Directory

Beth Balliro, PhD, is an artist and scholar whose work addresses concerns of power, race, legacy and material memory. Her teaching, informed by many years of working in urban public schools, utilizes critical pedagogy with an emphasis on anti-racist practice.

Her research seeks to uncover what schooling means for artists of color, and how their subjectivities can inform public school policy. She is a Professor of Art Education at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design and the Director of Graduate Programs in Art Education.

Industry Experience

• 2006-2018 – Make/Made, Project Designer, Regional Youth Media Arts Educator Consortium, Founding Advisory Board Member, Visiting Teacher, ArtLab, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
• 2010-2011 – Contemporary Conversations Gallery Educator, Visiting Artist, MFA/BPS Youth Program, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• 1998-2009 – Founding Faculty Member, Director of the Senior Institute, Teacher of Studio Arts, Grades 9-12, Teacher-Leader of Senior Writing Team, Boston Arts Academy, Boston, MA
• 2003-2004 – Teacher-in-Residence, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Exhibitions

• 2016 – Balliro, B. Cover Art. Barber, J. Works on Paper, Washington, D.C.: Wood Works
• 2015 – Ink & Stick, Grand Gallery, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA
• 2012 – Love’s Labors, Trustman Gallery, Simmons College, Boston, MA. Curated by B. Lynch, exhibition catalog
• 2009 – Her Mark, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago
• 2008 – Nothing Flourishes Alone (solo exhibition), Gordon Gallery, Boston, MA
• 2008 – New Art 2008, MPG Contemporary, Boston, MA. Juried by Rachel Rosenfeld Lafo
• 2007 – Sublime Climate, Thompson Gallery, Cambridge School of Weston, Weston MA. Curated by Todd Bartel
• 2007 – The Boston Drawing Project, Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston, MA. Selected by Joseph Carroll
• 2007 – STENCILS: Public Space and Intervention, New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University, Boston, MA. Curated by Hiroko Kikuchi

Publications

• 2019 – Balliro, B. & Palu-ay, L. “Reclaiming the Archives: White Supremacy and Testimonials of Resistance in an Art & Design College. Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, 36.
• 2016 – Balliro, B. & Kress, T. (In Press) “What Does Our Schooling of Black Male Artists Indicate About Our Social Imagination? In Kress, T. & Lake, R. Schooling and The Social Imagination
• 2016 – Balliro, B. “Student Activism at Smith Should Be Encouraged, Not Chided,” [Letter to the Editor], The Boston Globe
• 2015 – Balliro, B. “Access and Failure.” Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, 35, 2-9
• 2015 – Balliro, B. “Re-envisioning the classroom: A studio approach for student empowerment.” In Scarlett, W. G., Ed. The Sage Encyclopedia of Classroom Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications
• 2015 – Balliro, B. & Katzew, A. “Awakening Presence in Art Teacher Training,” Visual Arts Research, 41(1), 84-95

Awards

• 2019 – Foundation Faculty Fellowship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
• 2018 – Foundation President’s Professional Development Award, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
• 2016 – Alumni Award for Dissertation Research, University of Massachusetts, Boston
• 2015 – “29 Who Shine” Faculty Mentor, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education
• 2015 – Community Legacy Fellow, National Artist Teacher Fellowship, Surdna Foundation
• 2013 – Hardrock Philanthropy Award for Marathon ArtShare, Boston.
• 2008 – Distinguished Art Educator of the Year (Boston Arts Academy Visual Arts Department), Mass. College of Art & Design, Boston
• 2007 – Surdna Sabbatical Fellowship Award