2023 Recipients of the Tom Lea Research Fellowship

The College of Liberal Arts is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Tom Lea Research Fellowship for the year 2023. When establishing this fellowship, Donald and Adair Margo sought to encourage the study of Tom Lea. Accordingly, the following selected projects will be centered on the work of the artist, writer and journalist from El Paso.

Dr. Miguel Juarez, lecturer in the Department of History, will conduct archival and newspaper research to write a scholarly work of the friendship and collaboration between Artists Tom Lea Jr. and Artist Jose Aceves, a notable early Mexican American artist and writer in El Paso, Texas.

Dr. Dominic Dousa, professor in the Department of Music, will complete an original chamber music composition for violin, cello, and piano that takes its inspiration from the artwork of Tom Lea. He plans on giving public performances of this composition, with references to Lea’s work to which the original composition is connected.

Dr. Nayeli Dousa, lecturer in the Department of Music, will research the musical tradition of the American Southwest at the time that Tom Lea was painting southwestern subjects in his murals and finished painting the famous portrait of his wife.  This investigation will focus on analyzing the local musical tradition of three decades (1930s-1950s), the time that Lea created major art works that have connections with Texas and the American Southwest.

Fellows responded to our special call for the year 2023. We are now receiving applications for the regular 2023 cycle. Three fellowships will be awarded through a competitive selection process. For more information on how to apply, visit our home page.