Melissa Fraterrigo
Lafayette, Indiana
Melissafraterrigo.com
Melissa Fraterrigo is the author of the novel Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press, 2017), which was named one of “The Best Fiction Books of 2017” by the Chicago Review of Books as well as the short story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press, 2006). Her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in more than forty literary journals and anthologies from storySouth and Shenandoah to Notre Dame Review, Sou’wester and The Millions. She is the founder and executive director of the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette, Indiana, where she offers classes on the art and craft of writing.
Residency Plans:
“During my residency, I plan to use my time at Trillium to work on my collection of essays, The Perils of Girlhood, as well as drafting new essays and possibly revising my YA novel, Questions of a Warrior.”
Nancy Merlin
Brooklyn, New York
nancy-merlin-art.com
Nancy Merlin is an emerging visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She is interested in how family dynamics and childhood experiences shape our outlook, and how the media we consume – be it art, music, or theater – give depth to our perception, ground us, and help us find solutions to our problems. She is moved by the ecstasy brought about through the creative process. Nancy has a B.A in Theater from Duke University.
Residency Plans:
“I believe that love and empathy shape the art we find influential and meaningful. Over the past year, drawing and painting have become tools for me to not only process my emotions, but also to broaden my understanding of particular circumstances and form a more compassionate relationship to myself and the world at large. During my time at Trillium Arts, I will use a childhood nightmare as a starting point to examine how to best stay soft and open during life’s challenges, and the journey I have to take to reach that realization.”
Photo by Derrick Alexander
Zachary Whittenburg
Chicago, IL
@trailerpilot
Zachary Whittenburg has worked in Chicago’s cultural sector since 2002, in arts advocacy and journalism, marketing and communications, and as a consultant on a variety of programs for artist support and equitable funding. A regular contributor to Dance Magazine, Zac is founding board secretary for the Chicago Dance History Project and, as associate director of marketing and communication at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, he represented the organization on the Chicago Dancemakers Forum consortium. He is currently arts program officer at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
A working artist for 13 years in Canada and the U.S., he created and performed choreography with companies including BJM Danse Montréal, Hubbard Street, Lucky Plush Productions, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, after which he was dance editor at Time Out Chicago magazine and communications and engagement director at Arts Alliance Illinois.
Residency Plans:
During his residency, Zac will continue exploring the creative and expressive potential of editing and layering multiple dance videos recorded by a fixed camera. This approach “reflects better than single-source footage my experience of movement,” he says, “and expands how dance can represent the passage of time and its effect on the self, by making sequential streams of presence simultaneous. The images overlap and intersect in unexpected, sometimes wonderful ways that mirror how memories inform each other and impact our comprehension of the present moment.”