Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Justice Committee

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Justice committee at the Department of Art at Ohio State University is comprised of faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate representatives. The committee meets on a regular basis to discuss goals, actions, events, and policies pertaining to matters of DEIAJ within the Department of Art and our community. 

DEIAJ Committee Mission and Vision

OUR MISSION:

Collaboratively building an environment that advocates for creativity while centering diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and justice.

OUR VISION:

An open community where individuals are encouraged to experiment and expand their artistic vision, grounded in the conviction that creativity is liberating and empowering.

DEIAJ Committee Members

Alison Crocetta

Associate Professor, Committee Chair

Alison Crocetta maintains a hybrid art practice that draws on her experience working within the realms of sculpture, performance art and the moving image. Her projects are often interdisciplinary and collaborative. Crocetta’s work has been performed, exhibited and screened in Brazil, Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, with recent solo exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC). Crocetta recently served as the Director of the Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise at the Ohio State University (OSU). She was also the Director of Foundation Studies in Ohio State’s Department of Art from 2005–2015. Before joining OSU, she held teaching positions at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University and the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and served as the Associate Chair of the Foundation Department of the Parsons School of Design at The New School.

Illya Mousavijad

Assistant Professor

Illya Mousavijad is a multidisciplinary, conceptual artist. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and his Master of Fine Arts at Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. Illya’s art practice investigates the limits and extents of exile, exile literature, pro-justice movements and civil resistance, border and identity politics, Middle East history, US and Iran relations. He works across varied media including computer animation, VR, installation, painting, sculpture, and video. He has collaborated with international artists of various disciplines and exhibited globally. Illya is currently Assistant Professor in Art, Technology, Race, and Culture at The Ohio State University.

Dani ReStack

Associate Professor

Dani ReStack is an associate professor of art at The Ohio State University. In 2009 she received an MFA in film/video from Bard College, and in 2003, an MFA in Studio Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has screened her single-channel videos at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, PS1, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Lincoln Center, and Anthology Film Archives, among others. Her single channel videos were included in the 2017 Whitney Biennial. ReStack is a recipient of the UnionDocs UNDO fellowship, Kazuko Trust Award, a Wexner Center Film/Video Residency, and the Milton Avery Fine Arts Fellowship.. Residencies include MacDowell, Vermont Studio Center, The Headlands, Cove Park Scotland, Kunst Eckenforde and the Women's Studio Workshop. Her experimental videos have been purchased by Vassar College, Mills College of Art, Light Works, The University of Buffalo, and NYU.

Shawn Knecht

Office Associate

Shawn Knecht (he/him/his) is a Cincinnati native and 2020 graduate of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs here at Ohio State University where he earned his B.S. in Public Policy Analysis. As an undergraduate student at Ohio State, he was very involved in student life. He was a member of Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government for four years and held a seat in Ohio State’s University Senate for two. Shawn found a love and passion for higher education and student affairs when he became a Peer Leader with the Office of First Year Experience. In this role, he helped organize the university’s orientation program and mentor students throughout their first year. Most recently, Shawn spent time in Washington, D.C. as a recruiter for George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. 

Annelise Duque

Graduate Representative 

Annelise Duque is a Filipino-American artist who explores cultural identity, heritage, and belonging in her photographs. Her work borrows from the aesthetics of mid-century home magazines and uses the symbol of the garden to seek for connection and healing. Her work has been shown by The Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tropical Contemporary, Rio Gallery, and Humble Arts Foundation.

William Evans

Graduate Representative

William Evans (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist and social advocate from Atlanta, Georgia. His studio practice applies Black Feminist Thought and Theory and reflections on his life as a Black Queer male in the South to facilitate conversations about the liberation and healing of the Black Queer community.

Evans attended the University of Georgia and received an AB in Women’s Studies and a BFA in Art (Sculpture) with a Design+Media minor. He is currently an MFA candidate at The Ohio State University.

Jackie Parks

Undergraduate Representative