By Kendra Sharpe
UNC Charlotte researcher Margaret M. Quinlan and
colleagues received a regional Emmy® nomination for Creative Abundance,
a film that explores how art can redefine vocational opportunities and expand
the lives of people with developmental disabilities.
Quinlan, an associate professor in Communication
Studies and core faculty with the Interdisciplinary Health Psychology doctoral
program, is a co-producer on the film.
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| UNC Charlotte's Margaret Quinlan (center) shares the Emmy spotlight with colleagues Evan Shaw (left) and Lynn Harter. |
“It is a huge honor in so many ways,” Quinlan says.
“It is an honor that the individuals in the film allowed us to tell their
stories. This documentary draws from years of research. Dr. Harter invited me
into a research project she was working on in 2003 related to disability and
sheltered workshops. My passion for creating these films started with that work
over a decade ago.”
Quinlan was nominated by the Ohio Valley Chapter of
the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category
Documentary – Cultural/Topical, along with lead producer Lynn Harter,
professor, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University; and Evan Shaw,
chief videographer/editor, WOUB.
The documentary is part of a series, The Courage of
Creativity, which explores the role that artists and creativity can play in
people’s well being in health-related contexts. In 2014, the series won a regional Emmy award from the Ohio Valley Chapter of
the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, based on the strength of
a promotional trailer.
“Our research and creative activity is inspired and
informed by the stories of individuals,” Quinlan says. “Storytelling is a
powerful form of experiencing and expressing.”
The most recent film, the second in the three-part
series, examines services in place for individuals with developmental
disabilities, usually in the form of vocational and rehabilitative workshops
that often are sheltered from the public eye and from community interaction.
With this research, Quinlan and colleagues have found
that the use of art can help medical and other professionals understand and
address the impacts on people’s lives caused by illness or disability.
“Artists do not eliminate the uncertainties
surrounding illness,” Quinlan says. “Even so, they answer suffering in ways
that go beyond the traditional reach of biomedicine. We hope that Creative
Abundance will offer people a glimpse of creative programming that integrates
artful encounters in various settings.”
The film also will be shown on PBS affiliates over a
four-year period, through a national distribution arrangement with the National
Education Association. The schedule for broadcast in North Carolina is not yet
set.
The Ohio Valley Regional Chapter of the National
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will present the Emmy Awards on August
6 in Lawrenceburg, Ind. The film and various people involved with it also
received three additional Emmy award nominations for videography and
production.
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Kendra Sharpe is a student communication associate in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
