Visual Arts Research

Editor: Sarah Travis and Laura Hetrick

DETAILS

Current Volume: 50 (2024)
Issued biannually (Summer and Winter)
ISSN: 0736-0770
eISSN: 2151-8009

About

Visual Arts Research (VAR) provides a forum for historical, critical, cultural, psychological, educational, and conceptual research in visual arts and aesthetic education. Unusual in its length and breadth, VAR typically publishes 9 - 12 scholarly papers per issue and remains committed to its original mission to provide a venue for both longstanding research questions and traditions alongside emerging interests and methodologies.


Indexes

Advanced Placement Fine Arts and Music, Art & Architecture Complete, Art & Architecture Index, Art & Architecture Source, Art Abstracts (H.W. Wilson), Art Full Text (H. W. Wilson), Art Index (H.W. Wilson), Art Source Ultimate, Book Review Digest Plus, Brepols, Current Abstracts, EBSCO, Education Abstracts, Education Full Text, Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), Education Index, Education Research Complete, Education Research Index, Education Source, Education Source Ultimate, Gale Academic OneFile, Gale Academic OneFile Select, Gale OneFile: Fine Arts, Gale World Scholar: Latin America and the Caribbean, InfoTrac Custom, OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson), OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson), Poetry & Short Story Reference Center, Scopus, TOC Premier


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Call for Papers

VAR special issue: Radical Publications in Art + Design Education

This special issue of Visual Arts Research invites manuscripts and creative work that explore radical conceptions of research and publication practices in art + design education. Investigations of the complex intersectional spaces of the arts, education, and research have produced areas of scholarly inquiry such as Arts-Based Research (ABR), Arts-based Educational Research (ABER), Community Based Arts Education (CBAE), and rich collaborative practices.

However, the publication, legibility, and access to that research within the traditional academic publication process poses different challenges for authors, artists, practitioners, and the communities they serve: first time and early career authors navigating the sometimes murky waters of academic language and publishing protocols; valuable artistic research that may not directly comply with traditional publication requirements; lack of mentorship and guidance in the review process; lack of access to published work behind institutional pay walls; an overly academized, colonizing practice that prevents polyvocality when talking about education and community engagement; and reviewer biases in the “blind” peer review process.

With this in mind, we are soliciting manuscripts that explore the nuances and possibility spaces of a radical imagination or “the ability to imagine the world, life, and social institutions not as they are but as they might otherwise be” (Khasnabish & Haiven, 2014)1 of scholarly publication. We encourage manuscripts exploring:

● Histories of radical forms of publication and counter-culture publication processes like zines and chapbooks

● Radical approaches to research and publication in the arts and education

● Teaching about/with radical or subversive publishing practices

● Collaborative and community engaged co-research and co-publication

● Profiles of artists/educators radically reimagining spaces of research and/or publication

● Radical imagination addressing issues of access in scholarly publication

● Visions for the future of research and publication in the arts and education


For this issue, we are prioritizing first time authors, early career academics, and emerging scholars to contribute manuscripts; in particular we welcome proposals and manuscripts by classroom teachers and other arts educators outside of higher education.

With this in mind, veteran authors are welcome to submit manuscripts for review OR participate as mentors to less-experienced authors in the review process. Mentors will receive co-editor acknowledgement for the special issue.

All prospective authors will participate in a peer-to-peer review for this special issue, pairing early career and/or first time authors with more experienced authors during the review and editing process.


Manuscripts can take one of three formats:

● Traditional scholarly manuscripts responding to the special issue theme (4500 words plus references)

● Teaching resources, curricula, or guides addressing the special issue theme (1200-1500 words)

● Creative works reflecting the special issue theme (images accompanied by an artist/s statement of 500-700 words)


Deadline for submissions: June 1, 2024. Publication Summer 2025


Manuscript submissions and requests to participate as a mentor:

var.radical.publications@gmail.com


Questions? Contact:

Courtnie N. Wolfgang, Rhode Island School of Design

cwolfgan@risd.edu


__________

1 Khasnabish, A. & Haiven, M. (2014, July 22). Why social movements need the radical imagination. Open Democracy.

Editors

Co-Editors
Sarah Travis and Laura Hetrick
Visual Arts Research
143 Art and Design
University of Illinois
Champaign, IL 61820
VAReditors@gmail.com


