December 12, 2022 Local High School Art Students Collaborate on Public Interiority Exhibit

This fall semester, Liz Teston, associate professor in the School of Interior Architecture, has been in collaboration with Hojung Kim, lecturer in the School of Interior Architecture, and Cheryl Burchett, the visual arts teacher at Central High School. This unique collaboration teaches high schoolers the concept of Teston’s research on “interiority,” which is a part of Teston’s Public Interiority Symposium + Exhibition in February 2023, and gives them an opportunity to contribute to the upcoming exhibition.

The idea of interiority rethinks the threshold of the inner character or nature of interior spaces and makes a case for interior-feeling places in the urban outdoors. “While we frequently experience interiority inside structures, public interiority is a perceived condition found in the public sphere, without structure, and shaped by a combination of influences,” said Teston.

Students in Burchett’s advanced drawing class are using their talents to design an installation to be included in the February exhibition at UT. This community engagement recently received a research mini-grant from the UT Division of Diversity and Engagement Center, The installation will use textiles and drawing techniques to evoke “interiority.”

“Thus far we’ve visited Central High School and talked to the students about this concept, especially atmospheric interiority and sustainable ways to convey the concept,” said Teston. “This atmospheric and sustainable approach encourages the students to consider STEAM concepts artfully while evoking interiority conceptualization.”

The CHS students’ design will be just one piece of multiple installations that will be placed within the larger exhibit that contains works by designers and artists from across the country. The exhibition will be installed in the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, 1715 Volunteer Boulevard, beginning in mid-February.

“I was really excited about the opportunity to work with the team from UT’s College of Architecture and Design and also learn more about interiority,” said Burchett. “I’ve had a lot of fun researching this topic and sharing it with my students.”

Teston’s collaboration serves as a great way to get high school students more involved with the world of design and demonstrate our engagement with our local communities. Teston hopes to inspire young artists like the advanced drawing students at Central High School to become passionate about the world of design and contribute their own creative perspectives to the world someday through her teachings about public interiority.

Learn more!

Read more about the Public Interiority Symposium.

Learn more about the School of Interior Architecture.

colorful strips of cloth hanging from chicken wire

students holding their designs on frabric