{"id":66449,"date":"2025-05-20T13:50:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T17:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/?p=66449"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:41:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:41:31","slug":"art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/","title":{"rendered":"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor of Art <a href=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/people\/lydia-thompson\/\">Lydia C. Thompson<\/a> has received a Lighton&nbsp;International Artists Exchange Program award for travel to conduct research in the West African country of Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded in 2000,&nbsp;the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liaep.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lighton International Artists Exchange Program<\/a> (LIAEP) provides support for mid-career visual artists and arts professionals \u201cwho create work of exceptional quality\u201d to travel internationally, bringing foreign artists to the United States and sending American artists abroad. The mission, the organization says, is \u201cto make the world a smaller place by allowing artists of different cultures to work together, in the hope that lasting friendship and understanding will develop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thompson will spend three weeks in Ghana, June 22 through July 11, where she will research traditional adobe vernacular architecture structures. She is particularly interested in adobe homes in the Sirigu Village, in which the women paint vivid patterns and designs on the exterior of their homes (pictured below).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"570\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Bamblse-as-Commodity-The-Revival-of-Murals-Painting-in-Sirigu-Ghana-Semantic-Scholar.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66453 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/570;width:460px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Bamblse-as-Commodity-The-Revival-of-Murals-Painting-in-Sirigu-Ghana-Semantic-Scholar.jpg 800w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Bamblse-as-Commodity-The-Revival-of-Murals-Painting-in-Sirigu-Ghana-Semantic-Scholar-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Bamblse-as-Commodity-The-Revival-of-Murals-Painting-in-Sirigu-Ghana-Semantic-Scholar-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Bamblse-as-Commodity-The-Revival-of-Murals-Painting-in-Sirigu-Ghana-Semantic-Scholar-300x214.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thompson will also visit craft centers in local villages, such as the Afari Pottery Center, where traditional utilitarian pottery methods are practiced. She will document these experiences through photographs, journaling, and video recording. She will also present a public lecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in the city of Kumasi, Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;In Fall 2025, Thompson will be an artist-in-residence at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.starworksnc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Starworks<\/a> in Star, North Carolina, where she will develop a new body of work inspired by the adobe structures and traditional art forms she documents during her travels in Ghana. At Starworks, she will experiment with atmospheric kilns and develop new surfaces for her work.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thompson is a mixed media artist specializing in ceramics that focus on her cultural narratives.\u00a0She has won grants and residencies across the U.S. and in countries as diverse as Nigeria, Canada, and Denmark, and her work is in private and public collections in the U.S., New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.\u00a0Most recently, Thompson was named a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southarts.org\/news\/south-arts-announces-2025-state-fellows-new-multi-year-support-windgate-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>South Arts<\/strong> <strong>2025 State Fellow for Visual Arts<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>representing North Carolina. Along with an unrestricted cash prize of $5000, the State Fellows for Visual Arts will be featured in a traveling group exhibition and will have the opportunity to compete for the larger Southern Prize for Literary Arts and Visual Arts awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7387b849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1353\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams-1000x1353.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66455 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1000\/1353;width:363px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams-1000x1353.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams-600x812.jpg 600w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams-768x1039.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams-1136x1536.jpg 1136w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams-1400x1894.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams-300x406.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Midnight-Dreams.jpg 1500w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1412\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-1000x1412.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66457 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1000\/1412;width:345px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-1000x1412.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-600x847.jpg 600w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-768x1084.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-1088x1536.jpg 1088w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-1450x2048.jpg 1450w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-1400x1977.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson-300x424.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Inheritance_Lydia-Thompson.jpg 1500w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1476\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Daydreams.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66459 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1000\/1476;width:330px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Daydreams.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Daydreams-600x886.jpg 600w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Daydreams-768x1134.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_Daydreams-300x443.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy current work is an investigation of migration and residual ancestral memories that examine space and place of human existence,\u201d Thompson writes in her artist statement.&nbsp; \u201cGeographical landscapes have provided resources for the continuous mobility of humans, to create communities and construct abodes.&nbsp;These works are reminders of the past and current lessons to learn about the persistence and preservation of one\u2019s own culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lydiacthompsonart.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See Thompson&#8217;s work at her website.