Fellowship Opportunities

Michael Coppage is a conceptual artist who uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore social issues surrounding race and language. Originally from Chicago, he has lived in Cincinnati since 2007. Coppage has received multiple grants, including the Artswave Truth and Reconciliation grant and the Ohio Pretrial Justice grant. He is also a recipient of the Ohio Arts Council's Individual Artistic Excellence Award and the Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Foundation Enlightenment Award. Coppage delivered a TEDx Talk titled “Everybody’s Racist….and it’s O.K.” and gained international attention for his “BLACK BOX” project, which seeks to demystify blackness and challenge biases.

Project: People of Color

Coppage will create a body of collaged works inspired by the writings of Black poets between the years 1882-1959. Many Black writers of this period constructed new narratives about Blackness, our relationship with nature, and the Black gaze. Identifying specific references to nature in the poems, Coppage will refer to the Lloyd’s collections to elaborate on the symbolic, scientific, and ethnobotanical contexts of the reference. Through this approach, he will explore and amplify the writings of these poets and shed light on narratives of Black excellence and resilience in the face of historical challenges.

Sara Torgison is an interdisciplinary artist specializing in ceramics and fiber art. Her work blends media to highlight fragile surfaces and marginal spaces. Sara teaches at Miami University and works as a preparator at the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center. She has participated in residencies like Red Lodge Clay Center and Penland School of Craft, where she received a distinguished fellowship in 2023. Sara has earned several awards, including the 2023 Ohio Arts Council Creative Excellence Grant and the 2024 Michael Aurbach Fellowship.

Project: Re-Wilding: Medicinal Maps

Torgison will explore how plants and animals contribute to human health, both in traditional medicine and modern lab research. Her recent work focuses on lab animals as substitutes for humans, revealing hidden interspecies dependencies. Access to Lloyd’s botanical and pharmacological library will allow her to study how animals aid in developing medicines, comparing this with traditional botanical treatments. Torgison will create written and visual maps that highlight the complex interspecies exchanges vital to human wellness.

Kimberly Gwinn is a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. Her research explores the ecological roles of natural compounds in the interactions between humans, animals, and the environment, focusing on creating biopesticides from agricultural waste, particularly from medicinal plant extractions, and studying the impact of microbial toxins in plant-based products. Dr. Gwinn teaches courses on plant and microbial products as medicines and biopesticides and is a strong advocate for undergraduate research, with national recognition for her work on STEM development through undergraduate research.

 Project:Unlocking Nature's Secrets: Utilizing Lloyd Library Collections for Research on Cannabis, Ergot, and Spices

Gwinn will work with the Lloyd’s Eclectic medical texts, pre-twentieth century writings about cannabis, ergot and other spices along with botanical illustrations to develop curriculum for her course, Medicine and Drugs from Plants and Microbes. In the course, students develop both critical thinking skills and an appreciation for the roles that plant- and microbe-derived compounds play in modern medicine use and abuse. The course will be available at The University of Tennessee and collaboratively through Arizona State University. Gwinn will also present her findings to the Virtual Science Club, who provide free virtual programs for STEM middle and high school teachers and students to motivate them to participate in science fairs.

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Meghan Henshaw is an herbalist and educator in Cincinnati, Ohio. With a Bachelor of Science in Herbalism from Bastyr University and a Masters in Ethnobotany from University of Kent in Canterbury, Henshaw is interested in social equity and sustainability in the herbal supply chain. She has worked with the Global Diversity Foundation and Moroccan Biodiversity Livlihoods to support and conserve Morrocco's rich biodiversity and cultural traditions. Currently, Henshaw works as an editor for the American Botanical Council and an educator throughout the Midwest for Herb Pharm.

Julia Orquera Bianco was born in Argentina and lived in Mexico before moving to the United States. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Universidad del Museo Social Argentino. In 2018 she graduated from the MFA program at Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. In 2020, Bianco earned a Certificate on Sustainability from University of California, Los Angeles. In 2022, Bianco was an intern in the Medicinal Plant Conservation Program at United Plant Savers. In 2023, she earned a Certificate in Permaculture Design from Cincinnati Permaculture Institute.

Project: Herbal Zine – Plants That Flourish in the Ohio Valley

Henshaw & Orquero Bianco will create a limited-edition zine featuring medicinal plants that thrive in the Cincinnati area. Henshaw will draw on the Lloyd’s collections to investigate traditional and current cultivation methods and use of medicinal plants with a focus on Eclectic physicians, female herbalists, and conservation issues. Orquero Bianco will study botanical illustration with a focus on nature printing to create illustrations to accompany each entry. The zine will be digitized and available through the Lloyd’s website.

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Past Fellows & Artists-in-Residence