Background
Nii, Yuko was born on October 22, 1942 in Tokyo, Japan. Arrived in United States, 1963. Daughter of Satoshi and Chieko Nii.
Nii, Yuko was born on October 22, 1942 in Tokyo, Japan. Arrived in United States, 1963. Daughter of Satoshi and Chieko Nii.
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1965. Master of Fine Arts, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, 1969.
Her work has included painting, printmaking, graphic design, stage set, costume, and fashion design. She has written journalism, poetry, fiction, essays, and philosophy, and published a book with Terrance Lindall, entitled Blue Eyed Satori. For the first several years of her life, she lived in Tokyo, but her family relocated to Hiroshima in 1945, shortly before it was bombed by the United States.
She studied (1961–63) English and American Literature at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan. In 1963 she transferred to Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota as a scholarship student, and earned her BFA. in 1965. From 1966 she attended Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, as a fellowship student and earned her Master of Fine Arts in painting in 1969.
In 1996, Nii founded the not for profit (WAH Center) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, which is housed in the Kings County Savings Bank Building in the National Register of Historic Places - a New York City Landmark. In 1998, Howard Golden, then Brooklyn borough president, named Nii Brooklyn’s Women of the Year.
In 1998, Howard Golden, then Brooklyn borough president, named Nii Brooklyn’s Women of the Year. In 2001, Governor George Pataki named Nii a "Woman of Excellence, Vision, and Courage.".
Recipient Woman of Year, Office of Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden, 1998, Office of Governor of New York State George Pataki, 2001, Office of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, 2003, Outstanding Citizen award, New York City Council, 2003, Asian Cultural award, Office Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, 2008. Fellow, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, 1966-1969. Scholar, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1963-1965.
