Taylor Graham Awarded Fulbright for Creative Work

2016 Apr 11

Ithaca College Senior Taylor Graham was awarded a Fulbright to spend the 2016-17 academic year making a documentary film on water issues in India.

A Park Scholar at IC, Graham is majoring in emerging media with a minor in web programming. He will travel to Ladakh and Rajasthan, India, where uncertainty over the access to and quality of water is reaching crisis levels. He will make a documentary, titled "Tale of Two Deserts," which will analyze the causes of the crisis and explore creative solutions - including the regeneration of a once-depleted river and the creation of artificial glaciers. He also hopes to demonstrate how these ideas may be replicated elsewhere in India and around the world.

Graham, who wrote in his Fulbright application that he is committed to searching for constructive solutions to global water issues, intends to pursue a dual graduate degree program in journalism and international policy. "It is my belief that the power of narrative can be harnessed to initiate real political change. Ultimately, I plan to continue my advocacy work aimed at promoting multilateral action on water issues around the world."

Graham already has extensive international travel experience. He previously produced a short documentary, "Taming the Teesta," which explores the repercussions that hydroelectric dam developments on the Teesta River have on the Lepcha people in India's Himalayan Mountains. He served as a volunteer photographer with the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation at the Silk Route Festival, and he has started an online, nonprofit marketplace, Lanapo.org, through which Native American artisans can sell their crafts.