I'm happy to announce that I have been chosen as one of seven artists to be an Emory Arts and Social Justice Fellow for 2023. 

The Emory Arts and Social Justice Fellows program brings artists into Emory University classrooms to help students translate their learning into creative activism for social and racial justice. The program began in 2000 during the groundswell of national attention to racial and social injustice. Each Fellow is paired with a faculty member from the University to teach a course and design a project for the students to produce. 

The fellows represent a cross-section of Atlanta's creative thinkers, including writers, painters, musicians, storytellers, visual artists, and this year a clown. They were selected in recognition of their artistic accomplishments and commitment to advancing racial and social justice. One of my goals in this project is to challenge the preconceived notion of clowning as mere entertainment and to delve into social commentary and the human condition. 

For this project, I'm partnered with Dr. Khaalisha Ajala, MD, MBA, FHM, an assistant professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, and a hospital medicine faculty physician at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. I'm excited about this pairing. I'm looking forward to working with Dr. Ajala and the students from Emory Medical School. I started my hospital clown work in 2000. Over the past two decades, I've worked with doctors, nurses, and medical staff. I'm excited to continue my exploration as a clown in the medical world. 

I especially look forward to working with medical students on their way to becoming doctors. There is much to be done to bring empathy, play, and joy into healthcare. 

On December 5, 2023, a Project Showcase and Community Conversation will be hosted by the Emory ASJ. At this event, Fellows, Faculty, and Students can display and share their work and discuss it with the community in an open panel. The Project Showcase and Community Conversation will be on the Emory campus at a location TBD later. I will share the details of this showcase on the event page of this website. 

By using humor, satire, and vulnerability, clowning invites us to reflect on our biases, challenge societal norms, and start conversations around inequality, mental health, and identity. It can challenge conventions, spark dialogue, and inspire change. It embraces the uniqueness of individuals and the diversity of perspectives. I'm grateful for this opportunity provided by Emory ASJ.