Alumna Chantrell Lewis Named 2023 Community Engagement Grantee

Chantrell M. Lewis, M.F.A. ’22, has been named a 2023 Community Engagement Grantee. Community Engagement is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Orange County, CA. The organization supports artists and art programs that reimagine shared spaces and stimulate social engagement, creative expression and collective empowerment. Lewis will use the grant to support her project "Why Wade?" a multifaceted documentary-style piece that will highlight and preserve the stories of maternal lineage.

Lewis is a multi-hyphenate arts educator, published author, award-winning researcher, and artist. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kent State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine. She is a certified specialist in the social-emotional development of youth stamped by the University of California, Riverside. Lewis has worked as a teaching artist and adjunct professor for a diverse range of educational theatre programs including, Cleveland Public Theatre Education, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Dance Arts Academy, the University of California, Irvine, and the Riverside Arts Council. Through these programs, Lewis carefully designs and teaches programming and curriculum that emphasizes literacy and other skills in alignment with the state standards for visual and performing arts education. Notably, Lewis serves as the Executive Director of The Jar of Sunshine Incorporated, a 501©(3) non-profit that is dedicated to increasing accessibility to literacy, wellness, and the arts among women and children. She is a non-stop trailblazer whose research, diligence, discipline, and natural ability fully support everything she pursues. Lewis is a dedicated social innovator, who believes that everyone is capable of achieving the things they set their minds to.  

Learn more about Chantrell Lewis on her website, www.chantrelllewis.com.