PaperWorks Scholarship Program
The Paperworks Scholarship Program is a collaboration with the University of Arizona’s Graduate Studies in Art and Pima Community College’s Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery. This community outreach effort has been one of our Paperworks core initiatives since it inception. The Bernal Gallery, located on the Pima West campus, holds an ‘Annual Student Art Exhibition’ open to all Pima Community College’s students across their five campuses.
The faculty of the School of Art at the University select graduate students working predominantly in paper arts, allowing the program to recognize and support artists from all levels of study and within various disciplines. This collaboration also allows us to provide support and resources to supplement the efforts of staff and faculty.
2026-2027 Scholarship Recipients from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona
Paperworks members can look forward to meeting our scholarship winner for this year from the School of Art at the U of A, Nova Nazari, at our September meeting.
Nova shares in a brief summary some of what her work is about and her work outside of the studio.
“I work as an interdisciplinary artist in painting, textile, installation, and animation, where making becomes a way of holding what cannot be spoken. My practice grows from suppressed emotions, fragmented thoughts, and the persistent need to translate inner turbulence. Alongside my studio work, I have over ten years of experience teaching art to children and teenagers, creating spaces for storytelling and creative exploration. I am currently an MFA candidate in Illustration, Design and Animation.”
We have previously enjoyed Terence’s presentation and work at the May 2026 Paperworks Meeting.
I explore the space between observation and perception- where reality shifts, distorts, or reveals something unexpected. Working primarily in watercolor, I use transparency, layered color, and atmospheric effects to move beyond literal representation and into moments that feel remembered, imagined, or slightly unsettled. I am drawn to the tension between the familiar and the strange, and to the quiet narratives that emerge when something appears just outside what we expect. As a largely self-taught artist, I have developed personal approaches to watercolor that emphasize luminosity, flows, and expressive design. To create work that continues to reveal itself
-Terence Leach
Previous 2025 Scholarship Recipients from Pima Community College
To support our Scholarship Recipients:
You can support the fund with an individual contribution, and participate in our annual fund raising event for the scholarship program this year. Our Paperworks Board continues to build a more robust, effective and efficient program that we can all be very proud of: building community one artwork at a time.
PaperWorks donates a cash scholarship to accomplished students from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona every year in May.
If you prefer to pay by check, please mail your check to:
PaperWorks
7959 N. Thornydale Rd.
Unit 89181
Tucson, AZ 85752-3009
For Questions about the Scholarship Fund, please contact Emily Sullivan.