The Cornish College of the Arts Art Department is proud to present the sixth lecture of our 2025-2026 Visiting Artist Program. Please join us at the Raisbeck Auditorium on Friday, February 27th at 11:30am for a chance to hear from the renowned currator and 2026 Neddy Artist Award National Juror, Daisy Nam.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Daisy Nam is the Zlot Family Director and Chief Curator of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco. Her curatorial work often engages urgent cultural questions like the current research program at the Wattis exploring the theme of labor through a series of
exhibitions, public events, and artist-driven projects.

Previously, Nam served as director and curator of Ballroom Marfa, a contemporary art space in West Texas dedicated to supporting artists through residencies, commissions, and exhibitions. There, she organized exhibitions including STEADY: Michelle Lopez and Ester Partegàs, Tongues of Fire, Ecstatic Land, and solo projects with Guadalupe Maravilla, Kenneth Tam and Donna Huanca, among others. Earlier roles include assistant director at Harvard’s Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts and assistant director of public programs at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where she produced seasons of talks, screenings, and performances.

Curatorial residencies and fellowships include: Marcia Tucker Senior Research Fellow at the New Museum, New York; Bellas Artes, Bataan, Philippines; Surf Point in York, Maine; Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Korea. She holds a master's degree in Curatorial and Critical Studies from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in Art History and Cinema Studies from New York University. She co-edited Best! Letters from Asian Americans in the Arts, and serves on the board of Voices in Contemporary Art.

ABOUT THE NEDDY

The Neddy Artist Award is one of the most generous and longest-running awards for visual artists in the State of Washington, now providing two awards of $30,000, and six of $3,000, to artists living and working in the Puget Sound region.

Our program began in 1996 and is funded by the Behnke Foundation as a tribute to the life and work of Seattle painter and teacher Robert E. [Ned] Behnke (1948-1989). In 2011, Cornish College of the Arts gained stewardship of the Neddy, and we are thrilled to now be entering our thirtieth year as a part of Seattle University!

Cornish prepares its students to contribute to society as artists, citizens, and innovators, and the Neddy is a beacon of this mission. We especially thank Ned’s mother, Sally Skinner Behnke, in memoriam, for spearheading this vital program to Cornish as part of her legacy, continuing the investment of her grandmother in the founding of the College.