UW News blog

July 22, 2015

Two UW art professors honored with 2015 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Awards

Of the five recipients of 2015 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Awards, two — Robin K. Wright and Akio Takamori — are faculty members in the UW School of Art + Art History + Design.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s office announced the awards on Tuesday, July 21. The awards, notes say, “recognize the contributions of artists, creative industries and cultural organizations who contribute to Seattle’s reputation as a hub of creativity and innovation.”

Wright, professor of art history, is the recipient of the Cultural Ambassador Award. She is also director of the Bill Holm Center for the Study of Northwest Coast Art at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Takamori is the recipient of the Arts & Innovation Award. He is a professor emeritus of ceramics in the 3D4M (3-Dimensional Forum) program, which embraces the study of ceramics, glass and sculpture.

A third honoree also has an indirect tie to the UW. Daniel Brown, recipient of the Creative Industries award, wrote the 2013 book “The Boys in the Boat,” about the UW rowing team’s dramatic victory over German athletes in the 1936 Olympic Games.

The five were chosen by the Seattle Arts Commission from a pool of about 400 nominations. They will receive the honors at an awards ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at the Seattle Center’s Mural Amphitheatre, part of the opening of Bumbershoot 2015.

“This year’s Mayor’s Arts Awards winners exemplify Seattle’s creativity,” Murray said in a press release. “They are the best in Seattle: talented, multi-disciplinary, passionate, visionary and diverse. It is fitting to celebrate their accomplishments at the 45th anniversary of Bumbershoot, the largest urban arts festival in North America.”