"Refugee Camps Stories" by Chanjuan Chen, associate professor of Fashion Design.

Faculty/Teaching Juried Exhibition Brings CVAD’s Artists Out of the Classroom and Into the Spotlight

From ceramics and fashion to immersive installations, 34 works by 32 faculty and teaching artists reveal the creative force shaping UNT's College of Visual Arts and Design.

Denton, Texas — The University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design will open its first "CVAD Faculty/Teaching Juried Exhibition" since 2020 on Sept. 2, 2025, transforming the CVAD Gallery into a showcase of artistic vision from the educators who shape the college’s creative community.

Featuring 34 works by 32 faculty and teaching artists, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity for audiences to encounter the art-making practices that thrive beyond the classroom. Visitors will see the breadth of CVAD’s creative disciplines — from the tactile allure of hand-thrown ceramics to the precise craftsmanship of fashion design, the layered narratives of artist books and exhibition catalogs, and the immersive environments of installation art.

The show underscores a central truth of arts education: faculty members are not only mentors but active participants in the contemporary art and design landscape. By revealing the artists behind the lectures, critiques, and studio visits, the exhibition bridges the space between the professional art world and the university’s daily life.

Jade Powers, M.A., curator

Participation was juried and curated by Jade Powers, Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama. Selected by CVAD Dean Karen Hutzel for her distinctive curatorial perspective, Powers brings a multidisciplinary lens shaped by an academic foundation in art history and religious studies at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, and a master’s degree in religious studies from Indiana University, Bloomington, with a focus on contemporary Asian art and culture, said Stefanie Dlugosz-Acton, director and curator of the CVAD Galleries.

Powers' curatorial career has spanned institutions with strikingly different audiences and missions — from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis to the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, and the Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, Florida. That range of experience, combined with her unorthodox academic path, makes her an ideal voice for interpreting CVAD’s diverse faculty work. The galleries plan to welcome Powers to campus in October 2025 for public programs and conversations tied to the exhibition, with final dates to be announced.

Drawn from across all CVAD departments — Foundations, Interdisciplinary Art and Design Studies, Design, Studio, Art Education, and Art History — the works on view embody the multiplicity of ideas, materials, and approaches that define the college’s ethos. The "Faculty/Teaching Juried Exhibition" runs through Dec. 12 at the CVAD Gallery, inviting art lovers to see the university’s artists as they see themselves: working, questioning, and creating at the edge of possibility.

Location: CVAD Gallery, UNT Art Building, Room 160 | 1201 W. Mulberry St., Denton, TX 76201 | Map & Directions 
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: Noon–5 p.m. | Thursday: Noon–8 p.m.

Image: Design by Chanjuan Chen, Ph.D., associate professor, Fashion Design. "Refugee Camps Stories," 2023 Vince Quevedo Award for Best of Show winner in the International Textile & Apparel Association 2023 Juried Design Exhibition. Materials: A used dome tent. This wearable art piece, inspired by the global refugee crisis and educational challenges of refugee children, is made from a secondhand dome tent. The modular cape, transitioning from gray to blue, symbolizes refugee children's current struggles and hopes for a better future through education. Each modular piece features silhouettes of children studying, representing their aspirations. The dress, made from the black and white tent body, includes black embroidery with quotes and drawings from scientific literature on refugee education.