Welcome to our third edition of the School of Art eBlast newsletter. This has been a tremendous vehicle for communicating past, current, and future information to our students, parents, donors, alumni, and friends. I am happy to say that our eBlasts have one of the highest reader rates in the College of Arts & Sciences. Thank you!
Last February, the 11th annual 3D4M Scholarships for Scholars auction and raffle brought in a record amount for graduate student scholarships. Many of our auction items were donated by alumni, whom we thank for helping us meet our goal. Stay tuned for next year’s event, to be held on Tuesday, 07 February 2012. If you would like to be on the mailing list to receive ticket ordering information for this event, please contact Kathy Mack, our Advancement Services Officer, via email or at 206-543-0971.
The Painting + Drawing Program held its first ever Sand Point Open House in April 2011 to overwhelming attendance. The evening was so successful that we intend to make this a biennial event where we can spotlight our graduate and faculty painters. The Open House featured tours of faculty and graduate studios, and an exhibition of the BFA/BA Painting + Drawing graduating students.
The Division of Design held both professional and family openings in June for the culminating exhibition of graduating undergraduate (BFA) and graduate (MFA) students in Design, with over 1,300 people in attendance. The success of these openings has prompted us to explore holding this event off-campus in 2012, so that more folks will be able to see the wonderful work our students are doing. We will be sure to keep you up to date on any changes.
I am pleased to announce that Professor Jamie Walker has been recently appointed as Associate Director of the School of Art. It is my desire to work closely with Jamie so that we can create new levels of exposure and excellence in all three divisions. You may be familiar with his excellent reputation as an artist and teacher. He received his BFA here in 1981 and returned to become a faculty member in 1989 after receiving his MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design. One of his most recent public art installations is at the Amazon headquarters in South Lake Union. Jamie’s energy and enthusiasm, as well as his national and international connections in the art world, will be a conduit to promoting our School in the future.
A few changes in faculty are happening this year. Professor René Bravmann is retiring after 42 years of teaching in the Art History Division. We all wish him well in pursuing projects that were not previously possible. Two new faculty–Ivan Drpić in Art History and Tad Hirsch in Design–are joining our ranks, and you can read about them in the “New Blood” article in this newsletter. We also have two newly tenured Associate Professors: Margaret Laird in Art History and Annabelle Gould in Design.
I especially want to thank our two new School of Art Advisory Board members, John and Laurie Fairman, owners of Honeychurch Antiques in Seattle. I am excited to have them as voices of support for the School. The Fairmans have a long history of involvement with both ceramics and Asian art as well as an interest in contemporary arts and crafts. John and Laurie mentioned to me that they are going to participate in the upcoming National Council on Education for the Ceramics Arts (NCECA) conference to be held in Seattle, 28-31 March 2012. In conjunction with the meeting, the School will be hosting the NCECA’s juried exhibition of national student work at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery from 06-31 March 2012. The Fairmans are joining the other members of the Advisory Board: Gayle Barker, Gary Crevling, William Ingham, Harold Kawaguchi, Jack and Layne Kleinart, Linda LeResche, Larry Metcalf, Alison Milliman, George and Alice McCain, Sherryl Rasmussen, Anne Traver, Michael Von Korff, Judi Clark, and Kris Anderson.
This academic year will be one of great interest to us all here on campus because of our new president, Michael Young, and learning where his vision will take the UW in the future. I look forward to seeing you at upcoming School of Art events. To stay informed, be sure to send us changes in your contact information. Alumni should also share their news, and anyone may suggest topics or people to cover in future eBlasts. Feel free to email us or mail a note.
Christopher Ozubko
Director, School of Art
Professor, Design
Alison and Glen Milliman Endowed Chair in Art