Morehouse Professors and Students Explore Migration Through Myth and Motion

Stop-motion animation project blends storytelling, technique, and cultural reflection

Apr. 16, 2026 at 2:25pm

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A grid of brightly colored, high-contrast silkscreen prints of a stop-motion animation camera, conceptually representing the technical mastery and cultural reflection at the heart of this collaborative project.A vibrant, pop art-inspired illustration captures the creative process behind a stop-motion animation project exploring migration and identity at Morehouse College.Atlanta Today

At Morehouse College, Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Maria Korol and student researcher Pierce Newson 28' are collaborating on a stop-motion animation project that examines contemporary experiences of displacement and migration through the lens of mythology. The deliberate, frame-by-frame process of stop-motion animation mirrors the fragile and persistent nature of diasporic identity, while the use of mythology connects ancient narratives to present-day realities.

Why it matters

This project reflects Morehouse's commitment to creativity as a form of research, allowing students to engage art as both practice and inquiry. By using mythology as a framework, Korol and Newson create a bridge between past and present, illuminating complex social realities around migration, displacement, and identity.

The details

The stop-motion animation project, titled 'Stop Motion Animation that Uses Mythology as a Framework,' blends storytelling, technique, and cultural reflection. Newson, an Art major with a minor in Cinema, Television, and Emerging Media Studies, is working under Professor Korol's mentorship to produce the animation, which will use music as both connective tissue and emotional undercurrent to guide viewers through an immersive audiovisual journey.

  • The project is currently underway at Morehouse College.
  • The stop-motion animation is expected to be completed by the end of the 2026 academic year.

The players

Maria Korol

Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at Morehouse College, MFA, who is mentoring the student researcher on the stop-motion animation project.

Pierce Newson

A Morehouse College student, class of 2028, majoring in Art with a minor in Cinema, Television, and Emerging Media Studies, and a scholar in the Howard Thurman Honors Program, who is collaborating with Professor Korol on the stop-motion animation project.

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What they’re saying

“The slow, tactile process of stop-motion, its emphasis on frame-by-frame construction, mirrors the fragile and persistent nature of diasporic identity.”

— Maria Korol, Assistant Professor of Visual Arts

“The project represents an opportunity to engage art as both practice and inquiry. It is a chance to explore how storytelling can illuminate complex social realities while also developing technical mastery in animation and production.”

— Pierce Newson, Morehouse College Student

What’s next

The stop-motion animation project is expected to be completed by the end of the 2026 academic year, at which point it will be showcased and shared with the broader community.

The takeaway

This collaboration at Morehouse College demonstrates the power of creativity as a form of research, allowing students to explore complex social issues like migration, displacement, and identity through the lens of mythology and the medium of stop-motion animation.