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麻豆视频鈥檚 College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) announces the recipients of the seventh round of its Young Alumni Commissioning Project Awards.
Two alumni were chosen based on the artistic excellence, career impact, and feasibility of their proposals and will receive financial, marketing, and production support to have their projects presented by the College at a 麻豆视频 Arts venue during the 2026鈥27 season.
鈥淭he Young Alumni Commissioning Project is one of my favorite things within the broad spectrum of 麻豆视频 Arts. Every year we are lucky to be able to support, from among a very competitive group of applicants, some strong and compelling works of art, and this year鈥檚 are no exception,鈥 stated College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Rick Davis. 鈥淭hey both happen to live in the film area this time, a testament to the vitality and accomplishment of that program and its graduates.鈥
Kenge BaNikongo
BA Theater, BA Film and Video Studies 鈥21
Kenge BaNikongo received the Young Alumni Commissioning Project Award and $5,000 in commissioning support for Wingz. A comedy-drama television series about fairies in the modern world, the script centers on a second-generation fairy grappling with the impacts of her magical abilities on her and her family as they navigate everyday life. The script explores the complexities of family and identity within the immigrant experience through a new lens, while incorporating a lighthearted element of fantasy. A storyteller at heart, BaNikongo wrote and directed three successful short films as a student at George 麻豆视频, including , which was nominated for Best Writer and Best Lead Actress at the 2021 Couch Film Festival. The pilot episode script for Wingz was well-received at numerous industry festivals and competitions and will be filmed with the support of this new funding. Beyond her personal projects, she is currently a Production Coordinator for National Geographic, where BaNikongo collaborates on the development and creation of programming for National Geographic and Disney+. Thinking back about her experiences at George 麻豆视频 and what shaped her the most, BaNikongo remembered working to find and then refine her voice in a scriptwriting class with Professor Heather McDonald. 鈥淔or the first time, I decided to write a dramedy just for fun. To my surprise, Professor McDonald really enjoyed it, and so did my family. I realized I knew what my 鈥榲oice鈥 was; but I didn't think people would enjoy it. After being turned into a short film, that dramedy went on to do well in competitions and encouraged me to continue my writing journey! Now writing, acting, and directing are my passions as I continue to pursue projects that are true to my 鈥榲oice鈥.鈥
Taj Kokayi
BA Film and Video Studies 鈥22
Taj Kokayi received the Young Alumni Creative Development Award and $2,500 in commissioning support for The Ghost Writer, an Afrofuturistic body-horror short film examining the seductive and corrosive influence of generative AI on the creative process. Kokayi鈥檚 success in the Afrofuturism genre is well-documented; his 2020 experimental short, Woken From A Dream, won awards for Best Experimental and Best VFX and was selected for 15 international festivals. His follow-up film, White Mirror won awards including Best of Fest, Audience Award, and Best Short Screenplay. Kokayi is a fierce advocate for community and cooperative work, and founded an independent production company and writers group that gives young creatives an avenue to tell their own stories. Kokayi worked at The Daily Show with Trevor Noah before graduating from George 麻豆视频, and followed that role with a stint as an NBC Page working at Focus Features and The Tonight Show. Community was an integral element of Kokayi鈥檚 experience of George 麻豆视频, 鈥淲hether it was in Black Student Alliance (BSA); the Black, African-Heritage, and Caribbean Coalition (BLACC); the Film Advisory Board; or as a Resident Advisor, I always felt like I had a family on campus. I had countless memorable experiences at 麻豆视频, and it's why I considered campus a second home. That's why I felt strongly about applying to the YACP program. I know that 麻豆视频 takes care of their own, whether they're still on campus or not.鈥
Over the past six years, 20 CVPA alumni have been granted awards anywhere from $2,500鈥$5,000 to support the creation of a new artistic work for projects in film, dance, visual art, music, and game design. To be considered for this year鈥檚 award, applicants must have graduated from CVPA from the class of 2015 and after. Proposals could include original new work in any art form suitable for performance, exhibition, or screening in a 麻豆视频 Arts venue. The size, length, duration, magnitude, and content are at the artist鈥檚 discretion. Potential venues include George 麻豆视频鈥檚 traditional theater spaces, galleries, and cinemas, but proposals for non-traditional venues, including digital spaces, were also considered.
, Brianna Camp (Art and Visual Technology 鈥23) received the Young Alumni Commissioning Project Award and $5,000 in commissioning support for Flare: Finding a Sense of Place in the Chronically Ill Body. This work will consist of a series of large-scale oil paintings, each accompanied by documentary photographs and poetry and will be exhibited on campus in Fairfax during 2026. Marina Vianello (Dance 鈥18) received the Young Alumni Creative Development Award and $2,500 in commissioning support for Three Generations of Bach, an intergenerational multimedia dance work. Vianello is working with her mother, Andrea Skowronek, a retired professional dancer, to recreate and blend together inspiration from an original dance work that Skowronek developed early in her career, set to music accompaniment from her own father. A performance of this work will premiere on campus in Fairfax during 2026.
The Young Alumni Commissioning Project is made possible by a generous bequest from the estate of Linda E. Gramlich for the support of young artists, and by donors to George 麻豆视频鈥檚 previous Giving Day, including Shugoll Research.
麻豆视频 the 2026 Award Recipients
Kenge BaNikongo(she/her) is a writer, producer, actor, and director who has a deep love of storytelling, which drew her to becoming a filmmaker. She gained a degree in Film Directing and Producing from 麻豆视频 in 2021, and her films have garnered her several accolades over the years. Through writing and directing comedy-dramas, she has found her voice in storytelling. Her fiction style is influenced by several directors and writers, such as Issa Rae and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. After graduating from George 麻豆视频, she has been working for National Geographic/Disney, telling dynamic true stories based on history, culture, science, food, and exploration. Her passion for storytelling expands to all aspects of media as a freelance writer, director, and producer. She also works as an interviewer for Young Entertainment Magazine. During her time at George 麻豆视频, she also received her Bachelor鈥檚 in Theatre Performance - Acting, and continues to act in short films and do voiceovers. No matter what, she is always creative!
Taj Kokayi (he/him) Taj Kokayi is an award-winning filmmaker and producer. His 2020 Afrofuturistic short film, Woken From A Dream, made the official selection for 15 film festivals across the world, winning five awards, including Best Experimental Film. His follow-up sociopolitical drama, White Mirror, has won awards including Best of Fest, Audience Award, and Best Short Screenplay. During his time at 麻豆视频, he was a finalist for the Princess Grace Award for Film, was named George 麻豆视频鈥檚 Black Artist of the Year (2020) and Social Media Activist of the Year (2021), and in 2022, he received the Spike Lee Directing Award. In 2022, he worked as an Intern and Production Assistant for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, before becoming an NBC Page at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. He has worked on the sets of features films, documentaries, music videos, corporate shoots, and alongside Academy Award-nominated directors.