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Envisioning Artistic Inquiries: The Mapping of Arts-based Research

Curated by Sohee Koo

On view: Friday February 25-Thursday, March 24

Curator Talk: Tuesday, March 22 at 1:30pm

Closing Reception: Thursday, March 24 from 4:00-6:00pm


Envisioning Artistic Inquiries: The Mapping of Arts-based Research features works by artists, artist-researchers, and educators exploring arts-based research in visualizing problems and questions while mapping related literature, presenting data analysis processes, and constructing conceptual frameworks thereby making connection between creative practice and research. The exhibition includes artworks by Joe Cimino, Mary Hafeli, and Amy Yoshitsu. Envisioning Artistic Inquiries: The Mapping of Arts-based Research is curated by Assistant Professor and Art Education Program Coordinator, Sohee Koo.

A curator talk will be held at Herter Art Gallery on Tuesday, March 22 at 1:30. A closing reception will take place on Thursday, March 24 from 4:00-6:00 p.m.


Dr. Sohee Koo is an Assistant Professor of Art Education at UMass Amherst. As an artist and researcher, she is primarily concerned with the ways in which learning through the arts (in K-12 & higher education, online and face-to-face) can be designed to support young people’s transformative learning experiences regarding their identities as learners and creatives, their approaches to artmaking, and their understanding of the arts. As an artist, she has presented her work at numerous platforms including the Korean Cultural Council Gallery, AHL Foundation, Interstate Projects, DIFFA at Pier 94, Visual Arts Gallery, the Macy Art Gallery, and Sung Harbor Gallery. Koo holds an M.F.A. in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts and a doctorate (Ed.D.) in Art & Art Education from Columbia University.

Joe Cimino is an Italian-American time-based media artist, musician, and podcaster,currently based in the United States. He holds a BFA in studio art from Rowan University and an MFA in studio art from Studio Arts College International (SACI), located in Florence, Italy. Cimino has exhibited his works in the United States and internationally, with solo and group exhibitions located in Florence, Italy and Gimpo, South Korea. His practice investigates what familiar materials and nostalgic feelings reveal about human perception and how, if at all, they play a role in determining what goes unnoticed.

Mary Hafeli (Professor Emerita, Teachers College Columbia University) was born in Detroit, Michigan. She received a B.F.A. from the University of Michigan and an Ed.M. and Ed.D. from Teachers College. Her studio work has been shown nationally and internationally. She has received several awards in recognition of her widely published research on the studio practices and processes of artists and young people, and in 2020 was named a Distinguished Fellow by the National Art Education Association.

Amy Yoshitsu is a sculptor and multidisciplinary designer exploring physical and ideological infrastructural systems that influence our psychological and emotional experiences. Driven by identity and heritage, her work deconstructs the interconnections between power, economics, labor, and race to illuminate their foundational impacts on perspective-forming and relationships.


The Herter Art Gallery abides by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Event Guidelines. All visitors are required to wear face coverings at all times, boteh within the gallery and Herter Hall. UMass Amherst expects everyone attending an indoor campus event to be vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event. Visitors to Herter Art Gallery should bring proof of vaccination or negative test result in the event verification is requested. For University of Massachusetts Amherst students, faculty, and staff, a valid UCard is sufficient.

This exhibition was made possible with generous support from the UMass Arts Council and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. For more information, please contact the gallery at hertergallery@umass.edu