BIO

Lisa Marie Evans is a filmmaker, animator, and visual artist. She co-directed, edited, and animated In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction, the first film to win the Publishing Triangle’s Michele Karlsberg Leadership Award. Since April of 2022, the film has reached audiences across Italy, Ireland, Spain, Germany, England, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, the Philippines, Canada and the United States.

In 2022 Evans was a keynote speaker at VIII Gendercom: the International Conference on Gender & Communication held in Viterbo, Italy. In 2024 She received a grant from the US Embassy in Rome to support the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia and the advancement of the LGBTQI+ policies, including a screening of In Her Words at Sapienza University in Rome.

Evans co-produced Beyond Belief: Three Stories of Faith in Action, part of a 2016 national initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in partnership with Kansas City PBS. She debuted an animation in dialogue with a performance by bassoonist Lia Uribe of Fernando Fernández’s Enredadas Alegrías at the 2023 International Double Reed Society Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 2024 Evans received the Artists 360 award and was a 2021 recipient of the Arkansas Arts Council’s Fellowship in Cinematic Arts. Her sculptures and installations have displayed in Washington, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Florida, Iowa, and Athens, Greece.

Over the past 20 years, Evans has mentored hundreds of multidisciplinary artists through organizations including Mid-America Arts Alliance and CACHE (Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange). From 2020-2026, she oversaw the distribution of over 1.6 million dollars to 255+ creatives. As the Director of the Artists Creative Fund (ACF) she designed and led funding, project support, professional development and mentorship programming for Tulsa, OK artists in partnership with George Kaiser Family Foundation. She has served as a board member for organizations including the Independent Filmmakers Coalition of Kansas City, Filmout San Diego and the Kansas International Film Festival.

Evans currently serves as Head of Experiential Learning and Community Engagement in the College of Fine Arts. She is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Theatre, Film & Television and the School of Art.