Gary Barton received an MFA from the Ohio State University where he was the recipient of a University Fellowship. He currently serves as chair of the Department of Art and primarily teaches printmaking and advanced studio courses. He has served as an associate dean for the College of Fine Arts and Communications at BYU and has been the director/co-director of numerous study abroad programs, collaborative projects between BYU and various national and international institutions, and other experiential learning programs for students. In his art, he works predominately in two-dimensional media including painting, printmaking, and mixed media. His work has been exhibited widely in national and international venues including the Contemporary Art Space Chester (CASC), England, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Spectrum Project Space in Perth, Australia, PR1 Gallery in Preston, England, CityScape Gallery in Vancouver, B.C., and Studio 61 in Florence, Italy.

Daniel T. Barney is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University where he teaches courses in curriculum development and theory; methods in contemporary art. His research interests include arts based inquiry, pedagogical forms in relation to contemporary art practices, post-qualitative methodological discourses, literacy in the arts, and visual arts curricular issues. Dr. Barney has co-edited the book Arts Education and Literacies (Jensen, et al., 2015) and he has authored numerous articles in journals that include, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Cultural Studies—Critical Methodologies, Visual Arts Research, International Journal of Art & Design Education, Journal for Artistic Research, and International Journal of Education through Art. Dr. Barney is Assistant Editor of Journal of Social Theory in Art Education and Associate Editor of Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy and he serves on the review boards of several key research journals.

Collin Bradford received an MFA from The University of Illinois in 2008 and taught at Grand Valley State University before coming to BYU in 2016. He currently serves as the coordinator of the department’s BA program and he teaches both seminar and studio courses related to contemporary art practices, new genres, and interdisciplinary ways of making art. His work with video, sound, photography, sculpture, and other media has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and in traditional art spaces as well as film and video festivals, including at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI, the Darklight Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland, New Insight at Art Chicago, the Cologne International Video Art Festival, and the Channels Video Art Festival in Melbourne, Australia.

Fidalis Buehler received an MFA from Brigham Young University and teaches painting, drawing and advanced studio courses. He is an Associate Professor and serves as the Drawing Coordinator in the foundations program and heads the figure drawing/painting disciplines. Fidalis has co-directed a study abroad program to France/UK and field study programs to New York City. He exhibits his work nationally and internationally with exhibitions at Gallery Protocol in Gainesville, FL, NorthArt Center in Auckland, CUAC in Salt Lake City, University of Minnesota, Xavier University, Florida State University, Rutgers University, and publications with Duke University Press and New American Paintings.

Tara Carpenter received an MFA from the University of Utah. She is the area advisor for Art Education, where she teaches several art teaching courses. As the University Program Coordinator, Tara runs the student teaching program. She is the director of BYU Jumpst(ART), a series of continuing education workshops for K-12 students. Tara has co-directed field studies to India and Nepal as well as Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. She presents regularly at conferences, including the National Art Education Association and the National Conference on the Education of Ceramic Arts. Her artistic work has been exhibited both locally and nationally and her writings have been featured in Arts & Activities and the Utah Journal of Literacy.

Brian Christensen received an MFA from Washington University in St Louis and teaches ceramics, sculpture and 3D design studio courses. He currently serves as Area Coordinator of the 3D Studio Area and has co-directed study abroad programs in Australia/New Zealand, Spain, and twice in Italy. Brian served as a craft consultant with the BYU Egypt Excavation Project in 2014 and is currently in collaboration on a related publication. Brian has worked to maintain and expand the facilities and opportunities for the sculpture and ceramics programs in the BYU Department of Art. He exhibits his work nationally and internationally with recent Solo and group exhibitions at CUAC in Salt Lake City, The University of Florida-Gainesville, Arc Gallery-Chicago, and M.G. Nelson Gallery, Springfield, Illinois. Brian has lectured at The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Utah Valley University, Southern Utah University, Snow College and BYU Idaho among other venues.

Bryon Draper received an MFA from Brigham Young University and teaches sculpture and advanced studio courses. He currently serves as chair of the department rank and status committee and has co-organized student field trips to New York City and Los Angeles. Bryon has mentored students in the development of proposals for commissions and the placement of artwork in public places, such as down town Provo and Canyons Ski Resort. He exhibits his work nationally with recent exhibitions at Coos Art Museum, Oregon, Gateway Museum, Farmington, NM, K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christy, TX, Foundry Art Centre, Saint Charles, MO, Saville Gallery, Cumberland, MD, Westmoreland County Community College, Youngwood, PA, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, and with the Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association in Georgia.

