CAA News Today
Jelena Bogdanovic
posted by CAA — December 04, 2024
CAA has experienced various changes in its organizational profile since I became a member in 2002. It has played an integral role in my scholarly development and been a significant factor in my advancement within academia. Every year I look forward to taking advantage of CAA’s interesting variety of conference activities and opportunities for professional networking.
As visual arts professionals it is critical that we keep CAA strong and relevant. As a board member I hope to assist the next generation of practicing artists and scholars in using CAA as a resource in their personal journeys. Helping them become conversant with professional standards and best practices will strengthen our members, departments, and standing within the academic community. Having served on various CAA committees and scholarly panels, I have a good sense of how CAA operates and the desire to explore its untapped potential.
Nationally speaking, organizations such as ours have seen declining memberships resulting in the emergence of some underserved groups. Visual artist memberships are down a bit and we should pay more attention to the needs of those working in community colleges. While the “scale” of CAA has become a bit smaller over the last few years I remain optimistic and believe that these developments may stimulate some rethinking about how we manage the annual conference, identify conference cities, and address the evolving needs of our members.
Yeohyun Ahn
posted by CAA — December 04, 2024
I am a graphic artist, designer, educator, and researcher with a disability, dedicated to integrating creative coding, diversity, accessibility, belonging, and healing into my professional practice. Originally from South Korea, I moved to the United States in 2005 to pursue graduate studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). When I arrived in Baltimore, my academic mentor introduced me to the College Art Association (CAA), which provided my first exposure to a vibrant international community of visual artists, designers, and educators in America. Since 2014, I have been an active member of the CAA and currently serve on the CAA Annual Conference Committee. In this role, I collaborate with CAA staff and leadership to oversee session selections, review abstract submissions, and mentor new association members.
In 2022, I was honored to receive the Society of Experiential Graphic Design Educator Award for founding and organizing the visionary art and design conference and curated exhibition titled “Evolving Graphic Design.” I also secured substantial funding, amounting to $71,680 from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and $10,000 from the Brittingham Wisconsin Trust. My work has been recognized in esteemed publications, including The Washington Post, PRINT, The New York Times Magazine, Letter Arts Review, Creator’s Project, and Designboom.com. I have contributed to notable academic texts such as “Graphic Design: The New Basics” and “Type on Screen,” published by Princeton Architectural Press, as well as “Data-Driven Graphic Design” by Fairchild Books in England. My research and artistic contributions have been featured in papers from organizations such as Leonardo (MIT Press), the Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts (ISEA), the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), and the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD). I have been invited to present and exhibit at various international conferences, including the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH).
I hold a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Graphic Design, specializing in Interactive Media from MICA, an MFA in Information Design with a focus on Graphic Art from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science from Chungbuk National University in Cheongju, South Korea. Additionally, I am actively involved in committees for the CAA Annual Conference and the Academic Task Force of the Society of Experiential Graphic Design. I also serve as a reviewer for panel proposals submitted to Leonardo and for grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. My freelance work includes collaborations with The New York Times Magazine, and I have held teaching positions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago State University, and Valparaiso University. Previously, I served as an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design and Interaction Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In 2023, I received a diagnosis of a long-term disability, which has presented significant challenges. I am currently engaged in cardiac rehabilitation and therapy, with plans to return to the workforce after 2024. This experience as a disabled artist and designer has provided me with a new perspective, enriching my understanding of the world and positively influencing my work in unexpected ways. I believe fostering a sense of belonging is essential in any community, as it promotes comfort and support among its members. From 2025 to 2029, I intend to cultivate this sense of belonging within the CAA in collaboration with the Board of Directors. My goal is to strengthen and inspire collaboration between the CAA and various underrepresented academic fields and communities, including theology, psychology, sociology, health, and well-being, thereby promoting innovative visual creativity and transformative narratives for a positive future for the CAA.
Arts Council of the African Studies Association Releases Best Practice Guidelines for Provenance Research and Restitution
posted by CAA — December 04, 2024
In response to the increasingly pressing need to address principled and fair stewardship in institutions, ACASA has released new Guidelines for Provenance Research and Restitution. CAA acknowledges the critical need for this document and supports ACASA’s efforts.
From ACASA’s December 2 press release:
The new resource, the first-ever for museums in the United States, emphasizes collaboration and communication with Africa-based peers, descendant communities, and other knowledge-holding constituents in assessing and determining the futures of collections. Developed with support from the Mellon Foundation, this foundational document is publicly accessible and recommended for sharing with all U.S. collecting institutions.
The guidelines were developed over a three-year period by a working group of over seventy specialists from the United States, Africa, and Europe. The initiative began in 2021 and was informed by ongoing dialogue with Africa-based institutions, professionals, and community members. The final document, ratified by ACASA in August 2024, encourages museums to uphold their ethical responsibilities in their stewardship of African objects, in addition to any legal requirements. This includes promptly responding to return concerns and claims. It also recommends that U.S. museums demonstrate an institutional commitment to:
- transparency regarding collection holdings and information about object histories
- working with interested parties on the African continent on collaborations, including
- returns, within this field-wide framework of accepted practice
- prioritizing research on collection holdings
- disseminating information about African arts collections in accordance with ethical computing standards
ACASA is a U.S.-based professional organization, with over 1,800 members worldwide. For more than four decades, ACASA has championed African arts scholarship, connecting artists, researchers, curators and collections on the African continent, in North America, Europe and beyond. For more information about ACASA and how to join, visit acasaonline.org.