The Farnsworth Art Museum, in Rockland, Maine, is proud to announce architect Toshiko Mori as the recipient of the 2018 Maine in America Award. The award is presented by the Farnsworth’s Board of Trustees to honor an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution to Maine’s role in American art.

The award presentation will occur during the Farnsworth Art Museum’s 2018 Summer Gala, which will take place on Friday, July 20 on the grounds of the museum. The previous winners of the Maine in America Award were John Wilmerding (2006), Andrew Wyeth (2007), Will Barnet (2008), Robert Indiana (2009), Alex Katz (2010), Paul Caponigro (2011), Dahlov Ipcar (2012), Matthew Simmons (2013), The Shakers of Sabbathday Lake (2014), Lois Dodd (2015), Joyce Tenneson (2016) and Betsy Wyeth (2017)

Toshiko Mori is the first architect to receive the Farnsworth’s Maine in America award. “Toshiko Mori is an internationally renowned artist who has contributed greatly to Maine’s role in American art,” commented Farnsworth Director Christopher Brownawell. “Though her works span the globe, she has maintained a home in North Haven for many years. Her works in this state are of great significance. In addition to her important work in bringing the Farnsworth up to date during a major renovation in the late 90s and her award-winning design for our Rockland neighbors CMCA, she has completed both commercial and residential projects throughout Maine.”

Toshiko Mori is the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and is the principal of Toshiko Mori Architect, PLLC. She is the founder of VisionArc, a think-tank promoting global dialogue for a sustainable future and one of the founders of Paracoustica, a non-profit that promotes music in underserved communities.

Her firm’s recent work includes: master plans for the Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch and the Buffalo Botanical Gardens; Thread, a cultural center and artists’ residences in rural Senegal; and new canopies for the #7 subway line for the Hudson Park and Boulevard in New York City. The firm was also recently selected to design Brown University’s expansion for the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Their projects have been internationally exhibited, which includes at the 2012 and 2014 Venice Architecture Biennales, the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial and at the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen in 2015. Architectural Digest listed her amongst their biennial AD100 in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

She regularly contributes to international publications and her work has also been published in numerous books and monographs. She has been honored with numerous AIA Awards; the Academy Award in Architecture, from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter Medal of Honor; the 2016 Tau Sigma Delta National Honor Society Gold Medal; and in 2016 was inducted as a member into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Her project in Senegal won the Plan 2016 award in Culture, two Architizer 2016 A+ awards, the AIA 2017 Institute Honor Award and recently the Certificate of Excellence at the Africa Architecture 2017 Awards. The firm’s Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research was awarded Higher Education/Research Best Project by ENR New England and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland, Maine was awarded Best New Museum by the Boston Globe.

Mori recently delivered a keynote speech for Finnish Architecture Day (Alvar Aalto’s birthday) in Helsinki and was elected as the chair of the Alvar Aalto Medal jury in 2017 (its 50th anniversary.)

For more information, contact Special Events Manager Annie Brown at 207-596-6457 ext. 143 or by email at abrown@farnsworthmuseum.org

The Farnsworth Art Museum celebrates Maine’s role in American art. It offers a nationally recognized collection of works from many of America’s greatest artists, with 20,000 square feet of gallery space and over 15,000 works in the collection. The Farnsworth has one of the largest public collections of works by sculptor Louise Nevelson, while its Wyeth Center features works of N.C., Andrew and Jamie Wyeth. The National Register-listed Farnsworth Homestead; the Olson House, a National Historic Landmark; and Julia’s Gallery for Young Artists complete the museum complex. Please visit www.farnsworthmuseum.org for more information on current exhibitions, programs and events.