CAA News Today

Thank you for considering my nomination to the College Art Association’s Board of Directors. As an artist, educator, and activist, I have long been inspired by CAA’s commitment to supporting visual arts professionals through dialogue, advocacy, and innovation. Since my first job interview as a graduate student at the conference, I have seen the organization as an essential nexus connecting artists, educators, and scholars. The association’s support, including resources, conference panel presentations, networking, and exhibitions, helped craft my successful application to become a Full Professor of Art at Auburn University, a Carnegie-classified Research-1 institution. That success extends to my artwork, which has earned me over 26 residencies and exhibitions at the Drawing Center, NY, The Soap Factory, MN, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Japan, and the Fuller Craft Museum, MA.

Canadian-born and of Indigenous Métis heritage, I earned my MFA in Painting from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and have since built an interdisciplinary practice that challenges institutional boundaries while emphasizing collaboration and ecological awareness. My projects often transform public spaces into creative exchange and environmental education sites. Through PlantBot Genetics, my ongoing collaboration with artist JeU Schmuki, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pulitzer Foundation, I have developed a model for using art for critical dialogue about sustainability and community resilience. This practice includes the creation of murals both inside and outside the classroom, and several street-based projects from an 18-foot oU-grid trailer that can bring a sophisticated multidisciplinary experience anywhere.

I have spent much of my career facilitating partnerships between students, communities, and organizations. For example, I was elected to represent the State of Alabama on the Board of the SECAC conference for the maximum of two, three-year terms. Although trained in the northeast, this experience allows me to bring an expansive perspective on how best to champion the arts, artists, and scholars in all parts of this country. In addition, past collaborations through SECAC and my research practice consistently foster shared authorship, civic responsibility, and a sense of belonging, reflecting CAA’s dedication to advancing knowledge across disciplines and creating inclusive professional networks. This advancement must include the people and initiatives in the deep south and other more unexpected nexuses for art to nurture the greatest impact creativity can impart in North America.

I always aim to add more colored crayons to the box from which the ‘arts’ draws. If elected, I would bring a pragmatic and cooperative approach to the Board, grounded in academic experience and community-based practice. My leadership style is direct and includes shared decision-making, all of which are essential to ensuring that CAA continues to reflect the evolving and constantly expanding landscape of contemporary art and education radiating across this land. It would be an honor to serve and help shape the future of this dynamic and vital organization.

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