Holly Hughes is an American professor and lesbian performance artist. Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Hughes graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1977 and moved to New York City two years later to become a feminist painter. She began as a feminist painter in New York City but is best known for her connection with the NEA Four, with whom she was denied funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and for her work with the Women's One World Café (WOW Café). At the WOW Café, Hughes felt that she was able to "tell the stories she so desperately wanted to be told as a child." Her plays explore sexuality, body images and the female mind. She is the recipient of several awards including the Lambda Book Award and an Obie Award. In 2010, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is a professor of art and design as well as theater and drama at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Hughes_(performance_artist)