An anonymous alum and passionate supporter of the School has offered to match up to $300,000 in gifts to the Jacob Lawrence Gallery. As School Director Jamie Walker says, the Jacob Lawrence Gallery Endowment "provides critical ongoing support for the Gallery’s greatest needs and priorities, such as graduating student exhibitions, the Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency, and significant national and international exhibitions." The donor has asked that this quote be shared:
I want to support a university that has the greatest capacity for enabling students to generate creative work. That means: work that seamlessly crosses boundaries between disciplines; mentors who are the best in their fields and unafraid to take risks; a university that reduces barriers for work across disciplines that on the surface may not seem related at all; and a diverse and talented student body that embraces the chaotic collisions of diverse ideas. UW and the Jacob Lawrence Gallery are the great enablers of the assembly of new knowledge, creativity, and innovation.
The Anne Focke Arts Leadership Award celebration and dinner in April 2019 kick-started our fundraising for the endowment by raising nearly $70,000. By early 2020, we have raised a total of $200,000, all of which has been matched.
Now we are looking to our other supporters to help us make it to our goal of raising another $100,000 for the full match. Gifts of any amount are welcome.