Professor, researcher, and artist with extensive experience in higher education leadership, mentorship, curriculum development, and accreditation reviews. Teaching experience in K-12 , museums, and diverse communities, across international and inter-cultural contexts. Expertise in postcolonial and decolonizing art education, museum studies, and community-based art initiatives.

Academic & Leadership Experience

Professor & Former Department Chair | University of North Texas

Led the department through a period of transition while strengthening academic programs and faculty development and overseeing NASAD and APR program reviews. Led curriculum redesign, developed a faculty mentorship program, and secured research funding for innovative programs and student recruitment.

Associate Professor & Chair | University of Arizona

Designed new graduate courses on Postcolonial Theory & The Art of Decolonization, mentored Ph.D. and M.A. students in qualitative research, and secured external grants for interdisciplinary research. Increased graduate enrollment and expanded faculty and student engagement with museums, local community organizations and global education initiatives. Expanded student engagement in K-12 art teacher certification. helped students successfully transition into teaching roles, secured funding for community-based art projects for the program.

Arts Coordinator & IB Visual Arts Educator | American School Foundation, Mexico City

Worked with my team to develop and write the school’s Visual Arts curriculum and build the IB Visual Arts program. Began the digital photography program in a multicultural school with diverse student backgrounds. Introduced student-driven exhibitions, digital media projects, and museum partnerships. Increased student placements in top global art programs and expanded community engagement in arts education through annual art fairs.

Visual Arts and EFL Teacher | The Nagoya International Junior & Senior High School , Nagoya, Japan

Developed a startup immersive EFL and Art curriculum for the newly formed junior high school. Taught art and EFL at junior and senior high school levels. Established an after-school art club.

Key Research & Projects

• Editor| Journal of Social Theory in Art Education. Led peer-review expansion and increased international readership by 25% during editorial tenure.

• Book Co-Editor | The Routledge Companion to Decolonizing Art, Craft, and Visual Culture Education. Published anthology with Routledge Press.

• Book Co-Editor. | Makers, Crafters, Educators: Working for Cultural Change. Published anthology with Routledge Press.

• Co-Principal Investigator | IMLS Grant: Stewarding Cultural Heritage. Co-PI on a $396,362 for Latino art and museum preservation fellowships.

Teaching & Curriculum Innovation

Graduate Seminars: Research Methods, Curriculum Theory, Postcolonial & Decolonial Art Education, Community-Based Art.
Art Teacher Certification Training: K-12 Art Methods, Visual Culture, Digital Media Integration, Professionalism in Art Education.
Accreditation & Program Review: Led NASAD accreditation & APR reviews, ensuring curricular excellence.

Skills & Expertise

Art Education Leadership | Faculty & Student Mentorship | Graduate & Teacher Training
Research & Grant Writing | Community & Museum Collaborations | Editorial, Peer, & Program Reviews
Postcolonial & Decolonizing Studies | Qualitative Research methods | Global Aesthetics

Freelance Art Educator and Consultant

Museum & Community Engagement: Worked as a teaching artist and educator with museums like the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Field Museum in Chicago, and the Tucson Museum of Art, and University of Arizona Museum of Art. Museum education work includes coordinating summer programs, facilitating educational workshops, and participation in panel discussions and public presentations.

Client Engagement & Design: Provided arts consulting services, including brand identity design, visual arts workshops, and educational program development for clients in the U.S., Mexico, and India.

College Application Portfolio Preparation: Provided 1:1 mentoring consultations with K-12 students seeking career guidance in the art and design fields. Client locations include the United States, India, and Dubai.

Community-engaged art education: Worked as a teaching artist for several organizations including Urban Gateways, Chicago, The Chicago Department of Aging, Apna Ghar (domestic violence prevention advocate) and as Gallery Manager for an Inuit art gallery in Chicago.

Publications

Edited Books

Sharma, M., & Alexander, A. (2023). The Routledge Companion to decolonizing art, craft, and visual culture education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Garber, E., Hochtritt, L., & Sharma, M. (Eds.). (2018). Makers, Crafters, Educators: Working for Cultural Change (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Editorials & Editorship

Sharma, M. (Ed.) 2024. The Anxious Now and The Next Big Thing. Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, v.43. https//scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jstae/vol43/iss1/

Sharma, M. (Ed.). 2023. Inclusion Invasion, Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, v.42. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jstae/vol42/iss1/

Coats, C., & Sharma, M. (Eds.) 2021. Encountering Uncertainty: Shifting Orientations through Imagination and Disruption, Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, v.41. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jstae/vol41/iss1/

Refereed Journal Articles

Sharma, M. (January 2025) Critical Connections in Relational Universalities in Art Education. Journal of Art and Design Education Pakistan (JADEP).

