also awarded an internship training in arts administration), Photography MFA candidate Jonathan Castillo, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media MFA candidate Paria Izadmehr, and Art and Art History student Tyler Jones.

Two alternates were also selected this year: Interior Architecture student Wenhan Zhang and Photography BFA student Adrianna Wilkes.


The goal of the fellowship and internship program is to offer students opportunities for exposure to national and international communities beyond Columbia and the Chicago area.

Art and Art History Associate Professors Folayemi Wilson (who is currently on sabbatical) and Mel Potter partnered with Columbia’s Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office to seek out and choose the candidates.

“Haystack is singular, especially in their interdisciplinary approach. I think this fellowship is meaningful and impactful to students given this opportunity,” says Potter.

• Art and Design
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Students
• Art and Art History
• Photography
• Interdisciplinary Arts
• Fellowship

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