University of North Texas 
2025–2026 Fellows
Onstead Institute, Amon Carter Museum of American Art Fellow
Andres Briones
Andres Briones is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Art Museum Education at the University of North Texas, where he also earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education with a minor in Art History. In the summer of 2025, Briones was selected as a fellow for the Latino Art, Museums, and Preservation Fellowship, a program of UNT’s Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
Briones' teaching philosophy centers on connecting classroom learning to real-world
experiences. He seeks to engage students in critical thinking about their lives and
communities while encouraging them to respond creatively through art. This year, Briones
is excited to collaborate with the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and to continue
building meaningful connections through community engagement.
Onstead Institute, Amon Carter Museum of American Art Fellow
Carina Hernandez
Carina Hernandez is pursuing a Master of Arts in Art History at the University of
North Texas and is also working toward a certificate in Art Museum Education. Hernandez
previously completed a double major at UNT, graduating with a B.A. in Art History
and a B.F.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in Painting and Drawing.
Hernandez brings both local and international experience to her studies. She interned at the historic Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy, and served as a volunteer exhibition host at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in 2023 and 2024. Most recently, Hernandez has been applying her skills in museum education and collections care through an internship at the A.W. Perry Homestead Museum in Carrollton, Texas.
Passionate about the arts, Hernandez is especially committed to amplifying the voices of women artists and advancing recognition of their contributions throughout art history.
Onstead Institute, Texas Fashion Collection Fellow in Collections Research
Nasrin Tork
Nasrin Tork is a multidisciplinary conceptual artist, curator, and educator pursuing a doctorate in Philosophy of Art Education with a minor in Museum Art Education at the University of North Texas. Her artistic and curatorial work has been featured internationally, with exhibitions in Iran, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, and the United States. In 2014, Tork earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sculpture from Tehran University of Art in Tehran, Iran. She later completed an M.F.A. in Installation Art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium, in 2018, followed by a post-master’s program in curatorial studies in 2019.
In 2022–2023, Tork launched the K-Kommunity during her fellowship at the CVAD Galleries. This community-based research project, inspired by the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, began with a series of generative gatherings titled "Conversations With, On Coffee & Tea," which explored intersectional narratives woven into everyday life. Her current fellowship at the Texas Fashion Collection expands the project through studies of food and fashion, focusing on touch as an infrastructural link to the material world of fashion.
Onstead Institute, Texas Fashion Collection Fellow in Collections Research
Sage Drisker
Sage Drisker is a graduate student in the Communication Master’s program at the University
of North Texas and serves as a teaching assistant. In 2023, Drisker earned a B.A.
in communication from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.Drisker's academic and creative work explores the intersections of race, gender, media,
and power, with a focus on visual rhetoric, cultural studies, and Black feminist thought.
Drisker's current projects examine topics such as the politics of Black hair and texturism,
the disciplining of young Black girls through respectability rhetoric, and constructions
of race and gender through popular media and fashion. Drisker's work draws on interdisciplinary
methods and theoretical frameworks that center marginalized voices and challenge dominant
narratives.
In addition to Drisker's research, Drisker brings experience in public-facing communication
through previous roles in strategic communications and student media. Drisker is committed
to using both scholarly and creative approaches to amplify underrepresented perspectives
and foster critical dialogue.
Onstead Institute, Sid Richardson Museum Fellow
Julia Ballarin Missawa
Julia Ballarin Missawa is a graduate student at the University of North Texas, pursuing
an M.A. in Art History and a certificate in Art Museum Education. Holding a bachelor’s
degree in Architecture and Urban Studies from the Universidade do Sagrado Coração,
Brazil, she is honored to have been selected for the Onstead Institute and the Sid
Richardson Museum Fellowship for the Fall of 2025 and Spring of 2026.
Ballarin Missawa was also selected as a fellow for the Latino Art, Museums, and Preservation
Fellowship through the University of North Texas’ Institute of Museum and Library
Services, and in partnership with the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute in San
Antonio, Texas.
Her interests are in decolonization and reparative practices inside museological spaces,
and her graduate research focuses on restorative justice in period rooms. Ballarin
Missawa currently works as a Teaching Assistant at the University of North Texas and
is excited to further develop her skills as an art educator at the Sid Richardson
Museum.
Onstead Institute, Greater Denton Arts Council Fellow
Sara Prescott
Sara Prescott earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Art History and Studio Art with
a concentration in Drawing and Painting from the University of North Texas. Prescott
is currently completing a Master of Arts in Art History with a Graduate Academic Certificate in Art Museum Education.Prescott’s research focuses on funerary objects from the Ancient Mediterranean, reflecting
a deep interest in how material culture influences our understanding of past societies.
Originally from Fort Worth, Prescott enjoys traveling to new places, exploring new
languages, and reading widely.
Onstead Institute, Greater Denton Arts Council Fellow
Kenneth Saintonge
Kenneth Saintonge is a graduate student at the University of North Texas, pursuing
a Master of Science in Library Science with a concentration in Archival Studies. He
is also completing graduate certificates in Archival Management, Cultural Heritage
Stewardship, and Art Museum Education. Saintonge holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fine
Arts with dual concentrations in studio sculpture and art history from Eastern Connecticut
State University in Windham, Connecticut, and a Master of Science in Applied Anthropology
from UNT. In 2025, Santionge was selected as a fellow for the Latino Art, Museums,
and Preservation Fellowship, a program of UNT’s Institute of Museum and Library Services
in partnership with the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
Saintonge's work explores the intersections of identity, culture, community, knowledge, and institutions. He has organized community-based art initiatives such as "Speedbump Lil’d" (2024) in Denton, Texas, and the NEA-funded "My Windham Project" (2016) in Willimantic, Connecticut. From 2017 to 2020, he served as an AmeriCorps VISTA in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, where he strengthened volunteer recruitment, outreach, and educational programming at a local state park. This experience informed Saintonge's anthropology thesis, which examined visitor engagement with the academic offerings of Texas State Parks.
Drawing on his background in community engagement, user experience research, library and information science, and the arts, Saintonge is committed to helping museums and cultural institutions connect more effectively with the public and expand the impact of their programs. He has also been a certified Texas Master Naturalist since 2018.