Daniel Everett received his MFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 and teaches new genre, photography, and advanced studio courses for the Department of Art. He currently serves as the LEP Coordinator and also oversees the BFA program. In his art he works across a range of media including photography, video, and installation. His work has been exhibited widely throughout Europe and North America including recent group exhibitions at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen, L'Atelier Néerlandais in Paris, East Wing Gallery in Dubai, and Luis Adelantado in Mexico City. He has had solo exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Recent publications include two monographs published by Études, Throughout the Universe in Perpetuity (2015) and Standard Edition (2012), and features in Blind Spot, Foam Talent, Granta, Mousse, and Der Greif Magazine.

Peter Everett received an MFA from Pratt Institute and teaches painting, drawing and advanced studio courses. He currently serves as associate chair of the department and has co-directed study abroad programs in Spain/Morocco, Berlin, London, and Italy. Peter coordinates the department’s visiting artist lecture series and has developed internship opportunities for students in Berlin and Los Angeles. He exhibits his work nationally and internationally with recent exhibitions at CUAC in Salt Lake City, Michigan State University, The Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles, The Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI, Barbican Arts Group Trust in London, the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Spectrum Project Space in Perth, Australia.

Mark Graham received his EdD degree from Teachers College of Columbia University and his MBA from New York University. He currently serves as the chairman of the Art Education committee and recently co-directed field study programs in India, Nepal, and Malawi. Dr. Graham is an internationally known illustrator and has illustrated thirty children picture books. He has exhibited his work at the Society of Illustrators exhibition and the Bologna Children Book exhibition. He continues to create various kinds of art objects, including mandalas and complex installations. Graham received the Manual Barkan award from the National Art Education Association and has published work in Studies in Art Education, Education Policy Review, The Teaching Artist Journal, Art Education, and has written chapters for numerous books in the field of art education. His scholarship includes place-based education, graphic novels, ecological/holistic education, secondary art education and assessment, and Himalayan art and culture.

Christopher Lynn received his MFA from the Ohio State University. At BYU, he teaches courses in historical, cultural, and critical studies in art and design. His artwork has been shown at the Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT; Hedge Gallery, Cleveland; Dorsch Gallery, Miami, FL; BLK/MRKT, Los Angeles; and Gallery 1988, Los Angeles. He was formerly the executive director of SPACES (2008-2013) where he worked with artists such as Steve Lambert, Temporary Services, William Pope.L, Jon Rubin, Machine Project, and many others. He is a founding member of commonfield.org.

Jen Orton currently works as a mixed media artist; Her recent works have been exhibited at venues such as The Urban Arts Space in Columbus, Ohio, The Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, Illinois, The Rio Grande Gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. Jen serves on the Non-LEP committee where she oversees aspects of ART core courses and exhibitions, and helps direct the department’s printmaking studios in addition to teaching printmaking, drawing and 2-D studio courses. She received her MFA from the Ohio State University in 2014.

Joseph Ostraff received an MFA from the University of Washington and teaches primarily painting, drawing, and advanced studio courses. He has directed/ co-directed multiple collaborative projects between BYU and programs such as Wirral Met, Liverpool, UK; Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, NZ; MCLA, North Adams, MA, and Limerick School of Art and Design, IRE. These partnerships, have involved hundreds of students and faculty, resulting in over thirty international, national, and regional exhibitions. Joseph’s work has been exhibited in a variety of national and international venues including: Cape Cod Museum of Art, MA; Attleboro Arts Museum, MA; WoCA Projects, Fort Worth, TX; K12 Gallery/TEJAS Gallery Space, Dayton, OH; Minneapolis Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN; Spectrum Project Space at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia; and Sheffield Institute of Arts Gallery, UK. Most recently, he was award an international fellowship which included a two-month artist residency in Ballinglen, Ireland.

Sharon Heelis graduated from BYU with a degree in art history, which she describes as “a dream come true.” After graduating she completed a study abroad to Spain and Italy, where she had the memorable experience of viewing artworks she had studied in class. Sharon has worked in the Department of Art for almost 40 years—first as gallery secretary and then as department secretary. In her current position, Sharon assists the department chair and graduate students, and schedules classes. Outside of work, she enjoys basket weaving and various forms of needle crafting.

Abby Weidmer studied public relations as an undergraduate at BYU and later returned to earn a Master of Public Administration. She has worked for numerous departments on campus, including the McKay School of Education, the J. Reuben Clark Law School, and the Department of Economics, where she launched an alumni-student mentoring program. As a graduate student, she led a team of students in a social innovation project for the Ballard Center and served as the board chair of Grantwell, a student-run nonprofit organization that consults large donors on their giving. Currently, Abby maintains content on the Art Department website and produces all news stories. She also helps develop communications strategy and manages the department’s Instagram account.

Kelly Bready graduated from the Marriott School of Business with an accounting degree in 1983, and she earned her CPA license several years later. After working for 30 years in the private sector, she returned to BYU as an assistant business manager in the Arts Production Department. Kelly now leads a team in managing all the finances for the Art, Design, and Theatre and Media Arts departments, where she enjoys working with the creative and talented faculty and students at BYU.