Montgomery,
ALA – The Alabama State Council on the Arts is excited to announce that Dr. Andrew
Henley has been selected to fill the position of Deputy Director at ASCA. He
will assume this position on July 1, 2019.
Elliot
Knight, ASCA's Executive Director said he is confident that Dr. Henley can make
significant contributions to ASCA in the months and years to come. Dr. Knight
said, “We are glad to welcome Dr. Henley
back to Alabama to join the ASCA team and I look forward to working with him to
promote the arts in Alabama and help artists and arts organizations in all
corners of Alabama thrive.”
Dr. Henley
is moving back to Alabama from Tacoma, Washington, where he has served as the Curator
of Education and Community Engagement at the Museum of Glass since 2016. At the
Museum of Glass, Henley led a team of museum professionals, artists and
docents. Prior to working with the Museum of Glass, Henley served as an
Education Curator at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn
University from 2007-2016.
Dr.
Henley earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Toledo in Art
Education, focusing on drawing. His doctorate was earned at Auburn University,
with a dissertation entitled Adolescent
Artistic Caricatures and the Sharing of Art, which examined the social
groupings related to definitions of art, and the social context of making and
sharing art as interpreted by teenagers. Dr. Henley continues to pursue
academic research, examining social motivations of arts engagement, attribution
theories of achievement in the visual arts, philosophical challenges in museum
settings, and qualitative research methods.
Museum-related
projects that Dr. Henley is particularly proud of include developing extensive
drop-in art classes for families with children, partnering with summer camps
for individuals with special needs, and establishing a program for individuals
coping with dementia-related illnesses and their care partners. His current
work is related to curriculum development in relation to STEAM, therapeutic art
experiences with hot glass, and exploring the intersection of technique and
content in apprentice-based arts education.
Dr.
Henley has served on the board of directors for Arts Ed Washington and has been
involved with the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Forces pilot
project, where he has worked with veterans through the Museum of Glass Hot Shop
Heroes program.
Previous
Deputy Director Dr. Elliot Knight became ASCA’s Executive Director on January
1, 2019 and the Deputy Director position has been vacant since that time.