SASSY Award Offers CAHSS Studio Arts Seniors Real-World Skills Working Artists Need

Pat Aaron in the gallery with her paintings.

Attention CAHSS Studio Art majors! The SASSY Award has opened applications for 2026. Find out more about the award and application process here.

When Alumna Patricia Aaron (MFA ’98) earned her MFA in studio arts with an emphasis on painting with Professor Deborah Howard and sculpture taught by the late Lawrence Argent and later taught sculpture, she noticed something about the undergraduates she worked with. 

“Many had outside jobs while trying to create mind-blowing projects,” she said. Especially when it came to the capstone project seniors must produce for their final exhibit each May at the Vicki Myhren Gallery which requires channeling the techniques they’ve learned into a body of work, “some were struggling to secure financial resources to purchase art materials.” 

The renowned abstract artist, sculptor, and advocate for emerging artists, long-time instructor at DU and elsewhere, who mentors students in her Blue Sky Idea Gallery, and served for years on the DU Art Board, wanted to help. In 2024, she donated funds to establish the SASSY (Studio Arts Scholars Senior Year) Award to make it easier for CAHSS studio arts seniors to create their final shows while developing the business skills working artists need. 

The award provides them with funds toward producing their capstone projects and requires them to submit a budget and a timeline outlining steps needed to complete their final show while regularly checking in with a faculty mentor along the way. Award recipients may use the funds to purchase materials toward construction and/or to acquire necessary skills. 

According to Aaron, the award helps prepare students to launch careers as working artists post-graduation. “They have to do some challenging footwork to estimate the cost of materials, realistically look at the calendar from September to April, decide how to juggle it all along with their other responsibilities, and scale back if needed,” she said.

Students must also reach out to professionals in community galleries to find out where artists who use the same materials purchased them, for example. “That kind of networking can establish lifelong contacts they can tap into for information, feedback, and mentoring,” Aaron said. 

“The SASSY Award has given me the opportunity to explore new mediums and expand layering in my art practice,” said SASSY Award Recipient Nour Zouhou, who received the award for their project to explore whimsy and monstrosity through the language of fibers and constructions. “I’m using the funds on a sewing machine and fabric to teach myself fiber arts while upscaling new paintings that combine traditional and unconventional materials.”

Aaron has attended the seniors’ final shows for years. “Family members and professors are there to celebrate them, and they’re truly joyful events,” she said. “These students are so talented and have such strong voices. I wanted to help bring their work into the world. I’m hoping this fund will give them a leg up in the extremely competitive marketplace for artists today.”