Felicia Francine Dean’s creative scholarship and research, Material Identities in Interiors, focuses on the intersection of identity, material culture, material practice, and ways of knowing and understanding interiors, highlighting the importance of their visual and design-making inquiries for advancing knowledge in Interior Design. Her work investigates the spatial identity of materials and interior artifacts, researching layered connections among culture, the history of interiors, hand and digital craft practices, space, and place. Among Dean’s published works are the book chapters “Dug by the Devil: Space, Culture, + Material Identity,” in Public Interiority: Politics and Programs, and “Mixed Not Stirred: Diverging Outside the Confines of Racial and Disciplinary Boxes of Identification,” in UpKeep, Repair, and Maintenance in Adaptive Interiors. She was awarded a research and development grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (2021) for her project Perceptions of Misconceptions. Her work has recently been exhibited at Brew House Arts and Contemporary Craft’s International Fiber Exhibition (2025), the American Association of Woodturners Gallery of Wood Art (2025), and the Sandra J. Blain Gallery at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (2024).
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art, Florida State University
Diploma in Furniture Upholstery & Certificate in Mechanical Engineering Technology – CAD, Guilford Technical Community College, NC
Master of Fine Arts in Interior Architecture, Furniture Design Concentration, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Expertise & Interests
- Material Identities in Interiors
- Process Driven Design
- Analog and Digital Craft Practices
- Furniture Design
- Design Installations