Whitman Stories

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded Whitman College nearly $150,000 to develop new curricula for the Human-Centered Design concentration. The NEH grant will provide two years of support for faculty to design, refine, enhance and implement the core components of the program.

Xiaoze Xie’s exhibition, “PANORAMA: Cantos Unfolding,” at Whitman's Sheehan Gallery provided the backdrop for employees from Walla Walla's Providence St. Mary Medical Center to process some of the emotional and physical stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Art creates a beautiful opportunity for us to express and share our ideas and better connect with the world around us.

Whitman recognizes the outstanding work of each member of the faculty–dedicated teacher-scholars who are experts in their fields. This academic year, a handful of Whitman faculty members received promotions that reflect their contributions to their departments and the Whitman College community.

The 11 graduating Whitman College Class of 2022 studio art majors concluded their studies with a final thesis exhibition at the Sheehan Gallery.

The graduating Whitman College studio art majors concluded their studies with a final thesis exhibition, “STILL LIFE: Senior Thesis 2021.”

Associate Professor of Art History and Visual Culture Studies and Garrett Fellow Lisa Uddin reflects on the artwork by Favianna Rodriguez that was chosen to represent Whitman College’s 2020-2021 Academic Theme. Rodriguez is a social justice worker, a cultural organizer and a visual artist.

Whitman College art major Peter Leyden didn't have a studio to return to after spring break so he found a new space, and optimistic outlook to these unexpected changes, while he worked to complete his senior thesis.

A new work of art is finding a home at Whitman College this spring. The community has the opportunity to learn about the new piece in a video created by the Sheehan Gallery. The piece, “Underground Hornship” by Wangechi Mutu is a bronze sculpture reminiscent of an antler shed. Th majority of the work has a black patina, with the tips a vibrant polished bronze.

Whitman offers President’s Scholarships and talent-based scholarships in theatre arts, fine arts, debate and music. For the fine arts award, recipients have to at least minor in the Art Department. Now a sophomore mathematics and English double major, with an art minor, Sylvie Corwin included images of painted mailboxes in her art portfolio, and received a talent-based President’s Scholarship to study at Whitman.

The new decade is being ushered in at Sheehan Gallery with a trio of nature photography shows, which open at Whitman College’s art gallery on Jan. 31. The larger gallery space will feature “Fire Stories,” an exhibit displaying the photography of John Marshall and the Osborne Panorama Project

Native American beadwork artists Marcus Amerman ’81 pushes the envelope on traditional beadwork by creating realistic pieces based on historic photographs. A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Amerman earned a degree in art from Whitman College and often infuses his work with sociopolitical messages.