Art Education

Dr. Laura Hetrick was named a Humanities Research Initiative Summer Fellow for her research, “Auto-ethnography of an Autistic Professor: Navigating a Neurodiverse Academic Life.” This award supported research preparation for my solo authored book about being an autistic professor that I will begin drafting in fall 2024 during use of an approved Humanities Release Time award. Specifically, I will travel to a United States Society for Education through Art (USSEA) regional conference in Santa Fe, NM where I have two accepted proposals to speak on my autistic lived experiences. These two presentations’ scripted notes and any audience feedback will be later turned into respective chapters of the book.

Sharayah Cochran, Art History was recently named as a Humanities Research Institute Graduate Fellow. Grace Eunhyn Bae, Art Education and Samantha Jenae Jones, Design for Responsible Innovation, were named as Graduate Fellows of the Interseminars Initiative, 2024-2025 CONGRATULATIONS!  

Laura Hetrick, with Stephanie Ceman and Tracey Wszalek were recently interviewed in Smile Politely, "An unlikely team with a new approach to autism research" by Lauren Cravens.

Realist Artist Jennifer Cronin’s Upcoming Solo Exhibition Takes Us on a Cosmic Journey Chicago: Elephant Room Gallery is thrilled to present artist Jennifer Cronin’s 5th solo exhibition at the gallery entitled “Star Stuff”, opening on Friday, September 20th from 6 to 9pm. The exhibition will be on view through October 26th. The gallery is located at 704 S Wabash Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop Neighborhood. More information can be found on the gallery’s website: www.elephantroomgallery.com Jennifer Cronin is known for her uncanny realism from her large scale figurative oil paintings to her meticulous pencil drawings. Over the past few years, her work has moved into a magical realm of neon colors, mysterious shapes and luminism. Her latest body of work in “Star Stuff” takes inspiration from the night sky, finding pieces of cosmic mystery in our everyday landscapes. Even though the work is dark, it is not sad or complacent. It invokes a connection to something outside of ourselves: distant galaxies, the passage of time, and the mystery of our existence. “Star Stuff” is about all of us: where we are from, where we are and where we are going. For Cronin, this work is a reflection of her growth as an artist and as a human being. Cronin pulls inspiration for her subject matter from her own surroundings on frequent walks in her neighborhood in Chicago. “…I can still find pieces of it everywhere. The dotting of artificial lights across a landscape, or the mysterious je ne sais quoi of a liminal space in the alleyway. Stories of this urban landscape are not that different from the stories of an endless night sky. I can find it right here–reasons to be, moments of cosmic mystery, connection to something outside of myself, the thrill of being alive in this very time and space.” - Cronin   Jennifer Cronin is a Chicago-based visual artist known for her realistic paintings that explore the mystery and complexity of everyday life. Cronin’s work has evolved many times over, delving into psychology, income inequality, and climate change. Her most recent work celebrates the mundane, infusing quotidian scenes with a sense of magic and mystery. In support of her forthcoming body of work, Jennifer was awarded grants by the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and Chicago DCASE. Jennifer’s work has been featured on NPR, Newcity, and Sixty Inches from Center and included in exhibitions at the Elmhurst Art Museum, Museo Internazionale Italia Arte, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Jennifer received her BFA in painting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is represented by Elephant Room Gallery in Chicago. The artwork in this series was funded by a grant from The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, and partially supported by an Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Art Education Associate Professor Laura Hetrick was recently in an article published by the Beckman Institute "With, not on: Reimagining autism in research" by Jenna Kurtzweil.

Pethumanity | Thursday, February 1 – Saturday, March 2, 2024 | Opening Reception: Thursday, February 1, 2024 | 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Kamila Glowacki (BFA 2013 Art Education & Painting / MA 2018 Art Education) is the 2023 IAEA Art Education Museum Educator of the Year. Kamila Glowacki is employed at Krannert Art Museum. Annually, the IAEA recognizes the top art, design, and media educators for their excellence and service to the field. The IAEA awards and scholarship committee found Kamila Glowacki’s professional performance, service, and leadership to be exemplary in every regard and selected her for this recognition. The Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA) is the premier professional development provider for art, design, and media educators in Illinois. The organization serves thousands of teachers statewide through a wide range of programs and services. Learn more at ilaea.org.

