A Windgate Fellowship worth $15,000 was recently awarded to University of Alabama senior Alexandra “Ali” Hval for her work in textile craft. The grant is given to 10 graduating seniors each year who are chosen from 120 art programs around the country. Hval is the third UA student to win the award, and she plans to spend the next 18 months creating many new pieces and attending workshops in Florida and Tennessee.

Two of Hval’s pieces were shown during April in Contact, an exhibit at the Sella-Granata Art Gallery in Woods Hall.

“I really like seeing how people approach the work and what they take from it, because everyone’s experience and what they’ve all been through is going to bring something new,” she said.

Jenny Fine was awarded the grant in 2006, the prize’s first year, and has since gone on to a career in visual arts.

“The thing that’s great about the Windgate Fellowship is that it’s specifically for someone who just graduated,” Fine said.

Hval is using a portion of her grant to rent studio space and purchase supplies.She said she chose to use textiles in her work due to the medium’s portability, and because she finds the variety of sheens and textures in the material appealing.
During the next 18 months, Hval plans to create as much art as she can.

Hval said Sarah Marshall, associate professor of art, had a big role in exposing her to the Windgate Fellowship. Marshall said she thought Hval was the right fit for the grant, which seeks out students who work using traditional methods that may not be emphasized as much in 
contemporary art programs.

“[Hval] is an extremely dedicated and passionate student,” Marshall said. “She is not afraid of a challenge.”