Onstead Fellows 2022-23

Evan Blackwell

Head-and-shoulders: Evan Blackwell smiling at the camera, long brown hair Amon Carter Museum of American Art Fellow: Evan Blackwell is a first-generation college student pursuing an M.A. in Art Education with a specialization in art museum education and a focus in art history after earning a B.A. in Art History with a minor in LGBTQ+ Studies. Blackwell's work focuses on contemporary LGBTQ+ art and social art history and how art can be used in non-traditional ways to connect with audiences and educate them about social topics. Blackwell focuses on introducing people to complex ladders of ideas through concepts like intersectionality, museum models such as Edu-Curation, and gallery teaching methods such as the societal frame. Edu-curators are museum professionals who straddle the educational and curatorial disciplines valuing collaboration and visitor-centered practices.

Blackwell is currently a researcher for the Queer Birth Project led by UNT instructors Liss LaFleur, associate professor in Studio Art: New Media Art, and Katherine Sobering, assistant professor in sociology. The QBP is inspired by American feminist artist Judy Chicago's "Birth Project" and is a collaborative art- and a research-based project that promotes a radically inclusive view of pregnancy, birth, and family building by asking how queer people experience birth.

As a previous fellow of the education department at the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Blackwell managed the museum's student collective, re-designed the student program, and developed a new curriculum for participating undergrad and graduate students. Previously, Blackwell was The MAC Gallery director's assistant and participated in the curation and planning of exhibitions in addition to art installation — and connected with the local art community while reaching out to provide opportunities to underrepresented artists. In addition, Blackwell also interned with the Association of Research Institutes in Art History, ARIAH, and the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas.

Rosalinda King

Head-and-shoulders: Rosalinda smiling at the camera, short dark hair Kinfolk House Fellow: Rosalinda King is a UNT graduate student in library science with a concentration in archival studies. She completed the Graduate Academic Certificate in Archival Management at UNT and is currently pursuing a Graduate Academic Certificate in Art Museum Education. Since childhood, King has loved visiting and experiencing museums but struggles with the lack of representation and diversity within the museum space. Her goal is to use art education to promote collaborative programs with communities that have previously been left out of the museum space. She is excited to work with Kinfolk House as they strive to represent and promote their community through collaboration and representation.

Cassandra Leon

Head-and-shoulders: Cassandra smiling at the camera, short blonde wavy hair Meadows Museum Fellow: Cassandra Leon is in the 4+1 Graduate Track Program and graduates in May with a B.A. in Art History and a minor in Italian. She has worked as an intern at several institutions, including the University of California, Riverside's ARTSblock, the Association of Research Institutes in Art History, the Toledo Museum of Art and the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art. She also will work with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyo. Leon is pursuing an M.A. in Art History and a Graduate Certificate in Art Museum Education. She is interested in the connections between the public and museums, and how those connections can be extended beyond the traditional scope. Her work is focused on working ethically with collections in museums and interactions within the visual programs created there.

Katherine Santos

Head-and-shoulders: Katherine smiling at the camera, long dark hair, white shirt Texas Fashion Collection Fellow in Collections Research: Katherine Santos is a UNT graduate student currently working toward an M.A. in Art History and a Graduate Academic Certification in Art Museum Education. Santos completed a B.A. in Art History with minors in French and Studio Art: Metalsmithing and Jewelry. Santos' research engagements include contemporary material culture, dress and adornment, gender and feminist studies, museum methodologies, and decolonization of museums.

Aside from academics, Santos has worked as a part-time museum educator with the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art in Dallas as an intern and with the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Santos also has worked with the UNT Special Collections Library in the UNT Libraries as a student assistant in the preservation lab.

Santos is passionate about object preservation and making artwork relatable and accessible to a diverse array of audiences of all backgrounds and abilities. Santos' goal in completing a graduate education is to enter the art museum field and provide the artistic world with a unique and individual perspective.

Nasrin Tork

Head-and-shoulders: Nasrin smiling at the camera, dark short curly hair, red and blue shirt UNT CVAD Galleries Fellow: Nasrin Tork is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and researcher, pursuing a doctoral degree in the philosophy of art education and minoring in art museum education. Tork obtained a B.A. in Sculpture from Tehran Art University, Tehran, Iran. She continued her graduate studies in fine arts, installation art and later curatorial studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, KASK, School of Arts, of University College Ghent, Belgium. Nasrin's research focuses on the socio-political question of agency and its episodic temporalities at the intersection of arts and education. Tork has co-curated several shows in Belgium and exhibited her artworks in museums and galleries worldwide, such as in Iran, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and the U.S.