Onstead Fellows 2023-24

Abby Drake

Onstead Institute and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art

2023-2024 Fall and Spring: Abby Drake is a graduate student pursuing an M.A. in Art Education with a Certificate in Museum Studies. She holds a B.F.A. in visual arts studies with minors in art history and African and African Diaspora Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. Drake previously interned with Landmarks, the public art program at The University of Texas at Austin, and CITYarts in New York City. She is an acrylic painter and mixed media artist.  

Moving around the world from a young age, living in China, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates, Drake is committed to global perspectives in her research. She is interested in examining how museum educators teach different cultures and how educators can create inclusive spaces for their diverse audiences. 

Asli Kinsizer

Onstead Institute and CVAD Galleries

2023-2024 Fall and Spring: Kinsizer is an artist, Ph.D. student and teaching fellow in the Department of Art Education in the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design. She teaches honors art appreciation and computer art education applications.

As an educator from Turkey pursuing her academic career in the U.S., Kinsizer is currently working on her research and proposal titled “Deconstructing the Orientalist Male Gaze Fantasy of Harem, Hammam and Odalisque through Feminist Intersectionality and Visual Analysis.” Kinsizer focuses on the conceptual framework of Orientalist depictions of Ottoman females in the Harem or Hammam, the development of geographical segregation into the Orientalist paradigm and the formation of stereotypes in visual culture and the arts. 

Even today, representations of Turkish women’s position and identity remain problematic under the Eurocentric and Eastern patriarchal paradigms. As a practicing artist, Kinsizer has an ongoing exhibition series titled Strong Women, with which she aims to encourage youth to express their unique voices through art by showcasing various historically significant female heroes.  

Cassandra Leon

Onstead Institute, Meadows Museum

2023-2024 Summer and Fall: Leon, who graduated in Spring 2023 with a B.A. in Art History, was selected to continue her 2022–2023 fellowship with the Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. 

Leon is working towards an M.A. in Art History with a Graduate Academic Certification in Art Museum Education. Her research interest is working ethically with museum collections and how orphaned objects are displayed and contextualized. She has worked as an intern at several institutions, including UCR ARTSblock, Riverside, Calif.; the Association of Research Institutes in Art History, Paris; the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio; the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyo.; and the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art, Dallas. She is excited to continue working with the Meadows Museum and expanding her skills as an art educator. 

Abigail Meyer

Onstead Institute, Sid Richardson Museum

Abigail Meyer is an Art History M.A. student at the University of North Texas, focusing on the ancient Mediterranean. Along with her Certificate in Art Museum Education, she holds a bachelor’s degree in European and Art History. Meyer shares a deep passion for sparking creativity in others and fostering connections through art. In her spare time, she enjoys crocheting and finding nooks to read around Fort Worth, Texas, where she grew up.