Creative Individuals-Round 2

Julie Ahasay: Ahasay recently retired from the faculty at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She has directed and acted at the Duluth Playhouse for many decades, and has directed at Lyric Opera of the North, Wise Fool, and Renegade Theater Company. She has participated in approximately 80 theatrical productions ranging from college shows, comedy revues, dinner theater, and live radio productions. Ahasay has regularly served as a Minnesota State Arts Board grant advisor.; Emine Ba?goze: Ba?goze, a native of Ankara, Turkey, received her master of arts in piano performance at Ankara State Conservatory. She studied piano pedagogy and performance with Professor Maria Curcio in London and piano performance with Dr. Paul Shaw at the University of Minnesota School of Music. Basgoze is the cofounder of a piano duo, Duo Harmonia, with Portuguese pianist Susana Pinto. Ba?goze is a Minnesota State Arts Board FY 2020 Artist Initiative grant recipient, to commission pieces for piano four hands based on Minnesotan, Portuguese, and Turkish folk tales. She is a piano faculty member at MacPhail Center for Music. She also serves at the board of Turkish American Association of Minnesota as the past president.; Dawn Frederick: Frederick is the owner of Red Sofa Literary, established in 2008. After earning her BS in human ecology and MS in library and information sciences, she moved to the Twin Cities to work for a library publisher after many years working in indie and chain bookstores. She previously worked at Sebastian Literary Agency and cofounded the Minnesota Publishing Tweet Up, a community social monthly meetup. She was formerly a member of the board of directors of The Loft Literary Center and a former president of the Twin Cities Community Advisory Council for Minnesota Public Radio. Wearing both the hat of librarian and agent, she has an extensive knowledge and appreciation of the publishing and writing processes.; Norbert Hirschhorn: Hirschhorn is proud to be of the tribe of physician-poets, with seven collections of poetry published. Although retired from professional life, he remains a pro bono international health worker, cited by President Bill Clinton as an "American health hero". He cofounded the public health development agency, John Snow, Inc. Hirschhorn taught poetry in institutes for lifelong learning including at the University of Minnesota. He served as director of family health at the Minnesota Department of Health. In his career, he has lived and worked in several global south nations: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt, and Lebanon.; Paul Hustoles: Hustoles, now retired, served as chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Minnesota State University, Mankato for 35 years, where he also was artistic director of Highland Summer Theatre from 1985 to 2020. Hustoles received his BFA from Wayne State University, his MA from the University of Michigan, and his PhD from Texas Tech University. He has directed more than 237 theater productions and produced more than 625 shows in his career. A distinguished faculty scholar of MSU, Hustoles was appointed by Governor Walz to serve on the board of the Perpich Center for Arts Education through 2026.; Elise Linehan: Linehan has had a career working for large corporations as well as nonprofits. She has served in roles related to product design and development, business leadership, marketing, and retail merchandising. Linehan is currently on the Project Success nonprofit board and is an honorary Minneapolis Institute of Art guide for kids. She graduated from University of Wisconin-Madison with a BS in retailing.; Bethany Rahn: Rahn is an artist, designer, and educator originally from Madison, WI. Her interdisciplinary approach to design often explores concepts of identity and addresses concerns within our contemporary society. Rahn received her MFA from Indiana University in graphic design. Her work has been shown in various group and solo exhibitions across the United States. She currently is an assistant professor in the art and art history department at St. Catherine University and teaches letterpress workshops at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.; Michelle Wingard: Wingard is an installation based photographer, curator, and arts educator. She is professor of art and gallery director of Bethel University?s two exhibition spaces. In her fifteen years of programming exhibitions, Wingard has worked with more than eighty artists in a diverse range of media. Her photographic and curatorial projects often seek to create experiential and participatory opportunities exploring themes of memory, grief, memorial, perception, and interconnection. She has curated several exhibitions and has also exhibited her own photographic work locally and nationally. She is the recipient of the Jerome Travel Grant (2015) and the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant (2017 and 2019). Wingard holds an MFA in photography from Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY)(2006).