Arts Division

1 in 5 adult female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds look like males. New research from the University of Washington shows that this is a rare case of "deceptive mimicry" within a species: Females with male-like plumage are trying to pass themselves off as males, and as a result receive a benefit in the form of reduced aggression from males.

Sylvia Wolf has served in her role since 2008.

 

Norie Sato (MFA,, 1974) has been commissioned by the city to install one of seven new large-scale art pieces for the waterfront project.

Through the Henry Art Liaisons program, UW students explore Henry Art Gallery exhibitions with museum visitors.

"UW professors and alumni are at the forefront of the arts, culture, philosophy and literature. They attract speakers and performers who contribute to the vibrancy of this culturally diverse community."

Rod Crawford has discovered nearly 200 species that hadn’t been described before, many of which proved to be new to science. Of the nearly 190,000 Washington specimens in the Burke’s spider collection, Crawford contributed about half.

“Seattle is perfectly positioned to have a thriving fringe theater scene,” said Nikki Yeboah, who last year became the University of Washington School of Drama’s new assistant professor of playwriting, the school’s first full-time faculty hire in playwriting since 1993. “That’s an amazing opportunity for artists to make works that are nontraditional or challenging or different.”

Bruce Lee was renowned for being many things: one of the greatest martial artists of all time, mentor, instructor, and all-star actor. He was also a devout, loving father, as well as a philosopher. Lesser known is that he was a student of the University of Washington, where he studied drama and philosophy. Beloved by our community, his legacy is now reinstated at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, where his personal collection of over 2,800 books and thoughtfully curated achievements will remain on permanent display for decades to come.

Which group of mammals has the more "primitive" reproductive strategy — marsupials, with their short gestation periods, or humans and other placental mammals, which have long gestation periods? For decades, biologists viewed marsupial reproduction as "more primitive." But University of Washington scientists have discovered that a third group of mammals, the long-extinct multituberculates, had a long gestation period like placental mammals. Since multituberculates split off from the rest of the mammalian lineage before placentals and marsupials had even evolved, these findings question the view that marsupials were “less advanced” than their placental cousins.

The 1998 drama graduate receives the nation's highest poetry honor.

At the beginning of September, a press release announced that Sylvia Wolf, the director of the Henry Art Gallery since 2008, will be retiring in spring 2023. Across her career, Wolf held a distinct and profound love for the gallery, as well as the university and city with which the gallery’s art, artists, and curators are in relentless dialogue.

Abdiel Jacobsen, a graduate in the Department of Dance and a former Martha Graham dancer, found freedom in hustle, which offers a progressive, gender-neutral vision of partnered social dance.

Kemi Adeyemi, Jasmine Mahmoud, and Nikki Yeboah first met as PhD students in Chicago. Now they pursue scholarship in support of Black arts as UW faculty.

Four Dean's Medalists were selected by the College of Arts & Sciences for their varied and impressive work as UW undergraduates. 

The Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle today announced it is one of six recipients of the 2022 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. The award is given by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Burke Museum is the only institution in Washington to be selected.