Social Justice & Equity in Art Education
Art, research, and teaching serve as powerful tools to engage and empower individuals and communities, turning constraints, social issues, and injustices into catalysts for creating a more just and inclusive society where power is shared and new and remembered ways of co-existing are possible. At CCNY we are committed to research as a tool for leveraging power, resources, and knowledge to build stronger futures for us all.
We root our research in the lineages of arts-based research (Levy, 2008; McNiff, 2018; Sullivan, 2009), indigenous research methodologies (Wilson, 2008), youth participatory action research (Cammarota & Fine, 2008), critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), and contemporary crit theories (Queer, Crip, Black Feminist Thought, etc.) in an effort to shine a light on often-neglected perspectives, align our values with our actions, and expand beyond conventional forms of knowledge production in the arts and art education.
Our current research priorities emphasize the following ideas within social justice oriented art education:
Creative Constraints: Critiquing and working within systems to change and create
Centering Identity: Recognizing the vital role that diversity and personal experiences play in the creative process/teaching/research
Community-building and relationship-building: Collective knowledge building deepens our awareness of ourselves in relation to our communities
Power-sharing & knowledge-sharing: Fostering an environment where every voice is valued and diverse perspectives are considered/welcomed
Interdependence: Supporting collective action and mutual support for personal and artistic growth
Transformative Learning: Empowering students to make impact in their communities and beyond
Select Publications and Projects
Edited By Kristen P. Goessling, Dana E. Wright, Amanda Wagner, Marit Dewhurst
Park, H. & Koo, S. (2025). Hauntings of Transnational Art Learning and Teaching: A duo-autoethnography of Two Asian Art Educators’ Transformative Experiences. Volume 44, Journal of Social Theory in Art Education.
Koo, S. (2018). Manual transformation: Exploring adult transformative learning through hands-on artmaking. Marilyn Zurmuehlen Working Papers in Art Education, Vol. 2018, (4), pp. 1-25.
Koo, S. (2016). Breathing within the history (1900-2016): The ever-evolving “making” in the art studio at Teachers College. Visual Inquiry: Learning & Teaching Art, 5(2), pp. 135-145.
Dewhurst, M. (2023) Revised Edition: Social Justice Art: A framework for activist art pedagogy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Dewhurst, M. (2018) Teachers Bridging Difference: Using art to teach about identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Dewhurst, M. (2022) Getting ready to relate: Centering radical love in art education. Journal of Art Education. National Art Education Association Press. 75:1, 8-13.
Dewhurst, M., Zeilkman, S. Zhao, B., Carrington, K., and Molina, I. (2020) “Where Did We Go Right (and Wrong)? Reflecting on Definitions of Success and Failure with Youth Organizers.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 33(1)
Dewhurst, M. & Hendrick, K. (Guest Editors) (2017) Special Issue: Identifying and Transforming Racism in Museum Education. Journal of Museum Education (42)2.
Dewhurst, M., Keawe, L. O., Okada-Carlson, C., MacDowell, M., & Wong, A. K. (2013) Ka ulana ‘ana i ka piko/ In weaving you begin at the center: Perspectives from a culturally specific approach to art education. Harvard Educational Review. 83(1). 136-146.