The School of Art + Art History + Design is honored to announce a generous gift of $1.125 million from Ray Graham to support visual arts programming. The gift established the Art Program Support FUNd, an endowment that will help sustain the Division of Art and enrich the student experience by supporting activities beyond regular university programming and courses.
An initial gift of $125,000, received in June 2024, is already being used for a series of engaging events for both MFA and undergraduate Art students during the 2024–2025 academic year. These include artist lectures, workshops, field trips, and a residency program. Confirmed guest artists for the fall include Kimberly Tomasas (Detroit), Jeffrey Mitchell (Portland), Sheila Coppola (Seattle), and Matt Austin (Los Angeles). Other planned activities include student trips to Los Angeles and Portland to visit museums, galleries, and local artist studios. Additionally, a quarterly lecture series in partnership with the Henry Art Gallery will begin in the winter of 2025.
This series will bring mid-career artists from around the world for three-day visits, where they will give a public talk and interact with MFA and Art Honors students through studio visits, critiques, and class discussions. We are deeply grateful to Ray Graham for his generosity and ongoing support of the School of Art + Art History + Design and its students.