As an educator, I aim for students to leave my classroom prepared both to produce compelling works of art and to apply critical discourse to their artistic production. Grasping the complexities of the contemporary art space requires an understanding of internal production processes, historical context and how art integrates into the sociopolitical realm. As such, I want my students to become versed in both crafting complex stories through myriad art forms and building artistic literacy, with strong skills of working with non-traditional materials as well as rethinking cultural representations of marginalized communities.