Faculty
Dr. Natalia Pilato
Natalia Pilato is a visual and community-based artist, educator, and scholar who focuses on building the social capital of target communities through artistic processes, elevating civic engagement and public discourse. Her large scale national and international community-based mural projects have engaged thousands of intergenerational community members in the creative process. Her personal studio practice includes multimedia explorations that celebrate joy and question the nature of how we explore relationships.
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Natalia Pilato holds a B.F.A. in sculpture, M.Ed., and a Ph.D. in Art Education from the Pennsylvania State University. She has received numerous awards of recognition, which include: the Virginia Art Education Association higher educator of the year, and the Christo Collaboration Award (community partnerships) from Virginia Beach Public Schools, The Joy of Giving Something Award, Imagining America Scholarship, The Bunton Waller Graduate Fellowship, the Creative Achievement Award from the P.S.U College of Arts and Architecture, the Ingrid P. Holtzman Award, Alumni Honors Award, the American Association of University Women Outstanding Achievement Award, the Business and Professional Women Opportunity Grant.
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Currently Dr. Pilato lives in Norfolk, VA. and is an Assistant professor of Art Education and the Director of the Art Education Program at Old Dominion University.
More on Natalia Pilato's Murals can be found @
Norfolk: ODU, Neighborhood Markers
Belize: Painted conversation
Pennsylvania State University: Dreams Take Flight and Colors of Music
Jon Doe
Dr. Tamryn McDermott
Tamryn McDermott is an artist/researcher/teacher who uses arts-based research methods to explore possibilities within collective reflection and creative practice and is co-founder of the trace layer play collective. She is passionate about advocacy for art education and integrates intermedia and technology into her research and teaching practices. McDermott holds a Ph.D. in Arts Administration, Education and Policy from The Ohio State University with a concentration in Art Education and graduate interdisciplinary specialization in fine arts. She received a BFA in Sculpture and Painting and an MA in Art History and Arts Administration from Tyler School of Art + Architecture, Temple University, and an MFA in Fibers and Sculpture from the University of Missouri. Dr. McDermott lives in Alexandria, Virginia and is a Lecturer in Art Education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.