Change seems to be the key word at the moment for the School of Art. One of our most public transformations is a complete redesign of the School’s website. Associate Professor Annabelle Gould led the project assisted by a few staff: Mark Rector, Director of IT; Jeanette Mills, Director of Visual Services; and Laura Todd, Academic Adviser. Eric Richards (BFA 1999) did the WordPress programming behind the site, and several undergraduate students from the Design Division have been involved including Jon Sandler and Sam Cook. Complete credits will soon be provided through a website link and in an upcoming news post. Speaking of news, our news and events are now part of the main website. Content from the original News + Events website will be moved over to the School’s new website section over the next few months.
We have seen several staff changes over the past year. A news post is planned to provide more information about that as well as the several staff who have served in the School of Art for ten years or more. There are no new faculty this year, but Axel Roesler, Interaction Design, has been promoted to Associate Professor. Three other faculty are participating in an exhibition and series of lectures related to their tenure and promotion process this year: Industrial Design Assistant Professor Sang-gyeun Ahn, Visual Communication Design Associate Professor Karen Cheng, and Painting + Drawing Associate Professor Ann Gale. Do not miss seeing their work.
Even with change, some things stay the same. Donors continue to be an important part of building and maintaining our programs. Earlier in the year, the Division of Art received a generous gift from The New Foundation Seattle. Combined with money from the College of Arts & Sciences, this funding will support an initiative that has been dubbed the Nebula Project. More recently, Glassybaby donated two used glass furnaces, which were much needed by Assistant Professor Mark Zirpel as well as his colleagues and students in 3D4M. I am always happy to talk with current or potential donors who may be wondering how they can best help the School.
We have a number of exciting events planned for Autumn Quarter in addition to the show and lectures already mentioned. Second year graduate students in 3D4M and Painting + Drawing will be having exhibitions of the artworks they created over the summer, one at our Sand Point Gallery and the other at the 3D4M Studios. The second show in the Jacob Lawrence Gallery is linked with the Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition titled Elles: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Our show, Soft Power, Activated, will focus less on static artworks and more on experiences. It will be a fascinating exhibition, curated by Susie J. Lee (MFA 2006) and Kolya Rice (Lecturer, Art History). Also among the events this autumn are a Kollar lecture on American art given by art historian Maurie McInnes from University of Virginia; a conference titled “New Geographies of Feminist Art” that has been co-organized by Art History Assistant Professor Sonal Khullar; a juried show of student work in the Jake; and, last but definitely not least, BuyART, which is a sale of student and alumni work. A decision will soon be made about the February date for the annual 3D4M Scholarships for Scholars evening. If you are not yet on the mailing list for that event, email Professor Jamie Walker and ask to be added.
We look forward to having you visit us during this academic year. Keep an eye on the website for regular updates about our activities.
Christopher Ozubko
Director, School of Art
Professor, Design
Wyckoff Milliman Endowed Chair in Art