Directors Notes
Welcome to the first newsletter on our new website. So far we have been happy with the response to our site. We are continuously updating content, so please check back often for news and fresh stories.
The University and College of Arts + Sciences budget shortfalls and looming cuts continue to be front and center in discussions here. Earlier this month, President Ana Mari Cauce, Provost Tricia Serio, and Chief Financial Officer Sarah Norris Hall hosted a virtual roundtable discussion to address employee questions about the UW’s budget. If you are interested in what is happening you can watch the recording here.
How will these pending UW/CAS cuts affect our School? We are working closely with College leadership to sort through scenarios now. Long term, you might see some shifts in staffing as we move to shared models in areas such as IT, HR, and Fiscal.
Some lighter news: the 2025 Graduation Celebration for the School of Art + Art History + Design will be held in Meany Hall on Saturday, June 14. It’s a very special time to recognize the hard work of our students as they depart for new creative endeavors. Keep an eye out for the Alumni + Friends initiative at graduation, too.
Summer will be a little quieter here. Faculty scatter to focus on their research, the Jacob Lawrence Gallery will not host a summer exhibition, and the student presence on campus is reduced in the summer quarter. It is still lovely here, so if you’re in the area, do stop by to wander the halls! A few of us will be in the building planning for the autumn quarter.
In the meantime, we hope to see you at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery for the BA in Art Exhibitions or the Design Show. If not there, let's find each other at the MFA + MDes Thesis Exhibition, which opens next week in the Henry Art Gallery.
UW Design Collaboration with Partners in Print
Your Words Have Power is a temporary exhibition by Design students and Studio Matthews in Partner in Print's new location
A New Podcast Featuring Alumni
Season 01 launched in spring of 2025 and will have six episodes hosted by Liz Copland
2025 Graduation Exhibitions
Join us to celebrate our talented art and design students graduating in Spring 2025.
Student Voices Stories
Art Major selected as a 2025 Bonderman Fellow
Each year a select group of UW students is provided a rare opportunity to independently travel the world as Bonderman Fellows. David Bonderman, a UW alum, created the Bonderman Travel Fellowship in 1995, and it has funded life-changing global journeys for more than 330 students thus far.
2025 Husky 100
Congratulations to Visual Communication Design senior Kort Maeda for being selected for the 2025 Husky 100. Maeda is originally from Irvine, California and will be graduating this spring with a BDes in Visual Communication Design, a BA in Environmental Studies, and a minor in Urban Ecological Design.
Alumni Stories
Alumni + Friends Launch
The School of Art + Art History + Design Alumni + Friends is a new dynamic network dedicated to fostering meaningful connections between alumni, students, and the School through engaging events, professional development opportunities, and curated communications.
Nathan Vass brings readers onto his bus in new book ‘Deciding to See’
In his work, Vass (BA 2009) turns ordinary bus rides into something extraordinary — an opportunity for connection in a city known for folks who keep to themselves. Keep reading on Seattle Times.
Jacob Lawrence Gallery Stories
Watch Where You Step
UW’s Jacob Lawrence Gallery Is Full of Portals. Continue reading on The Stranger
The Jacob Lawrence Legacy
Twenty-five years after his death, Jacob Lawrence's impact as a chronicler of the Black experience lives on through the efforts of local arts institutions. Continue reading on UW Magazine
Other News
Associate Professor Whitney Lynn received a project grant from the VIA Art Fund in April 2025. Her project, Atomic Open House, will be a monumental, site-specific installation in Nevada, facing the former Nevada Test Site. Black Cube Nomadic Museum is the project's curatorial producer.
Interaction Design (IxD) faculty members Audrey Desjardins and James Pierce, and alum Wyatt Olson (MDes 2024) had a strong presence at CHI 2025, the premier international conference of Human-Computer Interaction held in Japan this year. Together, they had four full papers and two workshop presentations.
Congratulations to Chuanzhe (Bill) Xiong (MDes 2024) on winning an Indigo Design Award for his thesis project, LoopLab. The project was chaired by Assistant Professor Chad Hall.
Burke Smithers (BDes 2024) is the recipient of a 2025 Young Ones TDC award for his senior capstone project, Phylum (a typeface).
A set of cardboard stools designed by UW students in DESIGN 166 was featured during Seattle Art Book Fair’s exhibit “Reading Room” in May 2025. Also featured was a chair co-designed by alumn Peyton Todd (BDes 2023) and Jack MacLeod.
The BASEMENT, a student-led online publication, partnered with Seattle-Tacoma Arts and Resistance to host their first in-person art show What I hold, what we hold: Political Art as Resistance in May for Publication #6. You can view the featured work online.
We are saddened to announce the sudden passing of Photo/Media alum Jenny Irene Miller. Jenny held a unique place in art and the community for her support of and participation in the indigenous LGBT2+ community. We send our deepest condolences to her family.