THE ARTS
Mique’l Askren, Senior, Art History, with Robin Wright, Associate Professor, Art History, and Curator of Native American Art at the Burke Museum
Art is the universal human language. Through art we transcend barriers of culture and geography to create shared experience. Art speaks to us, connects us to each other. Art makes us feel alive. Imagine a place where your creative spirit can flourish, where opportunities for experiential learning, close student-faculty interaction, and student exhibitions and performances abound. Imagine world-class theatres, studios, and performance halls where internationally acclaimed artists and musicians come together to share their work with you. Imagine being a student of the arts at the University of Washington. Students of the arts choose from among a diversity of careers. They become cartoonists and jazz musicians and museum curators. They design houses, Web pages, costumes, and jewelry. They perform with city orchestras, direct Broadway musicals, and work for philanthropic arts organizations. They create, communicate, and teach. They love art, and it shows. Students who plan to study the arts at the UW are encouraged to complete a curriculum rich in the visual and performing arts, the humanities, and the social sciences. Those seeking to become performers can supplement classroom learning with extracurricular involvement in theatre and music. Students who wish to pursue performance degrees in music must have prior experience and training.
Majors Listed
Student Profile
“I’m the first person in my family to go to college, and I wouldn’t be at the UW without the support and encouragement I’ve received from Professor Wright. When I was sixteen, she visited the Alaskan island where my tribe, the Tsimshian, lives. I was leading tours of a photographic exhibition featuring native people of the Northwest Coast. She encouraged me to apply to the UW, and once I got here she invited me to take a graduate seminar she was teaching. She’s been there for me for more than school stuff, too. She knew what a big deal it was for me to move from Alaska, and her support made the transition so much easier. Now I’m doing my own research on Raven Rattles, which will be the topic of my master’s thesis, and I’ve received a grant to create a Northwest Coast Art History curriculum for my school district in Metlakatla.”
The Biology Department has offered a summer institute for K-12 teachers since 1987. Three participants have gone on to receive the Washington State Science Teacher of the Year Award.
