Louis Sudler Prize in the Performing and Creative Arts (Est. 1980)

The Louis Sudler Prize in the Performing and Creative Arts is awarded annually to two graduating Seniors who, in the opinion of the Faculty, have demonstrated excellence or the highest standards of proficiency in performance or execution, and in the field of composition in one of the following general areas: architecture and design, creative writing, dance, film and video, music, theater, painting, sculpture, photography, and digital arts.

2023

Diego Miró Rivera, Trumbull College

Diego Miró Rivera graduates cum laude with distinction in both of his majors, Art and Cognitive Science. More than a visual artist — or even thinker, seer, or doer — he is a dreamer who opens his audiences’ eyes to new ways of looking at the world around them. Through interventions and installations designed to change perspectives and moods, and by turns grandiose and subtle, even sly, Diego is acutely aware that he has the ability to alter the reality we interact with as we go about our daily lives. Through his art, he strives to change the world one moment of beauty and poetry at a time.

And in this same spirit of change, Diego in his unofficial role as Mayor of the Art Major Class of 2023 has also laid the foundation for the first-ever, dedicated undergraduate art space, providing a much-needed outlet for collaborative work and curatorial practice.

For his ambitious nature, his vision, and his gifts for bringing dreams to life, Yale College is delighted to award the Louis Sudler Prize for Excellence in the Creative Arts to Diego Miró Rivera.

Annelise Ratner, Silliman College

Annelise Ratner graduates summa cum laude with distinction in her major, Film and Media Studies. Her films are formally inventive, emotionally resonant, and deeply thoughtful, and they explore complex, intensely personal subjects with courage and creativity. A child and grandchild of survivors of the Cambodian genocide, Annelise has used her artistic practice to excavate and share the truths — of intergenerational trauma, of grief, of grace — that have shaped her. Whether using hand-drawn animation to transform archival news footage into pointed poetry, or light, sound, and set dressing to turn a safe suburban home into a fraught fantastical dreamscape, Annelise creates richly layered works of cinema.

Ambitious and meticulous as a writer and director, Annelise is also gifted and giving as a producer, cinematographer, and mentor. Through her work with Yale Cinematic Productions and her service on countless student film sets, Annelise has invested as much care in the growth of her fellow students as she has in her own.

For her exceptional talent as a filmmaker, and for her lasting contributions to Yale’s film culture, Yale College is delighted to award the Louis Sudler Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts to Annelise Ratner.

2022

Chiara (Chia) Amisola, Saybrook College

Alex Whittington, Pierson College

2021

Sydney Holmes, Benjamin Franklin College

Lisl Wangermann, Branford College

2020

Sadie Cornette Cook, Silliman College

Farrah Rothman, Saybrook College
2019

Eren Orbey, Jonathan Edwards College

Alexis “a.k.” Payne, Berkeley College

2018