Research

Wayfinding Peace: Museums in Conflict Zones -  (2021)
PhD Dissertation
The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Education, Curriculum & Pedagogy, Art Education Committee: Dr. Rita Irwin, Dr. Samson Nashon, Dr. Wade Davis
  •  This dissertation examines how the Community Peace Museums Heritage Foundation (CPMHF), a collective of sixteen rural museums in Kenya, utilizes Indigenous peace heritage traditions through the expressive arts to address contemporary conflicts within local communities and among ethnic minority groups. 
Mapping A/r/tography: Transnational storytelling across historical and cultural routes of significance (2019) 
The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Education, Curriculum & Pedagogy, Art Education
PhD Candidate Researcher
Supervisor: Dr. Rita Irwin
  • Mapping A/r/tography partnership, a network of international scholars engaging in a/r/tographic walking as inquiry and cartographies of transnational storytelling. Artists, researchers, and teachers engage in movement, broadly defined, and the critical creation of images, performances, and texts. The works reflect our collective imaginary of proactive cultural exchange and relationship building through a/r/tographic encounters.
  • Rita L. Irwin, Principal Investigator; Jun Hu, Koichi Kasahara, Alexandra Lasczik, Ricardo Marins, Joaquin Roldan, Anita Sinner - Co-investigators; 11 collaborators + 9 partners in Canada, China, Japan, Spain, United States of America, England, Brazil, Uruguay                                                       ​
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Cultivating Creative Communities: Student Teachers and Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya (2016-2017) 
The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Education, Curriculum & Pedagogy, Art Education
UBC Graduate Research Assistant 
Supervisor: Dr. Rita Irwin
  • Grant Application: Developed the UBC Equity Research Grant application to successfully support the Living, Learning and Teaching in Dadaab Refugee Camp Research Team and Rita L. Irwin, Principal Investigator for teacher education workshops to enhance professional practice in the arts
  • Workshops: Developed and facilitated workshops to build global student relationships between UBC student teachers at the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER)​ Learning Centre, Dadaab, Kenya ​and the Teacher Candidates at the Vancouver Campus 
  • Peace Education Workshops: Researched, developed and facilitated peace education workshops with the UBC-Moi Student Teachers at the (BHER) Learning Centre​, Dadaab, Kenya 
  • https://lltd.educ.ubc.ca/media/dadaab-stories/

Teachers' Stories: Living, learning and teaching in Dadaab (LLTD) 
The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Education, Curriculum & Pedagogy, Art Education
UBC Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant - (2014-2017)
Supervisor: Dr. Rita Irwin
  • Worked with research team: Cynthia Nicol, Principal Investigator; Rita L. Irwin, Samson Nashon, Karen Meyer, and George Belliveau and Co-Investigators 
  • The Social Sciences Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) project aimed at improving the academic welfare of refugee teachers in Dadaab Refugee Camp, Northeast Kenya. LLTD is a collaborative research project with The University of British Columbia (UBC), York University, Moi University, Kenya, and NGO Windle Trust Kenya.  

Circumnavigating the Arctic (CTA) (September - December 2014)​
Emily Carr University of Art +  Design,  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 
Graduate Research Assistant  
​Supervisor: Dr. Ruth Beer
  • The research project focused on the unprecedented changes in the arctic such as climate change, industrial expansion and migration. Through the multiple lenses of art, education, environmental and cultural sustainability, this project aims to understand shared public concerns across the arctic. 

Culturally Responsive Museum Education Practices from Malawi, Africa (2011)
Master of Art Thesis
The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Education, Curriculum & Pedagogy, Art Education
Committee: Dr. Dónal O'Donoghue, Dr. Rita Irwin, Dr. Samson Nashon
  • This research explored the culturally responsive education practices (CREP) of museum educators at a museum in Malawi through an instrumental intrinsic case study. It focused on the Mobile Museum's outreach programs, including HIV/AIDS prevention, malaria prevention, and cultural expression in primary schools. 
Making Contemporary Art Makes Sense
Richmond Art Gallery Internship (June - August 2012)
  • Researched Canadian contemporary artists, conducted interviews with secondary school art to assess learning needs of students developed online teacher guides.

Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at The University of British Columbia 
Volunteer Associate Research Chair & Researcher (2010-2020)
Supervisors: Dr. Carol E. Mayer, Curator of Oceania & Africa, Dr. Nuno Porto, Curator Africa/South America, Dr. Anthony Shelton
  • Researched a diverse range of projects including MOA's reclassification of the African collection, Chichewa potters of Malawi, Kenyan artifacts collection​, Without Masks: Contemporary Cuban Art Exhibition, English Missionary John Williams (1796-1839) journals transcriptions​, and the African collection artefacts for Dr. Carol E. Mayer, Curator of Oceania & Africa that were selected for the publication The Museum of Anthropology at The University of British Columbia (2010).