JAPHETH ASIEDU-KWARTENG
Visiting Artist

Lecture:
4/17/24, 1-2pm — Belushi Auditorium

Japheth Asiedu-Kwarteng works primarily in ceramics to make an imminently contemporary statement that exemplifies an approach which transcends form and questions the relationship between tradition and modernity, cultural exchange, and tension. He has exhibited extensively locally and internationally, including 2022 and 2021 NCECA Annual. He is a member of NCECA, IAC and Artaxis. Among several publications and other scholarly works, Japheth was a presenter at 2021 and 2023 NCECA Conferences respectively. Japheth holds a BA Industrial Art (Ceramics option) from KNUST, Ghana, and an MFA in Ceramics from Illinois State University, USA. He has works in the permanent collections of the University Galleries, Normal, Illinois and other private collectors in the United States.

CHRIS SANCOMB
Visiting Artist in Residence, March 2-16, 2024

Lecture:
3/6/24, 1-2pm — Playhouse Theatre

Chris Sancomb is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and educator who explores the intersections of creative practice through a wide range of media. His socially engaged design practice is focused on creating inclusive, interactive, and hands-on community based design collaborations that support varied learning styles, promote empathy, and help develop creative confidence. His studio research is focused on creating visual experiences that represent unobservable phenomena within the architecture of the universe. This work represents an expression of wonder at the elusive magnitude of Space, and serves as a way of obtaining knowledge and understanding through inquiry, synthesis, material exploration and making.

DYLAN MINER
Visiting Artist

Lecture:
2/13/24, 11am-12pm — Belushi Auditorium

Dylan AT Miner is an artist, activist, and scholar. He holds a PhD in Arts of the Américas from The University of New Mexico. He is currently Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan. Previously, he served as Dean and Professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) at Michigan State University. As an artist, he has hung nearly 30 solo art exhibitions, as well as participated in more than 115 group exhibitions. He is a founding member of the artist collective Justseeds. His book Creating Aztlán: Chicano Art, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Lowriding Across Turtle Island (2014) was published by the University of Arizona Press. Born and raised in Michigan, Miner is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario.

ALANA FERGUSON
Visiting Artist

Lecture: 11/15/2023, 11am-12pm — Belushi Auditorium

Alana Ferguson is an interdisciplinary artist and educator living in Chicago. She is interested in the construction and use of social conventions to frame individual choices, experiences and psychology. She received a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2012, an MAT from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016, and an MFA from University of Chicago in 2021. Her work has been exhibited most recently at the Logan Center Gallery at University of Chicago, Belong Gallery, and the Evanston Art Center.

FUTURE FIRM
Visiting Architect

Lecture:
10/18/23, 11am-12pm — Playhouse Theatre

Future Firm is a Chicago-based architecture and design research office. Founded by Ann Lui and Craig Reschke in 2015, the architecture practice spans diverse scales: from exhibition spaces to residential and commercial buildings to urban and territorial speculations. Future Firm’s work has been exhibited at Exhibit Columbus, Storefront for Art & Architecture, Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism, New Museum’s Ideas City, and the Chicago Architecture Center. Future Firm also currently operates The Night Gallery, a nocturnal exhibition space on Chicago's South side, which features video and film works by artists and architects from sunset to sunrise.

INDIA JOHNSON
Visiting Artist in Residence, September 2023

Lecture:
9/20/23, 1-2PM — CHC 1020

India Johnson (b. 1992) is a Minneapolis-based artist who makes books and non-books (what’s a non-book? perhaps an installation or participatory project in or about libraries). India’s work associates textiles with formal practices for organizing information, and has been installed in churches, libraries, and galleries throughout the Midwest. In 2020, she received an MFA from the University of Iowa Center for the Book and became a founding member of LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library. She is half of Late Night Copies Press, a micro-publisher of zines that feature material from queer archives. India’s critical writing about books and libraries has been published in print by Image, and in SONNET(S) (Ugly Duckling Press, 2020).