Editorial Board

  • Sahar Aghasafari, University of South Carolina, Lancaster
  • Ilayda Altuntas Nott, The University of Arizona
  • Angela Baldus, The University of British Columbia
  • Jasmine Begeske, Purdue University
  • Joy G. Bertling, University of Tennessee
  • Shivani Bhalla, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Paulina Camacho Valencia, University of Arkansas
  • Yichien Cooper, Washington State University
  • Kendall Crabbe, The University of Arizona
  • Kimberley D'Adamo, University of Nebraska
  • Stephanie Danker, Miami University
  • Richard Fletcher, The Ohio State University
  • Kelly Gross, Northern Illinois University
  • Min Gu, California State University, Long Beach
  • Christina Hanawalt, University of Georgia
  • Emiel Heijnen, Amsterdam University of the Arts
  • Catalina Hernández-Cabal, Virginia Tech University
  • Ann Holt, The Pennsylvania State University
  • Emily J. Hood, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
  • Dana Carlisle Kletchka, The Ohio State University
  • Ahran Koo, California State University, Fresno
  • Hyunji Kwon, University of South Carolina
  • Nicole S. Lee, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
  • Lillian L. Lewis, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Christine Liao, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
  • Luke Meeken, Miami University
  • David Modler, Shepherd University
  • Kaleb Ostraff, Brigham Young University
  • Hayon Park, George Mason University
  • Samuel H. Peck, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  • Allison Rowe, University of Iowa
  • Sara Scott Shields, Florida State University
  • Borim Song, East Carolina University
  • Lauren Stetz, University of the Arts
  • Jody Stokes-Casey, University of Kentucky
  • Juuso Tervo, Aalto University
  • Merel Visse, Drew University & University of Humanistic Studies
  • Amber Ward, Florida State University
  • gloria j. wilson, The Ohio State University
  • Kate Wurtzel, Appalachian State University
  • Li Xu, University of North Texas
  • Ahu Yolaç, Lawrence Technological University
  • Gigi Schroeder Yu, University of New Mexico

PDF Policy


PDFs are permitted and issued for the following:

  • Tenure dossier.
  • Special workshops the author is moderating.
  • Other requests to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
  • All PDFs will include a statement of copyright and a provision that the articles will not be photocopied, distributed, or used for purposes other than the terms agreed to by UIP.
Preprints are permitted for:
  • University repositories; UIP requires a publication statement to be posted along with the preprint.
  • Some journals have their own established policies and procedures for preprints. Please be sure to first check their respective Web sites before sending your request.
Postprints are permitted for:
  • Non-profit archives and repositories; Articles must be at least one year old. UIP requires a publication statement to be posted along with the postprint and a link back to the journal of publication's home page on the UIP website.
  • Personal and commercial Web sites; Articles must be at least three years old. UIP requires a publication statement to be posted along with the postprint and a link back to the journal of publication's home page on the UIP website.
Please contact the Intellectual Property Manager for more information.

Please send all requests to:

Angela Burton
Intellectual Property Manager
UIP-RIGHTS@uillinois.edu

Submissions

Visual Arts Research

Manuscripts of approximately 4,500 words should be submitted electronically to the Visual Arts Research online manuscript submission system. This secure, personalized resource will allow you to track your manuscript through each step of the review and acceptance process. To begin, click on the link below to set up your personal account and upload your submission. Your transmitted material will be reviewed as soon as possible.


Submit to Visual Arts Research


READ BEFORE SUBMITTING: Submissions should follow the recommendations of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, 2021. Accompanying tables, figures, images, or illustrations should appear at the end of each manuscript, and must be submitted in accordance with APA guidelines (click here to download).

This journal utilizes a double-blinded review process in which all manuscripts are blind reviewed by members of the Visual Arts Research Editorial Board. Figures, images, or illustrations accompanying final accepted manuscripts must be submitted as separate electronic files, properly labeled, formatted as TIFF documents, 300 dpi, and sized in height and width dimensions approximate to how the writer wishes these materials to appear in the journal. Only high quality images or figures will be accepted. Images appearing in accepted manuscripts must comply with U.S. copyright laws. Writers will be asked to obtain permission for VAR to publish copyrighted photographs, illustrations, or images. Visual Arts Research will provide blank permission forms to authors, which must be returned prior to final acceptance.


