Pheiv Kurtz: 2023 Big Idea Award Winner

A video game designer with a passion for storytelling is the 2023 Big Idea Award Winner.

Stamps graduate Pheiv Kurtz (BFA ​‘23) was honored for their concept of creating a fun, interactive way to tell the stories of the LGBTQIA+ community. Kurtz accepted the award at the Stamps Commencement Celebration on April 29, 2023.

In this video, Kurtz describes in detail their Big Idea and why it matters at this moment in time. 

The Big Idea Award was inspired by school namesake and alumna Penny W. Stamps (1944−2018) in her April 2018 commencement speech. She issued a call to action to Stamps students.​“What’s your big idea?” She prompted.​“What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your sweat equity in pursuing outside the walls of the University of Michigan? You have your artistic skills, now develop your ideas — your big idea,” she said.​“Imagination has no limits.”

With generous support from the Stamps Family, friends, and other supporters in the community, in loving memory of Penny, the award provides one Stamps senior or team of eligible Stamps students with $25,000 to help launch a major, ambitious project after graduation. 

A committee of external reviewers nominated by Stamps faculty and representing a wide range of expertise determined the winner.