Amber Ward
Associate Professor
Director of the Professional Development Program
Department of Art Education
Contact
About
Amber Ward is an associate professor of art education at Florida State University. She received a PhD and Certificate in Qualitative Research from the University of Missouri. She earned an MAAE from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a BFA with teacher certification from Colorado State University. Ward’s research considers who and what matters in learning/teaching and why, in a program that connects the outside world both with humanity and art. Using creative approaches of inquiry, she is interested in the material practices of craft, feminism, and sustainability with an aim of mending the world around us. Her scholarship can be found in Art Education, Art/Research International, Arts & Humanities in Higher Education, IMAG, International Review of Qualitative Research, Journal of Embodied Research, Journal of Social Theory and Art, Knowledge Cultures, Studies in Art Education, Qualitative Inquiry, and Visual Arts Research. Her book project explores folk school pedagogies through craft as a creative inquiry and is expected to be released next year with Routledge. Ward has presented her artwork and scholarship in state, national, and international exhibitions and conferences, respectively. She has served as Art/Research International Section Editor, Art Education Editorial Review Board Member, National Art Education Association Pacific Regional Director of the Higher Education Division, and National Art Education Association Ecology & Environment Interest Group Executive Officer (Membership/Treasurer).
Education
PhD, University of Missouri; Department of Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum
MAAE, Maryland Institute College of Art, The Center for Art Education
BFA, Colorado State University, Department of Art & Art History
Research Areas
Qualitative and creative inquiry, arts informed research, craft, feminism, ecological and social justice
Select Scholarly/Creative Works & Awards
• Ward, A., & Wilkinson, J. H. (in press). Craft as care-full correspondence. Visual Arts Research.
• Ward, A. (in press). Empowering ˈÔltərs and the work of Renee Stout. Art Education.
• Ward, A. (2023). Chasing charms as concept. Qualitative Inquiry, 29(1), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004221095505
• ABC (AmberBeckyCreative). (2022). (K)not mattering: Ethical (re)considerations of material, methodological, and pedagogical responsibilities. International Review of Qualitative Research, 15(2), 248-277. https://doi.org/10.1177/19408447221090658
• Ward, A. (2021). Visualizing data to engage intra-active art: Unsettling gender roles and promoting educational responsibility. Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, 41, 66-81. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jstae/vol41/iss1/6/