Karyn Sandlos appointed Head of Art and Education BFA

History, theory, and practice are entwined endeavors in the UIC School of Art & Art History. Located in a diverse, public, urban, research university, our programs (BA, MFA in Art, BA in Art Education, MA, PHD in Art History, MA in Museum and Exhibition Studies, Gallery 400) ignite intellectual and creative curiosity, empowering students to expand the boundaries of the possible. Students are encouraged to engage departments across the university and communities throughout Chicago.

The School of Art & Art History at the University of Illinois at Chicago is excited to announce that Dr. Karyn Sandlos will be joining the faculty, and spearheading the relaunching of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education program.

The Art Education curriculum is based in the understanding that an engaged and engaging art education links students’ life experiences to experiences of traditional and contemporary art, media, and cultural forms. In addition to studio courses, seminars on the practice and theory of art education foster an awareness of collaborative strategies of teaching, learning, and artmaking. Student teachers gain rich experience and mentorship working with licensed art teachers in Chicago Public Schools. UIC’s Art Education program is committed to creating models of art education curriculum that address inequality, and open pathways for students to analyze and participate in making contemporary culture.

From 2008 to 2017, Sandlos was a faculty member in the Art Education Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Director of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at SAIC from 2008 to 2015. She earned her doctoral degree in language, culture, and teaching from York University’s Faculty of Education in 2006, with a dissertation exploring the inner life of learning to teach through psychoanalysis and film. Completing her Master’s degree in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in 1996, Sandlos studied the role of photography in the pedagogy of social movements. As a graduate student in Toronto, Sandlos was active as a curator and board member with media arts organizations including the Images Festival of Independent Film, Video, New Media, and Installation; REHAB: Parkdale’s Film and Video Showcase; and Pleasuredome. She is a founding member of the Independent Imaging Retreat artist residency in Mt. Forest, Ontario.

Sandlos writes about and teaches courses in teacher education, curriculum and pedagogy, qualitative research, psychoanalysis and human development, sexuality education and youth media. She works in collaboration with colleagues in Canada and the US on research projects including “What’s The Real Deal on Power and Place?”: Youth Reframing the Landscape of Sexuality Education with the New-York-based youth literacy and film organization, Scenarios USA. Sandlos has published in The Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, Teachers College Record, The Journal of Sexuality, Society and Learning, Sexualities in Education: A Reader, The Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies, and Crain’s Chicago. She sits on the editorial boards of Public: Art/Culture/Ideas and the Visual Arts Research Journal.

Sandlos recently became affiliated with the Museum of Dreams project, an online archive and hub for exploring the social, political, and educational significance of dream life. She completed the Psychoanalytic Research Training Program at the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, CT, and is a student in the Scholars and Professionals Program at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis.

Current UIC School of Art & Art History Faculty:

Art History
Elise Archias / Catherine Becker / Nina Dubin / Andrew Finegold / Omur Harmansah / Hannah Higgins / Lisa Yun Lee / Jonathan Mekinda / Martha Pollak / Therese Quinn / Lorelei Stewart / Blake Stimson

Selected Art History EMERITI
Ellen Baird / Robert Bruegmann / Victor Margolin / Virginia E. Miller / Robert Munman / David Sokol

Art
Dianna Frid / Beate Geissler / Doug Ischar / Silvia Malagrino / Matthew Metzger / Dan Peterman / Sabrina Raaf / Jennifer Reeder / Karyn Sandlos / Cauleen Smith / Deborah Stratman / Nate Young

Selected Art EMERITI
Julia Fish / Olivia Gude / Gary Minnix