For the graduating senior who best embodies the legacy of Whitney teacher Debra Price Agrums Sposa. For 39 years, Ms. Sposa built the school’s legendary Visual Arts program from scratch, offering 13 different courses in Art, Ceramics, Crafts, and the 7th-grade Exploratory Wheel. Many students enrolled in her classes multiple times during middle school and returned for more as juniors and seniors, which enabled them to gain admission to the best art colleges in the country, such as ArtCenter, CalArts, Art Institute of Chicago, NYU, Cooper Union, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and Rhode Island School of Design. Ms. Sposa and her program earned regional, state, and national recognition, including Otis College of Art and Design Teacher of the Year, and her award-winning blog www.artisun.blogspot.com
“I loved teaching at Whitney, and never wanted to retire. My amazing students were some of the brightest young minds in Southern California, and it’s been such a pleasure to work with them. I created my blog to showcase their art (as well as my own), and also share all the new artists I discover. Even though I reluctantly did have to retire, I’ve continued to teach for the past seven years, offering a weekly class in fiber arts to a select group of current and retired Whitney staff and former students who want to refresh their skills or learn new ones. I still take classes myself to learn new techniques, travel to workshops and conferences, and enjoy exploring new fiber shops and meeting with old friends.”
For its inaugural year, The Debra Price Agrums Sposa Award comes with a grant of $1000.