Paula Owen: Unbound Botanicals

Paula Owen, soon to retire from her position as President of Southwest School of Art, began her tenure in1996 following 11 years as the Director of the Visual Arts Center in Richmond, VA and various other roles in art education. Owen recently facilitated a merger of Southwest School of Art and University of Texas at San Antonio, a collaboration which will facilitate a new and expanded school of art.

Owen has served as curator of numerous exhibitions and on national and regional boards and panels, including the Pew Artist Fellowships, the Bush Foundation Fellowships, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a published arts writer and co-authored the book, Objects and Meaning: New Perspectives on Art and Craft, published by Scarecrow Press.  Most recently, her essay “Fabrication and Encounter: When Content is a Verb,” was published in Maria Elena Buzcek’s book, Extra/Ordinary: Craft and Contemporary Art.

She is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from her alma mater, Luther College in Iowa, and was recognized by the city of San Antonio with a Distinction in the Arts Award. Owen holds the MS degree in art education from Minnesota State University and the MFA in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work is held in numerous private and public collections. She lives in San Antonio with her husband, Ben Owen. They have three children and six grandchildren.”