NDSU fellowship gives local art teachers space to rediscover their inner artist – InForum

FARGO — For many art teachers, helping students create often means setting aside their own artistic practice. Heavy workloads and classroom demands often leave little time for educators to focus on their own creative projects.

A new program at North Dakota State University is trying to change that.

The Art Education Innovation Fellowship, launched through the university’s School of Design, Architecture and Art, gives regional art teachers dedicated studio space and time to focus on their own creative practice.

The art fellowship began in 2023 after Eric Syvertson, assistant professor of art education and studio practice at NDSU, heard regional teachers were struggling to maintain studio work while balancing the demands of teaching.

“First, it started as something that was pretty organic — recognizing through conversations with teachers that some of them had lost touch with their practice as artists and as makers,” Syvertson said. “I started thinking about how my studio could maybe be used as a space that teachers could come in and out of.”

As a solution,

Syvertson

decided to offer something simple — his own studio space in NDSU’s Renaissance Hall.

After clearing the room, he invited area art teachers to use the campus studio as their own. The space is ideal for creative work, featuring a desk, worktable and a large window offering sunset inspiration with a view overlooking Eighth Street and the railroad tracks to the west.

The pilot program started with three art educators: Jane Jorgenson from Davies High School and Lindsey Yanish and Sarah Dotzenrod from West Fargo. Although they used the same physical space, each teacher utilized it for their own purposes.

Jorgenson, for example, spent close to six months in the studio creating pieces and participating in the annual Fargo-Moorhead studio crawl.

Unlike traditional artist residencies, the fellowship is intentionally flexible. As a non-prescriptive fellowship, fellows are not required to produce a final exhibition or specific project — giving educators the freedom to create for fun, finish up loose ends on projects they may have put off and rediscover their creative rhythm.

“We don’t have any sort of output requirement,” Syvertson said. “It’s really all about them being able to take that time and innovate within their own practice.”

The first educator participating in the fellowships 2026 residency is Rachel Vada Murphy, an art teacher at Sheyenne High School.

Within her first few months in the studio, Murphy said the opportunity has given her something many artists struggle to find — space.

“It’s kind of a warm, inviting, empty space and the thing that artists always need more of is space,” Murphy said. “It was nice to just unpack all this from my apartment and find a good spot to put it.”

While Murphy teaches ceramics and adaptive art at Sheyenne, she has spent her time in the space experimenting with cyanotype photography and mixed-media work. Appreciating the dedicated space, she says she’s been able to spread out, working with large format printing that wouldn’t be possible in the limited space of her apartment kitchen.

“It’s kind of a reprieve from the day-to-day requirements of being an educator,” Murphy said. “It’s like having a third space — not being a teacher, but getting to make again. All art teachers are artists first; the rest comes after.”

Alongside the studio room, the fellowship also provides access to professional tools and facilities throughout Renaissance Hall, including printing equipment, photography resources and other materials available within NDSU’s art studios.

Equally valuable, she mentioned, is being surrounded by an artistic community.

Working in the building has allowed Murphy to interact with NDSU students and faculty members, creating a collaborative environment and making connections that will last a lifetime.

Helping support that environment is Tyler Halstenson, a sophomore graphic design student and student employee with the School of Design, Architecture and Art who now serves as the fellowship’s student director.

Halstenson has helped “level up” the experience for teachers by organizing the studio space, managing resources and connecting fellows with the broader NDSU art community. As a student artist, the experience has given him some unique insight into working alongside practicing educators.

Halstenson helps make the fellows feel comfortable in the studio space. Thanks to a budget for new supplies, he created gift baskets personalized for the fellows, giving Murphy cynotype chemicals, a point-and-shoot camera and other quality items that will help her enjoy her time with the residency.

Through the fellowship, Murphy and Halstenson plan to explore opportunities for her Sheyenne High School students to connect with NDSU’s art program and art club Jumpstart, including potential workshops and collaborative projects that bring the students into the university studio environment.

These partnerships and artistic collaborations are what make the fellowship matter. School of Design, Architecture and Art Director Michael Strand said he’s excited to see the fellowship expand access to the school’s facilities to area teachers and support Syvertson’s goal.

Syvertson said the long-term goal is to be a reliable resource that teachers can count on now and in the future.

“We’re going to find a way to make sure that anyone who wants to do it can do it,” he said. “Being able to hear the value that it’s brought to folks, I think it may be something that is not just fun to do but necessary.”

For Murphy,

the experience

has already been meaningful.

By reconnecting with her own artistic practice through this “mini-sabbatical,” she said she hopes to return to her classroom with renewed energy — and a reminder she often shares with her students.

Murphy will continue her residency until July, when retiring art teacher Brenda Luthi will take over and have her own unique experience with the residency. While her career is coming to an end, her time at the studio may help her transition into post-teaching and reconnect with her passion for art.

Syvertson said that after reviewing this “boutique-sized” fellowship program over the coming years he is interested in researching how this model could be applied to other fields of study beyond art, giving other educators space to re-engage with their own expertise.

North Dakota State University and local schools are collaborating on several upcoming art projects.

In partnership with West Acres, area high schools are developing a 60-foot-long community mural, which is expected to be installed within the next few months. High school students and teachers are also invited to Art Camp at NDSU for a day of interactive workshops, including a juried exhibition with over $2,500 in prizes, held on Friday, March 27, at NDSU Renaissance Hall.