California Institute of the Arts has named the winners of the 2019 Tim Disney Prize for Excellence in Storytelling: Photography and Media MFA student Silvi Naçi and acclaimed writer Colum McCann (pictured above).

The award, given annually to a CalArts student and an established arts professional, celebrates work that uplifts the spirit while illuminating the human condition.

The generously endowed support for The Tim Disney Prize is funded by The Bill Haney Family.

McCann will come to the CalArts campus on Feb. 28. He will visit studios with the 2018 and 2019 Tim Disney Prize student recipients. He will speak and take questions in Langley Hall on the CalArts campus at 4 p.m.

The event is free and open to all. A reception will follow.

Born in Dublin and currently living and working in New York, McCann is the award-winning author of six novels and three collections of short stories. His most recent collection, “Thirteen Ways of Looking,” was awarded a Pushcart Prize and was selected to appear in the Best American Short Stories of 2015.

An active supporter of in New York and Irish-based charities, McCann is also the co-founder and president of Narrative 4, which uses a story exchange model to build empathy around the world.

The Tim Disney Prize for Excellence in Storytelling was created to affirm Disney’s commitment to make the world a better place through the power of storytelling.

Through the Disney family – as the son of longtime Trustee Roy E. Disney and as the great-nephew of Walt Disney and grandson of Roy O. Disney, the co-founders of CalArts – Tim Disney has an intrinsic bond with the Institute. He is deeply committed to the vision of CalArts as an interdisciplinary college of the arts, focused on educating the gifted students who will shape the future of art and culture.

Disney has served with great distinction on the CalArts Board of Trustees since 1993 and was named Chairman of the Board in 2014.

California Institute of the Arts is located at 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia 91355.