Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2020, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

Did Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954, have an adverse impact on the employment of Black art educators? In this study, I questioned what specifically happened to Black art educators and Black art education in desegregated schools after Brown? Also, with the disappearance of Black and minority culture being taught in primary schools after Brown, how was Black and minority art impacted? The sub question of my research explores the capacity in which Black art educators were teaching art to Black students prior to Brown and the possible implications Brown had on their employment in desegregated public schools. Included in this study is a brief history of art departments established at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) by pioneering Black art educators. As there is scarce research regarding how Brown potentially effected the employment of Black art educators, this research explores the possible connection between Brown and the displacement of Black art educators. In this study I aim to articulate why Black art educators and culturally inclusive art curricula could have been rejected from desegregated public primary schools.

Committee: Joni Acuff Ph.D (Advisor); Karen Hutzel Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; Art Education; Art History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Art Education

In this case study, I examine the extraordinary work of contemporary artist Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson and the intersection of my experience as an educator serving as a co-curator for Symphonic Poem, a major retrospective exhibition of her work in 2003. I examine the role of museum educators in developing and presenting exhibitions that empower visitors to discover their own meaning in Aminah's complex and layered work. My examination of the case and my research related to it highlight the challenges and opportunities that face museum educators and all museum workers in an era when museums are examining their relevancy as they compete with all types of cultural and commercial events and venues for people's time and attention. This collaboration between a curator of contemporary art and an educator provides an alternative approach to traditional museum practices and organizational structures and raises important questions concerning the training and practice of museum professionals. In addition to examining the role of museum educators in exhibitions, this work presents strategies to encourage K-12 students and visitors of all ages to critically confront issues of identity, race, and oppression that hover just below the rich patterns and button-encrusted surface of Aminah's work. In the world the artist has created, being black is the norm, but everyone is invited to participate by sharing their memories, stories, and dreams. Art like that of Aminah Robinson helps to fill in the gaps that the modern museum created in regard to marginalizing and ignoring the voices of women and minorities. Educators in the post-museum can become border-crossers themselves in creating exhibitions, linking them with a broad range of communities, and encouraging visitors to become border-crossers as well.

Committee: Christine Ballengee Morris (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Art

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2008, Art Education (Fine Arts)

This research presents the personal journey of one art educator who sets out to define creative leadership through community collaboration to create and execute a Kids' Guernica Peace Mural. Auto-ethnography, theory, research, methodology, practice and reflection combine to uncover a working definition for creative leadership in art education. The experience demonstrates how to implement creative leadership into pedagogical practice and furthermore provides a living example for art educators. The processes of creating leadership and creative art making overlap to make meaning and forms a bond that helps art educators understand a dynamic relationship between the two. Creative leadership becomes the overarching topic for leadership in art education, and bridges the gap that makes connections between creativity, art making and leadership. A definition for creative leadership is necessary for art educators to survive under the current implications placed on art education in k-12 schools and society.

Committee: Connie Wolfe (Committee Chair); Rosalie Romano Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); David Bower Dr. (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Art Education