Congratulations to Manisha Sharma, Ph.D., professor and chair, CVAD Department of Art Education and Amanda Alexander, Ph.D., associate professor and assistant chair in the Department of Art + Art History at the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, for their new book, “The Routledge Companion to Decolonizing Art, Craft, and Visual Culture Education,” New York, NY: Routledge.
This companion demonstrates how art, craft, and visual culture education activate social imagination and action that is equity- and justice-driven. Specifically, this book provides an arts-engaged, intersectional understanding of decolonization in the contemporary art world that crosses disciplinary lines.
Visual and traditional essays in this book combine current scholarship with pragmatic strategies and insights grounded in the reality of socio-cultural, political, and economic communities across the globe. Across three sections – creative shorts, enacted encounters, and ruminative research — a diverse group of authors addresses themes of histories, space and land, mind and body, and the digital realm.
Chapters highlight and illustrate how artists, educators, and researchers grapple with decolonial methods, theories, and strategies — in research, artmaking, and pedagogical practice. Each chapter includes discursive questions and resources for further engagement with the topics.
The book targets scholars and practitioners of art education, studio art, and art history, K-12 art teachers, and artist educators and teaching artists in museums and communities.
