Michael Parker, “The Convivial Artist”

Michael Parker is no ordinary teacher and no ordinary artist. In fact, his enthusiasm for teaching socially engaged art is exhilarating. His teaching philosophy resonates with students as it’s situated in the relational and the inspired, which is what many young artists are looking for when entering the arts discipline in college. Since his arrival at Southern Oregon University, Parker has worked diligently to galvanize active art practices on the SOU campus.

Paulo Freire, the great Brazilian philosopher and educator, wrote, “The more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled.”

Parker adheres to this kind of philosophy – in teaching and art – by unveiling the inventive possibility of art and sculpture at SOU.