Alfred University Professor Emeritus Wayne Higby was awarded the Smithsonian Institution’s prestigious Visionary Award honoring his contributions in the field of ceramic art and art education.
The award, instituted in 2014, honors artists who, according to the Smithsonian, “have risen to the pinnacle of sculptural arts and design, who have works in major museums, and who have demonstrated distinction, creativity, exceptional artistry and vision in their respective medium.”
In accepting the award from Monique Chism, undersecretary of education at the Smithsonian, Higby thanked numerous members of the Alfred University community who attended the event, in addition to members of his family, paying tribute to his late wife, Donna, who died in 2004.
Speaking of his work as both a ceramic artist and a professor of ceramic art at Alfred University, he said, “I’ve devoted my life to education. …It’s as important to me as my studio work.” Reflecting on the back-and-forth between his students and himself, Higby described the teaching process as: “My students say, ‘C’mon over here, and I say, ‘No, c’mon over here.’ And we’ve worked that out.”
Of Higby’s accomplishments in the field of ceramic art, The Smithsonian said: “Inspired by the American landscape, Higby’s artwork focuses on landscape as a point of meditation.”
Noting he joined the faculty of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1973, the Institution saluted his art, which has included ceramic vessels and large installations such as EarthCloud, in the Miller Performing Arts Center, and SkyWell Falls, in The Miller Center for the Arts, Reading, PA.
As a recipient of the Smithsonian’s Visionary Award in 2014, Higby joins other major American artists such as Wendell Castle, Albert Paley, and Dale Chihuly. Of those past honorees, Higby said they had “set the bar” in the field of art.
The 2024 Visionary Award was presented in the Smithsonian’s National Building Museum, located on F Street in Washington, DC, on the opening evening of the Institute’s annual craft show, a juried exhibition and sale featuring contemporary craft and design works from across the country. The show is hosted by the Smithsonian Women's Committee, and proceeds support grants that benefit the Smithsonian's education, outreach, conservation, and research programs.
Hundreds of art and craft lovers attended the show Wednesday evening, April 22, and in turn could admire (and purchase) art and crafts by more than 100 artists chosen by the Smithsonian for the exhibit.
The Alfred University community in attendance included University President Mark Zupan, Marlin Miller, ’54, H ’89, H ’19, Alfred University Life Trustee and Board Chair emeritus. Professor of Music Lisa Lantz, alumnus Ben Buess ’25, and Benjamin Evans, Wayne Higby Director and Principal Curator of the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum. Additionally, Helen Drutt English, Higby’s Philadelphia-based gallerist, who received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Alfred University in 2019, attended the award ceremony.
Speaking after the ceremony, Miller recalled his first viewing of Higby’s art in English’s Philadelphia gallery. The colors of Higby’s sculpture initially reminded him and his wife, the late Marcianne Miller ’54, of the colors of the American southwest, which they enjoyed touring. “I loved the colors,” Miller said. As he and his wife became acquainted with Higby, partly through English’s gallery, “we got to know him and started buying his artwork. Whenever his work would come up, Helen would point me toward it.”
Miller and Higby over the years developed a close relationship, and Miller eventually supported construction of the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, where Higby served as director and chief curator from its opening, in 2016, until his retirement in 2025.
