A Newsletter for Friends and Alumni of the University of Washington
For arts’ sake: Recent gifts Breed creativity At the UW

Dale Chihuly’s (’65) introduction to glass as an artistic medium occurred in 1964 in a weaving class at the University of Washington. His instructor, Doris Brockway, directed her students to use non-fiber materials in their loom weaving and Chihuly chose glass, weaving fibers around long shards to create a stunning patchwork of texture and color. That assignment set in motion a new direction in the artist’s work that led him to revolutionize the Studio Glass movement, co-found the Pilchuck Glass School, and put the Pacific Northwest on the map as a locus for modern art in glass.

UW student artists will soon have expanded opportunities to discover their talents in this medium while earning undergraduate or graduate degrees. A new program integrating glass, ceramics, sculpture and public art is on target to begin offering classes at the UW in fall 2008. Local arts patrons already have stepped forward to provide needed resources.

UW friends Jack and Layne (‘92) Kleinart have directed a contribution to an endowment for students in the program, and the University recently launched a search for the inaugural recipient of the Dale Chihuly Endowed Chair, funded by gifts from prominent arts patrons, friends, Pilchuck board members and numerous local artists, including the Anne Gould Hauberg Trust, Gladys and Sam Rubinstein Foundation, Jeff (’64, ’67) and Susan Brotman, the Benaroya Foundation, Doron and Marianne Livnat, and Gerald and Linda (‘63) Nordberg.

“We are grateful to the many people who joined to help make the new program a reality,” says Ron Irving, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “It has been a generous collaborative effort of the entire regional arts community.”

Courses in the new program will be among more than 1,000 classes in the arts offered at the UW, with some 10,000 students annually taking arts coursework toward their degree work or as electives. Encompassing nine different programs and organizations arrayed throughout the College of Arts and Sciences and the University’s performance venues and museums, the arts at the UW receive generous, ongoing support from friends and patrons who believe in the power of art and culture to transform lives and enhance communities.

Kennan Hollingsworth (‘56, ‘60) and Phyllis Bagdi, for instance, are passionate about music and have turned that interest into broad support for the School of Music, where they recently created a fellowship to support graduate students studying performance. Floyd Jones is creating resources for students in the UW’s top-ranked actor’s training program. His gift to the School of Drama was instrumental in making possible a renovation of the UW Playhouse Theater, to be renamed the Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse Theater upon its expected reopening in 2009. More than 80 contributors, meanwhile, made gifts over the past fiscal year to the Friends of Dance Fund, which provides resources for visiting lectures, performances, financial aid and other needs in the UW Dance Program.

Whatever their field of study, UW students with a flair for the creative have no shortage of outlets. Support from the UW’s patrons of the arts provides them the means to fully explore their options, to follow their imaginations and to make an artistic mark on the world.

For more on the arts at the UW, visit www.artsci.washington.edu/.

Above photo: UW students gain practice in glass blowing thanks to a partnership between the UW and the Pratt Institute of Fine Arts; dance students stretch their limbs and imaginations; musicians play solo or in ensembles.

Henry patrons pay tribute to departing director

In its 80th year, the Henry Art Gallery on the University of Washington Seattle campus remains the Pacific Northwest’s premier modern art museum, a reputation that has been heightened under the leadership of Richard Andrews (‘74, ‘75).

During Andrews’s 20 years as the museum’s director, the Henry increased its endowment from $400,000 to $10 million, quadrupled the size of its gallery space, gained national attention for its exhibitions, and with the generosity of private contributors, greatly enhanced its permanent collections.

Friends of the museum will soon have opportunities to contribute to an ongoing legacy honoring Andrews, who retires in February 2008. In tribute to his two decades at the Henry, the museum is establishing a fund in Andrews’ name to provide enhancements to the museum and its programs.

“His visionary leadership and passion for contemporary art supported artists in the creation of new work, brought important exhibitions to our region and allowed audiences to better understand the art of our time,” says Eleanor Pollnow, immediate past chair of the Henry Gallery Association Board of Trustees. “We wish him all the best, and we will miss him.” For more on the Henry Art Gallery, visit www.henryart.org.

Return to Fall 2007 Campaign Newsletter