Jessica A. Fuentes

2013, M.A., Art Education with a Museum Education Certificate

Art Education Ph.D. program
Expected graduation: 2026

Research areas and interests: Art museums and racial equity

Jessica Fuentes, a longtime Fort Worth resident, is an artist, educator, author, and museum consultant. She earned a B.A. in art & performance from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2004, where she attended on a full academic achievement acholarship. Later, she received her M.A. in Art Education with a Museum Certificate from the University of North Texas, where she was honored with the Most Innovative Thesis award by UNT University Libraries.

With 15 years of experience as an art educator, Fuentes has taught learners of all ages in both formal and informal settings. In her roles as manager of Gallery Interpretation & the Center for Creative Connections at the Dallas Museum of Art and manager of School & Community Outreach at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, she championed local artists through initiatives like the C3 Visiting Artist Project and the Carter Community Artists program. At both institutions, she worked with cross-departmental teams, supervised staff, interns, and volunteers, and implemented systems for evaluation, organization, and project management.

Fuentes has written for institutional publications, national blogs, and scholarly journals. In 2021, she published "The Need for Educators of Color in K-12 Museum Tours" in the Journal of Museum Education and contributed the chapter “Representation Matters: Diversifying School Tour Curriculum” to the book "Creating Meaningful Museum Experiences for K-12 Audiences: How to Connect with Teachers and Students," edited by Tara Young. In 2022, she co-authored the instructional resource "Redefining ‘American:’ Expanding the Canon by Connecting With Students’ Lives" in the Art Education Journal of the National Art Education Association.

Currently, Fuentes serves as the news editor for "Glasstire" and the executive director of Kinfolk House in Fort Worth, Texas. She is also a board member of Make Art with Purpose.

A former member of the F6 Gallery Collective and 500x Gallery, Fuentes has gained recognition as an artist. Her 2016 solo exhibition, Tree House Divided, was named one of the Top 5 Exhibitions of the Year by "Fort Worth Weekly." In 2018, her series "My Only Homeland" was featured in Deep Red Press. During the 2019–2020 academic year, she was an artist-in-residence at Tarrant County College South Campus, Fort Worth, Texas. In 2021, her work was showcased in the temporary public art exhibition "New Stories: New Futures," curated by artist and scholar Lauren Cross, Ph.D.

In her free time, Fuentes enjoys spending time with her family in nature, exploring art museums, or creating in her home studio.