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From left, Tom Bingham, Gary Ostrander, Virginia Hinshaw, Rick Mills and Dale Chihuly at Chihuly’s conferral ceremony

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Chancellor Virginia S. Hinshaw conferred upon Dale Chihuly—one of the best-known artists in the world—an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in Seattle, Washington on February 24. Chihuly was nominated for this honor by Mānoa Department of Art and Art History Professors Rick Mills and Gaye Chan and Assistant Professor Jaimey Hamilton.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to confer this Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree upon Dale Chihuly,” said Hinshaw. “We appreciate his contributions to education and our campus—and note that UH Mānoa’s recommendation to award the degree was unanimously approved by our Board of Regents.”

Vice Chancellor Gary Ostrander also presented Chihuly with an engraved koa wood paddle. “It represents the beauty and skills needed to create an artwork from natural resources and the many international shores that canoes and paddles have touched—just as Dale’s beautiful and skilled artwork has touched all of us internationally, having a significant impact on art and art history,” said Ostrander.

Chihuly’s contributions and influence in the art realm have changed the practice of glass arts and the education of glass artists. His work can be seen in more than 200 museums and his public installations have crossed over 32 states and 22 countries.

Chihuly has created more than a dozen well-known series of works including Cylinders, Baskets, Seaforms, Venetians, Niijima Floats and Fiori. He is also celebrated for large architectural installations including Chihuly Over Venice, for which he created sculptures at glass factories in Finland, Ireland and Mexico, then installed them over the canals and piazzas of Venice.

In 1971, he opened the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. It is the first glass school that fostered a working environment focused on teamwork, rather than the solitary artist, and has become a gathering place for international artists with diverse backgrounds.

He is currently preparing the world’s largest Chihuly exhibition, Chihuly Garden and Glass, to be located at the Seattle Space Needle in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair.

Read the news release for more.

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