To recognize the poet, actress, author, singer, teacher and civil rights activist who has inspired people worldwide and taught generations of Wake Forest students, the University will establish the Maya Angelou Artist-in-Residence Award.
The new award will honor world-renowned artists who reflect Maya Angelou’s passions for creating, performing and teaching. The award will celebrate exceptional artists for combining achievement in the arts and a commitment to improving the human condition in the spirit of the University’s motto,
Pro Humanitate. The award winners will visit Wake Forest to educate and engage students, as well as collaborate with faculty. “The significance and beauty of this award is that it honors the life and life s work of my Mother while inspiring artists who have demonstrated a powerful commitment to uplifting humanity through exercising virtues she lived by: courage, creativity, hope, tolerance and social activism.”