Cranbrook Academy of Art Announces 2026 Student Awards
Commencement 2026. Photos by PD Rearick.
Bloomfield Hills, Mich., May 11, 2026 – On Friday, Cranbrook Academy of Art conferred MFA and M.Arch degrees upon 58 graduating students during its annual commencement ceremony. The Academy is also pleased to announce several awards presented to our students. The awards are all designed to support study at the Academy for current students, and to aid our 2026 graduates in the transition from student to practicing artist. We are grateful to the individuals and organizations who continue to see the importance of supporting today’s artists, architects, and designers.
The Robert C. Larson Venture Award was given to four current Academy students. Alberto Vargas (Industrial Design 2027) will travel to the Bohemian Framebuilding School in Tucson, Arizona, where they will participate in a two-week program focusing on bicycle design, geometry, and metal fabrication techniques while learning how to design and build a complete steel bicycle frame. Diane Yu (Fiber 2027) will attend the visiting artist workshop of Janice Lessman-Moss at the Loom Room in Chicago, exploring lkat and the painted weft on a TC2 digital jacquard loom. Liz DeForest (Print Media 2026) will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a Chroma Printmaking Residency. And Maryam Moinuddin (Painting 2026) will attend the “Material Memory: Pulp Casting Workshop” in Dieu Donne, New York, to learn experimental paper casting processes. The shared award recognizes and supports the work of innovative and inspired Academy students. The endowment fund was established by Bonnie Larson, patron and former member of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cranbrook Art Museum Board of Governors, to celebrate Robert C. Larson’s commitment to Cranbrook. Robert Larson was a longtime volunteer leader and donor at Cranbrook and served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees from 1996–2002 and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy and Art Museum from 1986–2000.
The 2026 Museum Purchase Award was presented to Ryan Seng (Metalsmithing 2026) for his works Noir Necklace (2025) and Encased Braided Necklace (2026). These works were on view in the 2026 Graduate Degree Exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum and were selected for purchase by the Museum Committee. The work will be accessioned into the permanent collection of Cranbrook Art Museum.
The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Scholarship was presented to two students this year. Emily Hunt (Fiber 2027) will use it to attend Anne Tilley’s course “Quilting in Appalachia: Utility, Beauty & History.” Yiran Li (Industrial Design 2027) will take the workshop “Translating Form to Glass: Casting Essentials.”
The Anderson Ranch Scholarship was awarded to two students, Max Carrier (Print Media 2027) and Hyunsil Choo (Sculpture 2027).
The Ox-Bow Summer Scholarship was awarded to Diane Yu (Fiber 2027). They will receive funding to take the class “Hanji Unfolds: Traditional Korean Papermaking” with Su Cho at the Ox-Bow summer school program in Saugatuck, Michigan.
The Stewart Thomson Fellowship at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts was awarded to Jose Ricano (Ceramics 2027), who will take the “Wood with Wu Hanyen: Crafting Everyday Tools” workshop. The workshop aligns with Ricano’s practice of creating his own tools, but will teach him how to use more durable materials to create innovative solutions for his practice and the field of ceramic art.
The Watershed Center for the Ceramics Arts Award was awarded to Anna Gukov (Ceramics 2027). Watershed’s Summer Residency sessions in Edgecomb, Maine, offer artists who work with clay uninterrupted time to focus on their practices in their state-of-the-art ceramics studio.
The Gallery A Award was presented to three students this year: Michael Finch (Sculpture 2027), Ruth Xu Huang (Fiber 2027), and Jose Ricano (Ceramics 2027). This award provides funding for students to exhibit their work in the Academy of Art administration offices.
The Meredith Beau CAA ’97 and Scott Beau Materials Fund was awarded to first-year students Chenxi Wang (Ceramics 2027), Dawn Smith (Print Media 2027), Isaac Daniels (Graphic Design 2027), and second-year student Thede Ambrose (Graphic Design 2026). This gift is intended to assist students in any discipline in purchasing materials.
The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Materials Award was awarded to first-year students Joseph Bong (Sculpture 2027), Michael Finch (Sculpture 2027), Pavonis Giron (Metalsmithing 2027), Any Guelmann (Ceramics 2027), Ruth Xu Huang (Fiber 2027), Emily Hunt (Fiber 2027), Lauren Mills (Painting 2027), Ray Seebeck (Print Media 2027), Tzu-ying Su (Sculpture 2027), Chenxi Wang (Ceramics 2027), and Diane Yu (Fiber 2027). Second-year students who received the award include, Rachel Albee (Sculpture 2026), Alexandra Collins (Painting 2026), Emily Dormier (Fiber 2026), Maddie Gordon (Fiber 2026), Madi Imperio (Painting 2026), Ju Hyun Jung (Sculpture 2026), Julia LeKander (Fiber 2026), Hayley Morrison (Painting 2026), Yanqing Pan (Sculpture 2026), Irene Perez (Fiber 2026), Aaron Porter (Painting 2026), Tracy Ren (Fiber 2026), Martin Schapiro (Ceramics 2026), Midge Wattles (Ceramics 2026), and Monica Wilson (Metalsmithing 2026). The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation funds grants for materials to students working in craft disciplines.
The Award for Sustainability recognizes artists engaged in environmental sustainability projects. This year, Milah Wallace Glenn (Architecture 2027) received the award, which she will use toward projects that care for land, food access, mobility, and the dignity of everyday life in Detroit.
The Academy Director’s Award was awarded to Soyeon Lee (Painting 2026). The Director’s Award recognizes excellence throughout two years of study at the Academy.
The Hope Award was awarded to Maryangela Sanchez-Rocca (Industrial Design 2026). The award provides funding to students who demonstrate studio practices that conceptualize themselves as anti-capitalist/pro-humanity in the spirited tradition of historical materialism.
Together, these awards represent tens of thousands of dollars in earned gifts for our current students, and we remain grateful to all who have contributed to their continued funding.
