Shortcuts
- School Faculty + International Artists
- A Student Response
- A Student Response Part II — The Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency
- Jacob Lawrence: The Legend of John Brown + Other Works
Utopia is No-Place, and therefore it is left up to all of us to find it. —Stephen Duncombe
The undercommons is…always an unsafe neighborhood. —Stefano Harney & Fred Moten
I got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it. —Rufus T. Firefly
In honor of the 100-year anniversary of Jacob Lawrence's birth, we are pleased to present Utopia Neighborhood Club, a series of highly-participatory exhibitions and programs meant to generate ideas about the Jacob Lawrence Gallery's potential new space and future mission. As a young teen, Lawrence took some of his first art classes at Utopia Neighborhood Club, an organization that provided social services to the underserved in Harlem during the early part of the 20th-century. Breaking that name down, “club” hopes to explore the role of the Gallery in relation to its most immediate audience — students, faculty, and staff of the School of Art + Art History + Design; “neighborhood” will interrogate the Gallery’s place in community and regional contexts; and “utopia” will attempt to project the Gallery and its programming into the future to envision a more universal or ideal place of exchange. The series is a unique opportunity for many voices to freely imagine what a university gallery should be, unencumbered by traditional concerns about what it cannot possibly be.
View additional information about Utopia Neighborhood Club on the Jacob Lawrence Gallery website.
Related Press
January 17, 2017: KUOW, "Jacob Lawrence's art touched the world. His teaching changed Seattle."
February 15, 2017: Seattle Weekly, "Plotting ‘No-Place’ in ‘Utopia Neighborhood Club’."
School Faculty + International Artists
November 2 – December 22, 2016
Curated by: Nadia Ahmed (Art History + 3D4M undergraduate), Sarah G. Faulk (Art History undergraduate), Anqi Peng (IVA BA 2016), and Gallery Director Scott Lawrimore.
With art by School faculty: David Brody, Rebecca Cummins, Ann Gale, Ellen Garvens, Philip Govedare, Tad Hirsch, Denzil Hurley, Aaron Flint Jamison, Doug Jeck, Curt Labitzke, Jacob Lawrence, Zhi Lin, Amie McNeel, Helen O'Toole, Michael Swaine, Timea Tihanyi, Jamie Walker, and Mark Zirpel.
Alongside ideas by: Cesar Cornejo, Andrea Fraser, Theaster Gates, Stefano Harney, Fredric Jameson, Allan Kaprow, Mary Kelley, Sir Thomas More, Fred Moten, Michelangelo Pistolleto, William Pope.L, Yvonne Rainer, Martha Rosler, and others.
Events
- November 1, 5–8pm: Opening Celebration with presentation by the curators at 6pm
- November 2, 6:30–9:30pm: Doors Open: Art 590 graduate student performances and source presentations
- November 7, 11am–1pm in Red Square: Palavras: Give a Word. Have a Word. A word exchange with Senior Lecturer Timea Tihanyi
- November 8, 11am–1pm in Red Square: Palavras: Give a Word. Have a Word. A word exchange with Senior Lecturer Timea Tihanyi
- November 9, 6pm: What is a Club?: panel discussion with faculty in the exhibition
- November 9, 7:30pm: Doors Open: Art 590 graduate student performances and source presentations
- November 16, 6pm: No, Really, What is a Club?: alums and current students in conversation with Q&A to follow
- November 21, 6pm: What did you do with your art history degree?: alums David Mendoza and Anne Focke return after 50 years
- November 22, 6pm: Won't You Be My Neighbor?: research mixer with departments and students across campus (cancelled; may be rescheduled)
- November 29, 12pm: Shelterwear prototype sewing circle: everyone can help make these items designed by Professor Tad Hirsch
- November 30, 6pm: Here Comes the Neighborhood: panel discussion on social practice and collaboration with exhibition faculty + other departments
- December 3, 1pm: Shelterwear prototype sewing circle: everyone can help make these items designed by Professor Tad Hirsch
- December 6, 3–4:30pm: Word Exchange: Art 260 students lead this
- December 10: How to Organize a Public Library: a walking tour led by 3D4M Professor Michael Swaine
A Student Response
Curated by: Nadia Ahmed (Art History + 3D4M undergraduate), Sarah G. Faulk (Art History undergraduate), Anqi Peng (IVA BA 2016), and Gallery Director Scott Lawrimore.
