Marie Woo Receives 2020 Kresge Eminent Artist Award

Marie Woo (Photo: Erin Kirkland)

Marie Woo (Ceramics ’56) has been honored as the 2020 Kresge Eminent Artist. Woo is the second Cranbrook Academy of Art alumna to earn the prize, previously awarded to Ruth Adler Schnee (Design ’46) in 2015.

The annual honor celebrates an individual’s record of exceptional work, professional achievement in the arts, significant impact on their chosen art form, and generous contributions to the growth and vibrancy of Detroit’s cultural environment. Woo becomes the first Kresge Eminent Artist to represent the art of ceramics.

According to The Kresge Foundation, Woo is the 12th metro Detroit artist to receive the lifetime achievement award, which includes a $50,000 no strings attached prize.

“We are thrilled that The Kresge Foundation has once again recognized a pioneering woman, who, like Ruth Adler Schnee, shaped the landscape of their field,” says Susan R. Ewing, the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. “These women opened doors for so many others in their respective disciplines, and we are enjoying the recognition they are continuing to receive.”

Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, describes Woo as “a transformational force in the development and elevation of her art form, and in the enrichment of our cultural community.”

While at Cranbrook, Woo studied under Maija Grotell, and since then clay has been her material of choice.

Read articles about her award in the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.