Sharma, M. (2021) Jittered Orthodoxies . Visual Inquiry: Learning and Teaching Art, 10:2, 215-217. Intellect. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1386/vi_00047_1

Sharma, M. (2021) Review of Community-Based Art Education Across the Lifespan: Finding Common Ground, Studies in Art Education, 62:1, 96-99, National Art Education Association. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00393541.2020.1857994

Sharma, M., Thatte, A. (2021) Exploring Craft Traditions of India: Heritage Crafts as a Curricular Gateway for Interdisciplinary Learning. Art Education Journal. National Art Education Association. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2021.1876473

Garber, E., Sharma, M., Black, R., & Neff, E. (2017) From Mentorship to Intellectual Partnership: Co-authoring and Dialogic Production through Co-construction of Research. Journal of Visual Inquiry Learning and Teaching Art. Kantawala, A., & Hafeli, M. (Eds). Intellect. v5, n 3. 273-290

Sharma, M. (2016) Identities of art education in India: Reality, Rhizome, & Assemblage. Informática na educação: teoria & prática (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) v.19. n 1. 41-48

Sharma, M. (2015). Mythical beings and becoming: Emerging Identities of art educators in India. The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, 32, 89-109

Alexander, A., & Sharma, M. (2013). (Pre)determined Occupations: The postcolonial hybridizing of identity and art forms in Third World spaces. The Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, 33(0), 86–104

Chapters in Scholarly Books

Alexander, A, Bergault, R. & Sharma, M. (Forthcoming). Speaking of liberation: A dialogue on our journeys to embody the spirit and practice of decolonization. In: Allen Richards, Steve Willis. (Eds.) Critical Conversations about Decolonizing the Legacy of White Supremacy in Art Education. Kendall Hunt.

Sharma, M. & Kachru, P. (Accepted). Insights into artistic practice on the frontiers of work and war. In: g.j. wilson, V. Lopez., & M. Bae-Dimitriadis. (Eds.) Handbook of Critical Arts-Based Research. Routledge.

Sharma, M.(2023). Desi/Pardesi/Videshi: International (Re)locations in a time of nationalism. In: R.Shin, M.Lim, O.Lee, & S.Han. (eds) Counternarratives from Asian American Art Educators: Identities, Pedagogies, and Practice Beyond The Western Paradigm. Routledge.

Sharma, M. (2023). Patriotism and Nationalism: Sounds of Dissent and Resistance in Contemporary India. In: A. D Knochel, O. Sahara. (eds) Global Media Arts Education. Palgrave Studies in Educational Futures (pp. 61-67). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-05476-1_4

Sharma, M. (2022). The Water and the Bridge: Dilemmas of In-betweenness. In g j. wilson, J. B. Acuff, & A. M. Kraehe (Eds.), A Love Letter to This Bridge Called My Back (pp. 118–122). University of Arizona Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2jhjw3g.27

Sharma, M. (2021). Halla bol! Visual(izing) responses to violence against women in contemporary India. In: K. Kiefer-Boyd, L. Hoeptner-Polling, S. Klein, W. Knight, & A. P. Miles (eds) Lobby Activism: Feminism(s) + art education. (Pp. 199-208). Alexandria, VA: NAEA Press

Sharma, M., & Sutters, J. (2020). Travels, Encounters and Relationship Building in International Art Education, in Learning through art: International Perspectives. G. Coutts & T. Eca (Eds.)Sao Salvador, Portugal: InSEA Publications

Sharma, M. (2018). Decolonization: A Metaphorical Conundrum. In Critical Intersections In Contemporary Curriculum & Pedadogy. L.Jewett., F.Calderon-Berumen., M.Espinosa-Dulanto. (Eds.) Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing

Sharma, M. (2016). Activating Art Education Learning by Mapping Community Cultures. In R. Shin (Ed.), Convergence of Contemporary Art, Visual Culture, and Global Civic Engagement (pp. 170-184). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1665-1.ch010

Sharma, M. (2016). Disney and the ethnic other: Engaging post-secondary students in semiotic analysis. In J. C. Garlen, & J. Sandlin (Eds.), Teaching with Disney (pp. 95-110). New York, NY: Peter Lang

Sharma, M. (2014) Undisciplined Space: Indian craft heritage sites as texts for critical practice, in J. B. Acuff, & L. Evans (Eds.), Multiculturalism in Art Museums (pp. 111-126). Lanham, MA: AltaMira Press

Sharma, M. (2013). Arts based research as critical-activist research practice. In J.H. Rolling, The Arts Based Research Primer, (pp.114-118). New York, NY: Peter Lang International

Sharma, M. (2011). For the people, by the people: notions of justice in public art - Navjot Altaf’s Autorickshaws. In T. Quinn, J. Ploof, & L. Hochtritt (Eds.), Art and Social Justice Education: Culture as Commons, (pp. 116-118) . New York, NY: Routledge

Invited Columns

Sharma, M. (2022) Guest Column for Caucus of Social Theory in Art Education, NAEA News, Volume 64, Number 5, October-November 2022, NAEA News, 64:5

Sharma, M. (2020) Guest Column for Caucus of Social Theory in Art Education, NAEA News, Volume 62, Number 4, August-September 2020, NAEA News, 62:4

Sharma, M. (2019) Guest Column for Community Art Caucus, NAEA News, Volume 61, Number 2, April-May 2019, NAEA News, 61:2, p.25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01606395.2019.1587344

Artistic Research

Sharma, M., & Kachru, P. (2021). Workhorse/Warhorse: Provocation for Designing the Pluriversity Collective. https://designingpluriversity.org/Background