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. Her research explores public pedagogy, curatorial practice, and the use of socially engaged art to shape inclusive urban learning environments. Her work is grounded in narrative inquiry, centering lived experience and storytelling as methods for examining education, identity, and belonging. She earned her doctorate in education from the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, where she studied the influence of conceptual art in public spaces on teacher education in Toronto.
She completed her postdoctoral research through a Mitacs Accelerate grant, where she explored placemaking and creative engagement in healthcare settings. At UIUC, she leads cross-campus projects that integrate exhibition-making, visual arts, and placemaking as pedagogical tools. Her research has been supported through internal fundings, and she currently serves as a Faculty Fellow at the Illinois Leadership® Center for the 2024–2025 academic year, with an extension approved for 2025–2026. Before joining UIUC, she 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
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Lee, S. (forthcoming 2025). Critical Feminist Pedagogy and Digital Q&A: Facilitating Real-Time Student Engagement Visual Culture & Gender. 21. xx-xx.
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.
Lee, S. (2024). The Transformative Power of LGBTQ+ Themed Public Art in Shaping Urban Landscapes and Fostering Social Change. World Arts. https://doi.org/10.1080/21500894.2024.2417424.
Books
Lee, S., (Editor), Examining Doctoral Students’ Experiences in Academia: A Narrative Inquiry, forthcoming with Palgrave Macmillan, expected December 2025. Multiple contributors’ chapters, focusing on themes of inclusivity and academic culture.
Lee, S., (Author), Curating Urban Places: Education, Policy, and Art in Action, forthcoming with Palgrave Macmillan, expected December 2026.
Conference Proceedings
Lee, S. (forthcoming 2025). Exploring Digital Citizenship and Identity Through eSports: A Study of University Students’ Experiences in Digital Community Spaces. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Lee, S. (forthcoming 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. (forthcoming 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. (forthcoming 2025). Placemaking Through Artistic Pedagogy: Advancing Anti-Oppression in Public Spaces. 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.
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.
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 475 Art Exhibition Practices (Student Enrollment: 12)
ARTE 202 Facilitating Art Experiences (Student Enrollment: 18)
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.