The 33^rd Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum took place on March 1, 2019 at the Ohio Union. PhD candidate Youngaah Koh won first place in the Poster Presentations: Arts & Humanities category of the forum. Youngaah’s poster presentation covered the ongoing research for her dissertation tentatively titled Culturally Relevant Art Education for Korean-American Elementary Students: Impact and Policy Implications. Youngaah’s research is based on an art curriculum that she designed and facilitated in an art class at the Korean Church of Columbus in fall 2018. The study explores the curriculum’s potential in developing cultural competence and critical consciousness among the students, as well as such immigrant art activities’ potential for creating social capital within and outside the Korean-American community.

Master of Arts in Art Education student Hilary Katz won third place in the Oral Presentations: The Arts category. Hilary’s presentation, Breaking Barriers: Inclusive Interpretation in the Art Museum focused on her research that asked three guiding questions: how do visitors engage with museums without in-person facilitations; what forms of engagement make exhibitions accessible, inclusive, and worthwhile; and how can museums allow the visitor’s voice to permeate through exhibitions? Since a majority of museumgoers visit galleries without guided facilitation from museum staff, Hilary’s research examines how initiating inclusive in-gallery interpretation, even without human interactions, can provide for meaningful engagement with and deeper understanding of artwork. For Hilary’s research study, she designed and implemented the interpretation materials for The Columbus Crossing Borders Project about the refugee experience at Dublin Arts Council. Hilary’s research aims to create accessible, innovative interpretive experiences that best allow viewers to reach a deeper and personal understanding of works of art, present and allow for multiple perspectives, and break down barriers for all audiences, regardless of race, gender, religion, culture, ability, and socioeconomic status.