About Dr. Lee
Biography
Somi Lee is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Art Education in the School of Art & Design at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is the elected Program Chair of the Arts and Learning SIG at the American Educational Research Association (AERA, 2026–2028) and a Representative on the ED&I Commission (Higher Education Division) at the National Art Education Association (2026–2029).
Somi’s research focuses on the relationship between creative production, curatorial practice, and data formation. She examines how AI reshapes the ways cultural objects are made, selected, and archived. Her work draws on narrative inquiry, public pedagogy, and socially engaged art. She has published in Studies in Art Education, Pedagogy, Culture & Society, World Art, and The Educational Forum, and her work appears in the proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences. She has books forthcoming with Palgrave Macmillan.
She serves as an Expert Reviewer for the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, an International Assessor for the Australian Research Council, and an Assessor for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grants. She is also on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education.
Somi earned her doctorate in education from the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. She completed postdoctoral research through a Mitacs Accelerate grant, looking at placemaking and creative engagement in healthcare settings. At UIUC, she is a Faculty Fellow at the Illinois Leadership Center and works on cross-campus projects combining exhibition-making, visual arts, and teaching. She previously taught art education in teacher preparation programs across Ontario, including at OISE, York University, and Western University.
Research and publications
Selected publications
2024 and onward
Lee, S. (2026). Critical Learning Experiences of Korean Women at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair. Pedagogy, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2026.2639579
Lee, S. (2025). LGBTQ+ Themed Public Art: Promoting an Expanded View on Genders and Advancing Gender Education. World Art, 15(2), 317–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/21500894.2024.2417424
Lee, S. (2025). Introduction to the Inclusive Q&A Learning Environment Design. Visual Culture & Gender, 21, 58–70.
Lee, S., & Maken Ali, A. (2025). Navigating Intersectional Perspectives in Art Education: Visualizing Identities. The Educational Forum, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2025.2479821
Lee, S. (2024). Asian Diaspora: Understanding Toronto Public Spaces Through Art and Performances. Studies in Art Education, 65(3), 356–370. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393541.2024.2355058
Books
Lee, S. (Editor & chapter author). Examining Doctoral Students' Experiences in Academia: A Narrative Inquiry. Palgrave Macmillan. (In press)
Lee, S., Kim, B., & Ho, W. (First author & editor). Curating Urban Places: Education, Policy, and Art in Action. Palgrave Macmillan. (Under contract; manuscript delivery scheduled December 2026)
Conference Proceedings
Lee, S., Gu, R., & Ali, A. M. (forthcoming). Semi-Formal Learning Groups as Design Interventions in Doctoral Education. The International Conference of the Learning Sciences. Irvine, California.
Lee, S. (2025). Exploring eSports as a Learning Space for Identity, Community, and Ethical Engagement. In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference of the Learning Sciences-ICLS 2025, pp. 2656–2658. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Lee, S. (2025). Connecting Indoor Digital Space and Outdoor Garden for Experiential Learning through Art Curation and Technology. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Lee, S., & Kim, B. (2025). Placemaking in Dentistry: Enhancing Dental Patient Engagement and Learning through Collaborative Digital Storyboard Creation. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Lee, S., & Shulyakovskaya, L. (2025). Placemaking Through Artistic Pedagogy: Advancing Anti-Oppression in Public Spaces. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Ho, W., Lee, S., & Kim, B. (2024). Democratic Interventions on Walls: Embracing Plurality and Differences Through Street Arts. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences-ICLS 2024, pp. 386–393. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Lee, S., & Kim, B. (2024). Embodied learning through art: Enhancing interdisciplinary approaches in STEM education. In P. Sengupta, D. Clark, & J. Lock (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International STEM in Education Conference (STEM 2024). University of Calgary.
Teaching and advising
Classes taught
Teaching Recognition: Included on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students, Fall 2024, UIUC
Graduate Course
ARTE 501 (Student Enrollment: 1 PhD)
Undergraduate Courses
ARTE 480 Popular Visual Culture (Student Enrollment: 12)
ARTE 475 Art Exhibition Practices (Student Enrollment: 12)
ARTE 202 Facilitating Art Experiences (Student Enrollment: 20)
ARTE 260 Museums in Action (Student Enrollment: 12)
ART 140 Introduction to Art (Student Enrollment: 144)
FAA 202 Artsful Integration (Student Enrollment: 88)
In the following short clip featured by the Illinois Leadership® Center, I talk about how students develop leadership and agency through public art, collaboration, and place-based learning.
https://youtu.be/tce2rA1_VIA?si=fZ7Qt--qvu2bTd4x
Students advised
Somi mentors doctoral students through independent study courses, research assistantships, and ongoing research collaborations. These mentorships have led to co-authored journal publications, conference proceedings, and national conference presentations.
Current and Recent Mentees
Rachel Gu (PhD Candidate): Co-authored a conference proceedings paper accepted at ICLS 2026 and co-presenting a poster at ICLS 2026 in Irvine, California. Currently developing a collaborative study, "Embodied Making and Cultural Data: Diaspora East Asian Artists in North America," with plans to submit to a Q1 journal. Participates in bi-weekly narrative inquiry research meetings.
Ava Maken Ali (PhD Candidate): Co-authored a peer-reviewed article published in The Educational Forum (2025). Mentored for publication in VAR: Radical Publications in Art + Design Education. Co-authored a conference proceedings paper accepted at ICLS 2026 and co-presenting a poster at ICLS 2026 in Irvine, California.
Umar Hameed (PhD Candidate): Co-presented "Cultural Dialogue within Curatorial Practices" at the National Art Education Association Conference (2025).
Natalie Francis Smith (PhD Candidate): Participates in bi-weekly narrative inquiry research meetings. Co-presented at the National Art Education Association Conference (2025).
Faizaan Ahab (PhD Candidate): Currently serving as a research assistant on an IRB-approved study, "Reimagining Faculty Observations: Visual Strategies for Reflective Practice." Somi is co-authoring with Faizaan an article for submission to a Q1 journal, mentoring him through each stage of the process. Participates in weekly research meetings.
Grace Bae (PhD Candidate): Currently working on an IRB-approved study, "The Disappearance of Korean Art from the Mainstream and Women Artists Shifting Practices." Somi is co-authoring with Grace an article for submission to a Q1 journal, mentoring her through each stage of the process.