Western receives $250K gift from Virginia Wright
Funds will be used to create two new Western gallery spaces, display items from Northwest Art collection
Western Washington University has received a gift of $250,000 from Seattle art patron Virginia Wright. This gift was made to WWU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts for the purpose of creating two new gallery spaces in Western’s Performing Arts Center and renovating a third existing gallery, which houses a rare collection of tapestries by Alexander Calder.
The Calder tapestries will also be restored and preserved as part of this gift. WWU will use the new gallery spaces to display select pieces from its recently expanded collection of Northwest art.
“We plan to make improvements to the security, lighting and aesthetic aspects of the main lobbies of the Concert Hall and Mainstage Theatre in the PAC to create these new galleries,” said Sarah Clark-Langager, director of the Western Gallery. “This generous gift from the Wright Family Foundation will make it possible for us to display more art in two of our most frequently used public spaces on campus.”
In 2009, Safeco Insurance, a member of the Liberty Mutual Group, donated a collection of more than 800 works of Northwest art to the Washington Art Consortium, of which WWU’s Western Gallery is a charter member.
The following year, Clark-Langager participated in a competitive process devised by the WAC to distribute the majority of the donated artwork to WAC member institutions. This resulted in the addition of 208 pieces from the WAC to the permanent collection of the Western Gallery. Among the pieces received were works from prominent Northwest artists such as Guy Anderson, Michael Dailey, Morris Graves, Paul Horiuchi, William Ivey, Lee Kelly, Alden Mason, Nancy Mee, Carl Morris, Frank Okada and George Tsutakawa. The WAC donation is comprised of 60 prints, 30 works on paper, 40 paintings, 24 sculptural works and 54 photographs.
“It’s a common conundrum, but the Western Gallery has more art than it has space to display,” said Daniel Guyette, dean of WWU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts. “Improving larger, public spaces like these lobbies will help us share our wonderful collection of Northwest art with the community.”
The renovation project planning has already begun and is expected to be complete by June.
About the Western Gallery: Located in the Fine Arts Complex at Western Washington University, the Western Gallery's mission is to reach out to the entire University and its community. The Western Gallery is not a museum with permanent exhibits. Rather, it is a center for temporary exhibitions featuring contemporary, interdisciplinary themes. The Gallery features more than 4,000 square feet of indoor exhibition space, and the Western Gallery’s director oversees the University’s renowned Outdoor Sculpture Collection. For more information, call (360) 650-3900 or visit http://westerngallery.wwu.edu.
The Western Washington University Foundation exists to generate and manage private resources for the benefit of Western Washington University. The thousands of alumni, parents and friends of the university who annually make gifts to Western provide the margin of difference that has made WWU one of the top universities in the West. All gifts made to the Western Washington University Foundation impact the designated college, department, scholarship or program chosen by the donor. For more information, call (360) 650-3027 or visit http://www.wwu.edu/foundation.