The curators created an open call for students to respond to what was put forth in the first iteration of Utopia Neighborhood Club, which featured faculty work. The call was not limited to objects but open to proposals for events that could take place in the Gallery, new ideas for the operation of the Gallery, manifestos concerning the Gallery's stated goals, etc. The students responded — passionately, incisively, and resoundingly. The exhibition will feature works in all media, but traditional usage of the space will be upended and/or complemented by performances, take-overs, poetry, temporary installations, workshops, conversations, and more.
Exhibiting artists: Peter Barbor & Katie Schroeder, Maryam Bhurgri, Zachary Bowling & Jessica Capó, Holly Chan, Nate Clark, Ji Huang, Alex Kang, Annieo Klaas & Diego Suarez, Natalie Lew & Abe Poultridge, Peter Mataya, Emma McIntosh, PER4M 4M (Cicelia Ross-Gotta, Ben Gale-Schreck, Brandin Steffensen, Erin Lynch, Daniela Mora, and Clare Halpine), Nick Phillips, Edward Scott, Mckinley Smith, Amy Wang, Huiqing Wang, Brianna Way, Tingjje Wei, Yabsira Wolde, and Bobby Yin.
EVENTS
- January 10, 5–8pm: Reception
- 5:30pm: Remarks by curators and artists
- 6pm: Performance titled Facing It by Erin Lynch (Creative Writing; PER4M 4M member)
- 6:30pm: Performance titled How Great Thou Art by Clare Halpine (Photomedia; PER4M 4M member)
- 7pm: Sandpaper Quilt Quilting Bee with Cicelia Ross-Gotta (3D4M; PER4M 4M member)
- January 12, 1–3pm: Sandpaper Quilt Quilting Bee with Cicelia Ross-Gotta (3D4M; PER4M 4M member)
- January 13, 1–5pm: Sandpaper Quilt Quilting Bee with Cicelia Ross-Gotta (3D4M; PER4M 4M member); a pie and ice cream social starts around 3pm while the quilt is being finished
- January 14, 7–9pm: SNL/Variety Show by PER4M 4M
- January 17, 8am–?: Durational Karaoke with Daniela Mora (Photomedia; PER4M 4M member)
A Student Response Part II — The Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency
Curated by: Nadia Ahmed (Art History + 3D4M undergraduate), Sarah G. Faulk (Art History undergraduate), Anqi Peng (IVA BA 2016), and Gallery Director Scott Lawrimore.
Due to the overwhelming number of submissions for A Student Response to Utopia Neighborhood Club, the Gallery is pleased to present a special iteration of its popular Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency program that began in 2015 as a way to honor our namesake and celebrate Black History Month.
Three students have been invited to spend one week each in the Gallery creating new work, presenting programs, and conducting workshops. Student-artists taking part are: Yabsira Wolde (February 1–4), Brianna Wray (February 7–11), and Bobby Yin (February 14–18).
Then, from February 21 – March 4, Utopia Neighborhood Club: A Student Response Part II culminates with a group exhibition of student work organized by School of Art + Art History + Design students Zachary Bowling and Jessica Capó.
Events
- January 31, 5–8pm: Opening Reception
- February 8, 7–8:30pm: DIY Venue Harm Reduction with S. Surface
- February 14, 6–9pm: CAKE WALK + Competition
Jacob Lawrence: The Legend of John Brown + Other Works
Drawn from the holdings of the UW Campus Art Collection — including works on loan from the Washington State Arts Commission — as well as the collections of Francine Seders and the School of Art + Art History + Design, this exhibition represents a unique effort to showcase the work of one of the University’s historically preeminent professors and change-agents. Lawrence came to Seattle to teach at the University in 1970 after an already-illustrious, barrier-shattering career in the arts. He was a Professor in the School until 1985, and he served as Professor Emeritus until his death in 2000. The exhibition highlights Lawrence’s mastery of various printmaking techniques and includes: The Legend of John Brown (1977), a 22-part serigraph series depicting the life and contribution of the important abolitionist; etchings from The Builder’s Suite (1996); and numerous stand-alone works including lithographs like Artist in Studio (1994), and Man on Scaffold (1985).
Events
- January 31, 5–8pm: Opening Reception
- February 15, 10–11am: Gallery talk with Royal Alley-Barnes