View our Publications Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Featured Articles



Editor's Note: Queering Art Education
Courtnie N. Wolfgang
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.000v

Part 1, Learning to Be Black: Unreconciled Strivings of DL and Black Gay Male Identity
Alphonso Walter Grant
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0001

Finding (One)self in Art Education: A Queer Conversation
Darden Bradshaw and Ria
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0012

Poster Queers: A Visual Analysis of an LGBTQ+ Film Festival
Jessica L. Huth
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0030

Big Gay Church VARchive: Decade One
James H. Sanders III, Mindi Rhoades, Kim Cosier and Courtnie N. Wolfgang
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0044

Queer Up! Application of Queer Representation in Art Education
Meng-Jung Yang and Kevin Hsieh
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0049

Redefining Controversy and Outness: Honest Queer Art Education in the South
Madison Manning
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0061

The Personal Is Pedagogical: Manifesting Queerness in an Academic Department
Dana Carlisle Kletchka, Joni Boyd Acuff, Christine Ballengee Morris, James H. Sanders III and Shari Savage
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0066

Exploring the Implications of Melanie Yergeau's Neuroqueer for Art Education
Michelle Attias
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0078

Part 2, What It Means to Be Black: DL, Black, and Black Gay Male Images in Media—A Television Criticism
Alphonso Walter Grant
https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.46.1.0092

Black on Black on Black on Black: An interview with Artist-Scholar Dr. Blair Ebony Smith
Laura J. Hetrick, Dr. Blair Ebony Smith
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/34/article/897684

Pitfalls and Possibilities of Reciprocal Community Engagement: A Call to the Academy as a Platform for Activism
Injeong Yoon-Ramirez
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/34/article/897685

Collage as Epistemology: Construction—Deconstruction—Reconstruction
Elizabeth R. Graham, David E. Gussak
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/34/article/897686

"If a Black Woman Had Done It": The Beliefs and Attitudes of Black Women K–12 Art Educators' Curricular Experiences
Indira Bailey
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/34/article/897687

Bringing Pieces of Myself Home to Myself
Nicole Y. S. Lee
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/34/article/897688

Mentoring Future Academics: A College Teaching Course for the Visual Arts
Erin J. Hoppe; Shari L. Savage
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/49/2/6/383570/Mentoring-Future-Academics-A-College-Teaching

Craft as Care-Full Correspondence
Amber Ward; Jennifer Harness Wilkinson
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/49/2/19/383568/Craft-as-Care-Full-Correspondence

Tracing Images of Precarity: Sketching, Mourning, and a Relational Making Practice
Heather Kaplan
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/49/2/34/383567/Tracing-Images-of-Precarity-Sketching-Mourning-and

Black Girls and Korean Popular Culture: Embodying Identity as a Multiple Self through Portraiture Photography
Hyunji Kwon
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/49/2/52/383569/Black-Girls-and-Korean-Popular-Culture-Embodying

Toward Provocations for Playing with Games as Technologies
Hong-An Wu
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/49/2/74/383562/Toward-Provocations-for-Playing-with-Games-as

To You From We: An Experimental Essay and Exhibition Addressed to You (the Reader) in Eager Anticipation of Your Response
Angela I. Baldus
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/50/1/4/387492/To-You-From-We-An-Experimental-Essay-and

Irresistible Invitations: Relational Possibilities in Collaborative Tea Experience
samantha shoppell
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/50/1/20/387493/Irresistible-Invitations-Relational-Possibilities

(Mis)Archiving the Archive
Kaleb Ostraff
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/50/1/38/387488/Mis-Archiving-the-Archive

Re-imaging Care in the Art Classroom: An In-Depth and Applied Book Review of Art-Care Practices for Restoring the Communal: Education, Co-inquiry, and Healing by Barbara A. Bickel and R. Michael Fisher
Kate Wurtzel
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/50/1/51/387495/Re-imaging-Care-in-the-Art-Classroom-An-In-Depth

Data Visualization of Artists’ Responses to Violence Against Women: Art Activism for Pedagogy
Lauren Stetz
https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/var/article/50/1/63/387494/Data-Visualization-of-Artists-Responses-to