Knowns, Unknowns & the Spaces in Between is a group exhibition featuring multidisciplinary work by the 2021 BA graduates of the University of Washington’s School of Art + Art History + Design. The exhibition showcases 49 emerging artists from the School’s four art programs: 3D4M, Interdisciplinary Visual Arts, Painting + Drawing, and Photo/Media.

Knowns, Unknowns & the Spaces in Between arose from the extraordinary conditions of the last year, which shed new light on what it means to live with uncertainty. It explores the liminal space where transformation occurs and the unending process of becoming, drawing inspiration from student experiences during a major transition in their lives.
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Each year the School of Art + Art History + Design proudly celebrates graduating Art and Design students—both undergraduate and graduate—with a series of exhibitions at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery and the Henry Art Gallery. This year’s undergraduate Art exhibition is presented primarily online due to the pandemic and public safety measures, and Design students and graduate students showed their work in the 2021 University of Washington MFA + MDes Thesis Exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery.  

Credits

Situated in the University of Washington’s Art Building, the Jacob Lawrence Gallery is a vital center for social engagement and critical dialogue about the roles of art, art history, and design within the broader context of intellectual life on campus. Through an ambitious and compelling program of contemporary exhibitions, lectures, performances, screenings, and discussions, the gallery is a site of knowledge production and advancing discourses that serves over 8,000 visitors each year.

In 1994, the gallery was dedicated to one of the School’s most renowned faculty members, Jacob Lawrence, who taught at the University of Washington from 1970–1985 and served as Professor Emeritus until the end of his life in 2000. The gallery is a tangible, living legacy of Lawrence’s exemplary life and practice.

Of the twelve exhibitions presented each year, eight feature student work. In addition to these exhibition opportunities, the gallery hosts an internship program where students learn curatorial methodologies, exhibition design and production, and act as docents for the exhibitions on view.

In 2018, the gallery became a W.A.G.E. Certified Institution in recognition of its ongoing commitment to equitable compensation for artists and writers.

The School of Art + Art History + Design is the center for creative innovation and study at the University of Washington, one of the world’s leading public research institutions. The School’s commitment to diversity extends to the recruitment of faculty, staff, and students who exhibit a dedication to creative and academic excellence and who demonstrate the ability to work with a diverse spectrum of populations. The School’s focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and the development of new practices enhances both studio and classroom learning as well as fostering dynamic engagement and critical discourse. Our students are inspired to learn through a rigorous and creative academic experience, competitive internships, and international opportunities. Learning from influential faculty, alumni, visiting artists, designers, and scholars, students of our undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs investigate and create in an environment of possibility.

To learn more, visit art.uw.edu.

The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish People of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot nations.