Phoenix Savage, a second year GSU sculpture grad, received notice last week that she was tapped to be among the esteemed Fulbright Scholars for 2010-2011.
The Fulbright Scholars program was established in 1946 under legislation submitted by then Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. As part of a flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, participants are selected for their academic merit and leadership potential with the opportunity to teach, study and exchange ideas contributing to the finding of solutions to shared international concerns.
Prior to landing at Mississippi Valley State University, Savage earned an Associate’s degree from the prestigious Art Institute of Philadelphia. Upon completing her degree program at MVSU, Savage continued by earning two Masters of Arts degrees from the University of Mississippi at Oxford, 2001 and Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA, 2008. She is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts degree at Georgia State University, with a concentration in sculpture. Savage plans to pursue her international work in the West African country of Nigeria. “While in Nigeria I will be exploring and creating a new body of work based on the Yoruba concept of Ori. It is a concept fundamental to their religious and cultural positioning in the world as human beings. In short, it is believed that prior to birth, you enter a room and select a head, then you enter a second room and select a destiny, your human experience deals with how well you join these two forms of being so that you can have a good life. I will explore very reflective works in that I will keep a journal as to how I am adapting to my new environment and how my head is considering these various encounters. My sculptures will be the visual manifestations of these experiences.”
For more information, please contact Phoenix phoenixsavage@gmail.com and see more of her work at http://www.phoenixsavage.com/
