University of North Texas 
Panpan Yang Receives 2026–27 Onstead Institute Dissertation Award
Panpan Yang, Ph.D. candidate in Art Education
Yang’s dissertation examines intergenerational and community-based art education through
collaborative art workshops that bring together rural elder women and urban younger
women. Her research explores how traditional cultural skills function not only as
technical knowledge but also as ethical practices embedded in everyday life, memory
and relational care. Grounded in feminist ethics, social justice and ecological awareness,
her work positions art making as a relational and transformative educational practice.
Yang’s interdisciplinary practice weaves together Chinese traditional art, digital
media and socially engaged art education, investigating how artistic materials carry
cultural narratives, ethical values and intergenerational meaning. In addition to
her research, she has taught foundations courses at UNT and contributed to museum
and archival work through her involvement with the Texas Fashion Collection.
The CVAD Dissertation Award recognizes doctoral research that demonstrates scholarly
rigor, originality and meaningful contributions to the fields of art, design and art
education.