Posted Feb. 13, 2025 — Growing up on a remote farm in southern Taiwan, Sheng Kuan Chung faced low expectations in grade school, landing him in a program for students deemed unlikely to attend college. Thankfully, he said, he discovered art as an outlet.

“Though the message was clear — my future had been predetermined — I found an unexpected source of resistance through art-making,” Chung said. “Creating art gave me a sense of self-worth when the system let me down. It was more than an escape; it was a means to reclaim my identity and show I had something valuable to express.”

Chung went on to earn a doctorate and turned his saving grace into a career as a professor of art education. He’s worked at the University of Houston College of Education for more than two decades, training aspiring and professional art educators, creating his own art and publishing about art education in academic journals.

His work in the field has drawn recognition and, in March, Chung will be presented with the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Art Education Association’s Asian Art and Culture Interest Group.

The award committee praised his “innovative integration of emerging digital technologies and social justice frameworks in art education and visual culture.” In a letter to Chung, they wrote, “Your dedication to fostering inclusive, equitable, and transformative learning experiences in the post-pandemic era is truly inspiring.”

Chung will accept the honor at the NAEA Convention in Kentucky.

“The award committee’s recognition strengthens my conviction that art education is not solely about teaching the subject matter,” he said, “but about shaping a more just, culturally inclusive and transformative world.”

Chung also was recently appointed as a new editor for the International Journal of Education Through Art, a leading publication in the field. His previous recognitions include the J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. award from the NAEA Committee on Multi-Ethnic Concerns in 2019 and the Edwin Ziegfeld award from the United States Society for Education through Art in 2014.

To keep art relevant and meaningful, Chung said, it’s important to incorporate new technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, digital storytelling and multimedia.

“These tools often open doors to new perspectives, amplify marginalized voices, and create immersive experiences that foster empathy and deep understanding,” he said.

Alumna Andrea E. Allen said serving as a graduate assistant with Chung was “instrumental” in her career success. She now works as an assistant professor of art education at Michigan State University after earning both an M.Ed. and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from UH.

“Dr. Chung and the art education program provided me with a strong foundation for pursuing an academic career in art education,” Allen said. “They equipped me with expertise in contemporary approaches to curriculum and instruction, such as social justice art education, and ensured I gained valuable experience in teaching, research and service.”

Alumna Lindsay Ripley, who graduated with an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction, said working with Chung helped bolster her research skills.

“Under Dr. Chung’s guidance in the art education program, I learned to research thoroughly and to pursue inquiry that was not only interesting to me, but relevant to my discipline — a skill essential in academia, as well as in leadership. My research involved analyzing best practices for art criticism in the K-12 art classroom,” said Ripley, who serves as visual arts coordinator in the Spring Branch Independent School District.

For Chung, teaching continues to fuel him.

“Nothing,” he said, “compares to the profound joy of seeing my students now thriving as K-12 art educators, community leaders and respected professors shaping the next generation.”

—By Ericka Mellon

—Artwork courtesy of Sheng Kuan Chung