The School of Art + Design and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology are pleased to announce that Associate Professor of Art Education and Beckman member Laura J Hetrick has been named a 2023-2024 OpEd/Public Voices Fellow.  One of only 20 scholars selected from across the University of Illinois system to participate in this prestigious fellowship, Professor Hetrick will join her cohort of Public Voices Fellows in crafting her research and expertise in ways that can contribute to public conversations of our age. The Public Voices Fellowship is a national program initiated with scholars from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, and has since grown to include the nation’s top universities.  The Public Voice Fellowship aims to increase the public impact and presence of our nation’s top underrepresented thinkers.  This one-year Fellowship includes interactive seminars and monthly sessions with media insiders including NYT, CNN, and TED. The overreaching goal of the Public Voices Fellowship is to assist the Fellows with producing tangible thought leadership, including op-eds, radio/TV appearances, speeches, and TED talks.  As a scholar of art education, with research interests now focusing on her autistic lived experience, Professor Hetrick aims to redress the absence of information that is vital to better understand, support, and engage with some autistic individuals, recognizing that no two autistics are alike. Some of the concepts that she will address are intricacies such as masking/social camouflaging (a performance of neurotypicality aiding in hiding autistic traits to assuage potential bullying); imagining a radial spectrum as opposed to linear (to eradicate the hierarchy between high and low functioning labels); recognizing autistics as having heightened double empathy as opposed to no empathy; and considering neurotypical and neurodivergent as different operating systems (neurotypes). Hetrick said, “My hope is that by engaging with my work, people will have a heighted awareness of the perspectives of autistic people. I want to use my own voice to (re)educate the public on the actuality of what life is like from inside the highly misunderstood, yet vividly colourful autistic world that I inhabit daily.”

Alexandria, VA—The National Art Education Association has named Jorge Lucero, of Urbana, IL, as the recipient of the 2023 National Higher Education Art Educator Award. This prestigious award, determined through a peer review of nominations, recognizes the exemplary contributions, service, and achievements of one outstanding NAEA member annually at the National level within their division. The award will be presented during the NAEA 2023 National Convention in San Antonio. NAEA President James Haywood Rolling, Jr. states, "This award is being given to recognize excellence in professional accomplishment and service by a dedicated art educator. Jorge Lucero exemplifies the highly qualified art educators active in education today: leaders, teachers, students, scholars, and advocates who give their best to their students and the profession." Founded in 1947, the National Art Education Association is the leading professional membership organization exclusively for visual arts educators. Members include elementary, middle, and high school visual arts educators; college and university professors; university students preparing to become art educators; researchers and scholars; teaching artists; administrators and supervisors; and art museum educators—as well as more than 54,000 students who are members of the National Art Honor Society. We represent members in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, U.S. Possessions, most Canadian Provinces, U.S. military bases around the world, and many foreign countries. The mission of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) champions creative growth and innovation by equitably advancing the tools and resources for a high-quality visual arts, design, and media arts education throughout diverse populations and communities of practice. For more information about the association and its awards program, visit the NAEA website at www.arteducators.org

Illini Union Art Gallery, 1401 W Green St, Urbana, IL Wednesday, October 6 – Sunday, October 30, 2022 Opening Reception: Friday, October 14, 2022 | 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Organized by alumnus Howard Kanter, and Jennifer Bergmark, this exhibition features alumni art and work by students enrolled in ARTE 475, Art Exhibition Practices, to honor a shared history and to continue a shared future.

In the first episode of the second season of Artist Praxis Podcast, Debora Faccion Grodzki talks with artist and educator Jorge Lucero. Lucero discusses the making of "Alongside Teacher" (2022), an artwork created as a network of exchange with other artists, educators, and practioniers. Among many things, Lucero talks about the pliability of Zoom to record conversations and the relation between books and conceptual art.

At Artist Praxis, we hear from one artist's creative process, learning all about their most recent finished project. We discuss everything artists work with, from materials to thoughts, from dreams to gestures, from feelings to tools.

 

Jennifer Bergmark with alumna Stephanie Danker (Associate Professor at Miami University) recently had their article “Race-based mascots: Reflecting on university–community conversations” published in the International Journal of Education Through Art, Volume 18 Number 1.    