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Images: Lydia Thompson at work in her studio; Sirigu murals from \u201cRitual ecology and Sirigu Mural Paintings: Interrogating the Intersection of Art and Culture,&#8221; by Francis Ankyiah (December 2023); three works from Thompson&#8217;s &#8220;Mounds&#8221; series, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Professor of Art Lydia C. Thompson has received a Lighton&nbsp;International Artists Exchange Program award for travel to conduct research in the West African country of Ghana. Founded in 2000,&nbsp;the Lighton International Artists Exchange Program (LIAEP) provides support for mid-career visual artists and arts professionals \u201cwho create work of exceptional quality\u201d to travel internationally, bringing foreign [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":455,"featured_media":66451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_clt_a11y_last_scan":"1778695979","_clt_a11y_has_violations":"0","_clt_a11y_violations":"[]","_clt_a11y_suppressions":"","_clt_a11y_needs_validation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,255],"tags":[51],"class_list":["post-66449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research","tag-art-art-history"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana - College of Arts + Architecture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana - College of Arts + Architecture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Professor of Art Lydia C. Thompson has received a Lighton&nbsp;International Artists Exchange Program award for travel to conduct research in the West African country of Ghana. Founded in 2000,&nbsp;the Lighton International Artists Exchange Program (LIAEP) provides support for mid-career visual artists and arts professionals \u201cwho create work of exceptional quality\u201d to travel internationally, bringing foreign [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College of Arts + Architecture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T17:50:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-26T12:41:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meg Whalen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Meg Whalen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Meg Whalen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6ae86d643fdce51be9599976fc5e6eb7\"},\"headline\":\"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-20T17:50:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-26T12:41:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":488,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/807\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Art &amp; Art History\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/\",\"name\":\"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana - College of Arts + Architecture\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/807\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-20T17:50:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-26T12:41:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6ae86d643fdce51be9599976fc5e6eb7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/807\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/807\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Lydia Thompson in the studio working.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/20\\\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/\",\"name\":\"College of Arts + Architecture\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6ae86d643fdce51be9599976fc5e6eb7\",\"name\":\"Meg Whalen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3b8393c5c25d74c480f1ab1c20cd221d9b6e3848f146aee5db5fbb5d12aab8c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3b8393c5c25d74c480f1ab1c20cd221d9b6e3848f146aee5db5fbb5d12aab8c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3b8393c5c25d74c480f1ab1c20cd221d9b6e3848f146aee5db5fbb5d12aab8c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Meg Whalen\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cws.charlotte.edu\\\/backup-coaa\\\/author\\\/mwhalen5\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana - College of Arts + Architecture","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana - College of Arts + Architecture","og_description":"Professor of Art Lydia C. Thompson has received a Lighton&nbsp;International Artists Exchange Program award for travel to conduct research in the West African country of Ghana. Founded in 2000,&nbsp;the Lighton International Artists Exchange Program (LIAEP) provides support for mid-career visual artists and arts professionals \u201cwho create work of exceptional quality\u201d to travel internationally, bringing foreign [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/","og_site_name":"College of Arts + Architecture","article_published_time":"2025-05-20T17:50:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-26T12:41:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Meg Whalen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Meg Whalen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/"},"author":{"name":"Meg Whalen","@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/#\/schema\/person\/6ae86d643fdce51be9599976fc5e6eb7"},"headline":"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana","datePublished":"2025-05-20T17:50:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-26T12:41:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/"},"wordCount":488,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg","keywords":["Art &amp; Art History"],"articleSection":["News","Research"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/","url":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/","name":"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana - College of Arts + Architecture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-20T17:50:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-26T12:41:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/#\/schema\/person\/6ae86d643fdce51be9599976fc5e6eb7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/05\/Lydia-Thompson_working.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Lydia Thompson in the studio working."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/05\/20\/art-professor-receives-artist-exchange-grant-for-research-in-ghana\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Art Professor Receives Artist Exchange Grant for Research in Ghana"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/","name":"College of Arts + Architecture","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/#\/schema\/person\/6ae86d643fdce51be9599976fc5e6eb7","name":"Meg Whalen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3b8393c5c25d74c480f1ab1c20cd221d9b6e3848f146aee5db5fbb5d12aab8c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3b8393c5c25d74c480f1ab1c20cd221d9b6e3848f146aee5db5fbb5d12aab8c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3b8393c5c25d74c480f1ab1c20cd221d9b6e3848f146aee5db5fbb5d12aab8c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Meg Whalen"},"url":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/author\/mwhalen5\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66449"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66493,"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66449\/revisions\/66493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}