Ann Feldman
Visiting Scholar
Ann E. Feldman, Ph.D. has produced a variety of nationally and internationally syndicated television and radio programs, public events, and musical CDs. Dr. Feldman is the Founder and Artistic Director of artistic circles, a nonprofit organization begun in 1989, which creates collaborative media projects to promote social change. During her career, she has received numerous awards including the Professional Achievement Citation from The University of Chicago Alumni Association (2000) and the Studs Terkel Humanities Award from the Illinois Humanities Council. She has won the Gracie Allen Award from the Foundation for American Women in Radio and Television (2000) and a "Special Jury Award" from the Seventh International Radio Shanghai Music Festival (1999), and the “YWomen” Award from the YWCA.
Post 9/11, Dr. Feldman spent five years bringing together Chicago’s Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities in interfaith and diversity programs, which resulted in the award-winning Ties That Bind video documentary. EMMY-nominated Ties That Bind premiered at the Council for the World’s Parliament of Religions and UNESCO conference on Pathways to Peace in Barcelona, Spain and on Chicago’s WTTW/Channel 11. For the fifth anniversary of 9/11, Ties That Bind was syndicated to public TV stations in the U.S. by NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Association) and internationally by John McLean Media. The documentary won a Gold Medla from the Aurora Awards (2007) and Honorable Mention from Accolade and Chris Awards (2006.)
Dr. Feldman is also the producer of various radio documentaries that were broadcast on WFMT Network, Chicago Public Radio and radio stations affiliated with Public Radio International. Those radio documentaries include the 12-part Unbreakable Spirits series about women and girls in China; and the ten-part Noteworthy Women series about women in music. Two of her musical CDs - Women at an Exposition and The Eternal Feminine - have received Grammy nominations.
Recently, Dr. Feldman produced Water Pressures, an hour-long video, that uses the power of media to connect the water-scarce region of Rajasthan, India and the water-rich campus of Northwestern University, as these two diverse communities work together to address the global water crisis. This documentary was distributed to 80% of public TV stations in the U.S. on, March 20, 2013 by American Public TV. WTTW11 is the Presenting Station. The documentary has already won three awards - (1) It was chosen for screening at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival; (2) The Accolade Competition gave it the Award of Excellence for use of video for social change; and it won the Indie Fest Award.
Water Pressures partnered with Bono’s ONE.org, IBM’s Students for a Smarter Planet, PBS Learning Media, and the UN for educational outreach to students.
Ann Feldman has a B.M.E. from the University of Indiana, a M.A. in piano from The American University and a Ph.D. in History of Culture from the University of Chicago. She is also a Visiting Scholar in Gender Studies at Northwestern University.