She/Her http://www.katayoun.com/ art@katayoun.com Interdisciplinary, Sculpture/Installation In-person, Hybrid mentor BIO Through my practice I draw on multiple cultural histories in order to investigate broader global concerns including identity formation, diaspora, nationalism, history, memory, and language. My primary discipline is ceramics and installation, yet my work encompasses other artistic media including sculpture, printmaking, social practice, performance and video art. As artist and maker I believe in the latent power of objects to speak. They are embedded with the history of their origin, making and culture. They can carry multiple associations yet also personal and collective meanings as signifiers of a place, time or memory. They are fundamental to my research, indeed they are the structural syllables of the language of my practice. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & MENTORSHIP I am both artist and educator and neither identity eclipses the other. Rather they are inseparable partners, each enhancing the other. I approach art making and thinking with the same interdisciplinary style I seek to engender in my teaching. My work as an art teacher is grounded in creating an environment where risk, the exposure of self and creative exploration are fostered in an open, supportive and engaged manner. As an arts educator, I always look for ways to improve my subject knowledge and pedagogical skills. I continue to be an art practitioner, thus I’m always a student.