The Division of Art developed an initiative, called the Nebula Project, to address a number of critical needs as well as advance and invigorate their educational and research mission. This project received a significant boost on July 17, 2012 when a press release from The New Foundation Seattle announced an inaugural grant to the division. This private foundation had just been created by Seattle philanthropist and collector Shari D. Behnke. Yoko Ott (BFA 1999) is the foundation director. This multi-year grant, coupled with generous support from the College of Arts & Sciences, funds the hiring of visiting artists, scholars, curators, and others to teach classes, create new work, and organize exhibits that will expose School of Art students to new voices and fresh perspectives. Examples of Nebula-sponsored activities are:
ART 361–Critical Issues in Contemporary Art: taught in winter quarter by Eric Fredericksen. A public lecture series accompanies the course each year; see the list of speakers for each year.
Art 590–Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar in Contemporary Practices: taught in spring quarter by Scott Lawrimore, who was Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions at the Frye Art Museum when he started teaching the class and is now the Director of our Jacob Lawrence Gallery. These classes have done Field Study trips; read about them here.
Art 360–Topics in Studio Art and Practice: taught by the Sea-Cat team—artists Gretchen Bennett, Wynne Greenwood, and Matthew Offenbacher—in autumn quarter 2013. The class included an experiential exhibition at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery.
In addition to these courses, Nebula Project funds are being used to support expanded programming in the Jacob Lawrence Gallery under the direction of Scott Lawrimore.