Brettell Award Winner Visits Campus

10.25.2019

Brettell Award winner Jorge Alberto Lozoya (left) speaks with the award’s namesake, Dr. Richard Brettell, Margaret M. McDermott Distinguished Chair of Art and Aesthetic Studies, and Edith O’Donnell Distinguished University Chair.

Mexican diplomat Jorge Alberto Lozoya recently visited The University of Texas at Dallas campus to receive the 2019 Richard Brettell Award in the Arts. While he was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, he made a point of meeting with students and sharing his view that arts can be a bridge between countries.

The Brettell Award is one of the richest art prizes in the world. Established with a gift to the University from philanthropist Margaret McDermott, it includes $150,000 and recognizes the lifelong work of an individual working in visual arts, music, literature, performance or architecture/design. The award is presented every two years.

Lozoya has broad experience in international cooperation and cultural affairs. He has been associated with some of the top Mexican and international academic institutions, with a special interest in Asian civilizations and prospective studies, and international negotiations.

Jorge Alberto Lozoya receives a gift from Dr. Richard C. Benson, president of UT Dallas.

According to Dr. Richard Brettell, founding director of UT Dallas’ Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, Lozoya persistently used culture to cross human-made boundaries.

While in Dallas, Lozoya gave lectures concerning art, the economics of trade and global baroque. He also visited with middle school students at St. John’s Episcopal School in Dallas, with UT Dallas honors students and with students involved with the UT Dallas Center for U.S.–Latin America Initiatives.

Amy Hofland Lewis, senior director of the Trammel and Margaret Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas, said it was a “spectacular” week. She said Lozoya was very impressed with the students with whom he met and with the cultural future of the campus.

“He challenged us, as a nation, to lead the world through a diplomatic strategy of soft power and cultural advancement,” Hofland said, “which is a perfect opportunity for UT Dallas.”

–Phil Roth