Elizabeth Jane (Manley) Delacruz, 69, of Champaign, died the morning of Dec 9, 2021. She was known to her family and close friends by her nickname, Betsy. The core of her being was her love for her daughters. Her daughters returned this love by caring for her in her final days at home in hospice care. She passed in comfort and peace surrounded by her daughters, her close family members, and her best friend. She grew up in Rantoul, IL where she graduated from Rantoul Township High School Class of 1970. She has resided in Champaign for the last several decades. Betsy received a BFA and MA in Art Education from the University of Illinois and received her licensure as an art teacher from University of Florida. She taught K-12 art across several schools in Illinois and Florida. She was passionate about the vital role creativity and artistic expression play in life and her mission as an art educator was affirming to students that creativity and the ability to make art exists in everyone. She also took joy in supporting students and opening her classroom as a space to come talk or just hangout if they needed. She joked that her only request was that they bring a piece of trash from the school grounds as an entrance fee. After completing her doctoral degree at Florida State University, she was hired by the University of Illinois Art & Design Department and spent 24 years as a Professor of Art Education teaching students in the US and from around the world how to become art teachers. She mentored many students through the doctoral program and cared deeply about supporting young researchers, writers, and teachers. During her time at the University, she served as the Chair of Art Education, editor of Visual Arts Research, a leading scholarly journal in art education, and was active in publishing research. Her scholarly interests included art traditions of culturally diverse societies, new digital and multimedia art forms in contemporary culture, the convergence of technology and education, and how art education practices advance social justice and civil society. She was a nationally recognized professor receiving multiple national awards including NAEA Higher Education Art Educator of the Year. After retirement she continued mentoring and teaching students in online graduate programs for the University of Florida and Eastern Illinois University. To her, art education was a vessel for engagement: with art, with people, and with the world. Her loved ones, friends, colleagues, and anyone who met her will never forget her playful and vibrant nature that she brought to everything she did. She enjoyed spending hours on Saturday mornings tending to her large side garden and chatting with passersby who would stop and admire it. She ran an antique store in Rantoul called the Crystal Ship in her young adulthood and has always been an avid thrifter. She had a full and adventurous spirit, always looking for new projects to take on and creatively make her own. She loved fixing stuff up (she joked her tool of choice was duct tape) and restoring and painting old furniture. Her faith and the McKinley Presbyterian Church community were also very important parts of her life. She was caring and generous and always sought out opportunities to help and give back to those around her. It was not uncommon for her to open her house to people needing a place to stay. She will always be remembered for her open and willing spirit, courage to be exactly who she was, and immense strength through the challenges she faced. She is survived by her daughters Emily and Grace, her sister Margaret Greenway, brother-in-law Roger, and her brother Lynn Manley. She was preceded in death by her parents Warren and Lois Manley and her brother John Manley. A Memorial Service will be January 29^th, 11 a.m., at McKinley Memorial Presbyterian Church, 809 S 5^th St., Champaign IL 61820. A virtual option will be available through Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/McKinleyChurch A reception will follow, pending Covid restrictions. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to McKinley Memorial Presbyterian Church: https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/2133263 Condolences and messages for the family may be sent to the following address: Delacruz Family, in care of McKinley Presbyterian Church, 809 S 5^th St., Champaign IL 61820

Catalina received the Donald and Barbara Smalley Graduate Research Fellowship from the Department of Gender and Women's Studies for Spring 2022. Based on her dissertation proposal, “String Figuring: A Practice to Witness the Beautiful,” she was selected from the GWS graduate minors who applied. The Smalley fellowship provides $12,000 for the period from January 15 through June 30, 2022, along with a tuition and fee waiver. As the recipient of the Smalley Fellowship, Catalina will be asked to give a public lecture on campus based on her dissertation research.      

The Illinois Art Education Association selected Dr. Jorge Lucero as a 2021 Educator of Distinction. Jorge is a 2021 IAEA Educator of Distinction. Jorge is employed with University of Illinois. Annually, the IAEA recognizes art, design, and media educators for their excellence and service to the field. The IAEA awards and scholarship committee found Jorge ’s professional performance, service, and leadership to be exemplary in every regard and selected him for this recognition. Please join the Illinois Art Education Association in honoring and elevating Jorge for this recognition. The Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA) is the premier professional development provider for art, design, and media educators in Illinois. The organization serves thousands of teachers statewide through a wide range of programs and services. Learn more at ilaea.org. Congratulations again to Jorge for his excellence!

Dr. Jennifer Bergmark and Dr. Blair Smith together with their community partners,  Dr. Asia Fuller-Hamilton, Principal and Sunni Ayers, Art Teacher at Garden Hills Elementary, received a $25,000 community grant through the University of Illinois Call to Action to Address Racism & Social Injustice Research Program. This will fund a year-long community-based pilot project that is a collaboration between the art education program at the School of Art and Design and faculty and staff at Garden Hills Elementary School with a series of visiting artists and public art projects to investigate the role of the arts in revitalizing communities through civic engagement, collective care, and advocacy. A primary goal of this project is making space for historically marginalized people from this school/community to gather, create and address its most pressing concerns. This will be facilitated through three arts projects lead by visiting artists with a practice of advocacy embedded in their creative work. The artists and projects were chosen to provide a platform for addressing community concerns, rebuilding trust between families and the school, and expressing a sense of pride in the school and community. Additionally, this project will provide hands-on community arts experiences for both undergraduate and graduate art education students, challenging students to consider implications of race in both curriculum and pedagogical practices while expanding the notion of art education experiences. These projects are intended to generate conversation about other possibilities, raise awareness of community assets and provide a foundation for future collaborations between the Art Education program and Garden Hills Elementary school.