(Winston-Salem) An alumna of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts is the recipient of a Princess Grace Award. M. Meriwether Snipes, who received her B.F.A. in costume design in 2010 from UNCSA’s School of Design and Production, will receive a 2012 theatre grant from the Princess Grace Foundation.

Snipes, from Houston, Texas, is a 2013 M.F.A. candidate at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

While at UNCSA, she was costume designer for the opera, Maria Stuarda, in 2010, and for the production of Chekhov in Yalta in 2008. She was assistant costume designer for Sunday in the Park with George in 2009, Henry IV and Bus Stop in 2008, and Trelawney of the Wells in 2007.

During her lifetime, Princess Grace of Monaco was committed to helping emerging artists realize their career goals. Following her death in 1982, Prince Rainier III of Monaco mobilized a group of individuals to establish the Princess Grace Foundation-USA as a tribute to her legacy. The Princess Grace Awards began in 1984 to recognize outstanding emerging artists in theatre, dance, and film. Now in its 30^th year, the foundation continues its mission to assist performing artists in honor of Princess Grace.

Numerous School of the Arts students and alumni have received Princess Grace Awards since their inception.

As America’s first state-supported arts school, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts is a unique stand-alone public university of arts conservatories. With a high school component, UNCSA is a degree-granting institution that trains young people of talent in music, dance, drama, filmmaking, and design and production. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, the School of the Arts opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.

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