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Yuko Nii Receives Award (2003)

Yuko Nii receives award from Gov. Pataki  
   

In honor of National Women's History Month, Yuko Nii has been named by Borough President Marty Markowitz one of six of the most outstanding women in Brooklyn's "HERstory." The Betty Smith Arts Award was presented to Ms. Nii on March 13th at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Betty Smith wrote the great novel "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." The tribute to Yuko Nii, our local honoree, was for her outstanding service to the community of Williamsburg/Greenpoint and Brooklyn. Additionally, Yuko received a City Council Citation from Council Member Tracy Boyland, recognizing her as an outstanding citizen of New York City, having given "exemplary service" to her community. At the same ceremony, the Shirley Chisholm Leadership Award was presented to Jacqueline Thomas Andrews, the Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Humanitarian Award to Flo Hirsch, the Lady Deborah Moody Civic Award to Margarita Lopez Torres, The Emily Roebling Business Woman's Award to Sally Krauss and the Lucille mason Rose Community Activist Award to Violet Mitchell.

Asked about her award, Yuko notes that it was with the help of the many supporters, volunteers and contributors to the Center that she was able to contribute to the flourishing of arts & culture in this largest artist's community. The "Williamsburg Phenomenon" also happened because of the leadership of men like the President of the Borough of Brooklyn Marty Markowitz and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce as well as the many dedicated community people who worked unceasingly to make Brooklyn the great business and cultural community that it is today. Yuko Nii left Tokyo in 1963 to attend Macalaster College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and earned a B.F.A. in 1965. She then attended Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, as a fellowship student and earned her MFA in painting in 1968. Yuko, who has been living and working as an artist in Brooklyn for over 37 years considers Brooklyn her "beloved home." She moved to Williamsburg 17 years ago.

As she watched Williamsburg/Greenpoint grow, she began to realize that with so many artists and performers of high quality moving in, still there was no large and central space for them to perform and exhibit. So in late 1996 Yuko, using all of her resources, acquired the Second Empire masterpiece landmark Kings County Saving Bank Building, and founded the non-profit Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (WAH Center) based upon her "Bridge Concept."

The WAH Center is a multifaceted, multicultural art center whose mission is to coalesce the diverse artistic communities, and create a bridge between local, national and international artists, emerging as well as established artists of all disciplines. She also wanted to preserve the WAH Center's building, The Kings County Savings Bank Building, which is in the National Register of Historic Places and a New York City landmark, and make it a functional part of the cultural community of Williamsburg, one of the largest art communities in the world. During the first six years the WAH Center has pursued what Chris Gray of the New York Times called "a furious schedule," producing nearly 120 fine art shows incorporating over 2000 artists, and countless performances.

Twice a year her Center produces international shows following Nii's "Bridge Concept." Her "Bridge Concept" is about reaching out and crossing over, of discovery, and meetings of minds and spirits so that we come to understand from each other that which brings respect & love which in turn brings peace. Through the universal language of art, Nii hopes to bring peace and harmony among all nations. As the word "WAH" means in Japanese, "peace" or "harmony" or "unity," it is appropriate for the WAH Center to fulfill this mission. So far The Center has "bridged" to Cuba, Holland, Italy, Japan, Palestine, Russia, Slovenia, and Turkmenistan. This month in March 2003 the Center is showing the work of artists from Vietnam, and is planning future shows of Ireland, Israel, Germany and Spain.

The WAH Center also produces and annual "Art & Ability" show, by artists with disabilities. This March is the fifth annual show. Additionally the Center has created an art club, "Williamsburg Salon." Every year in January the members have a group show. This year was the 6th annual exhibit for the Salon. There is also a fifth annual dance festival this May. And the Center hosts a film festival, the Williamsburg Arts & Culture Festival (WAC Festival, which features galleries, businesses, open studios and an historical tour), an ongoing music series, theatrical productions, poetry and staged readings, fashion shows, symposia and lectures.

In January 2003, LET'S GO TRAVEL MAGAZINE called the WAH Center "the epicenter of the Williamsburg artist's community." It is a tribute to Yuko Nii's leadership in bridging the world of arts & culture, and bringing Williamsburg to the attention of the larger international community. Nii was named one of Brooklyn's Women of the year in 1998 by Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden for her "unparalleled devotion to her art and commitment to the artist community of Williamsburg/Greenpoint." And in 2001, Governor George Pataki named her one of the state's women of the year, as a "woman of excellence with vision and courage." Here is what some people have said of her:

  • I have known her for 20 years as a fine artist, friend & a very lively, active, and committed person who gets things going and gets them done.— Esteban Vicente, renowned Spanish artist and founding member of the NY Studio School

  • During 20 years of solid friendship, Yuko and I have worked on several projects together, building a bridge of the arts between Japan and the United States. She is a seriously hardworking, totally committed and great artist. Additionally she is also a free spirited, fun loving person with a great sense of humor! Because she is so well balanced and because of her creativity and energy, I have no doubt that the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center will be a great success!— renowned American painter Ken Noland

  • I have known and worked with Yuko on various projects over the years and she is a person of great intelligence and integrity as well as a great artist.— Robert Panza, Executive Director, Visual Artists and Galleries Association

  • A remarkable person, dedicated to the art world and her fellow artists, as well as being a fine artist herself— Curtis Harnack, President, School of American Ballet

  • A person of great ability and integrity as well as a fine artist.— Shoji Sadao, Executive Director, The Isamu Noguchi Foundation

  • An exceptionally gifted fine artist, a farseeing visionary...sincerely concerned about the well being of the human race.— Max Roach, Jazz Percussionist

  • A clarity of Vision and mastery of technique so characteristic of the best Japanese artists.— Stuart C, Henry, Director, The Berkshire Museum

  • The work of Yuko Nii carries a feeling of intensity and personal poetry. Her landscapes are in fact a landscape of her inner self.— Tamon Miki, Chief Curator, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

  • Yuko Nii's giant contributions of energy, vision and generosity transformed almost overnight a disintegrating landmark building into a vital center for the arts in Williamsburg, an historic Brooklyn community that now enjoys the largest concentration of resident artists within the art capital of the world, New York City. Yuko's extraordinary achievement is itself a landmark for Brooklyn and marks her for recognition as a living treasure of Brooklyn and the nation!— Robin Radin, Harvard Law School, Program on International Financial Systems, Associate Director