Tom Ashcraft

Biography

Tom Ashcraft is a Distinguished Professor of Art and MFA Director in the School of Art and Design at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina. He also is an artist, designer, builder and founding member of the art collaborative Workingman Collective. For over 30 years Tom has navigated his inquiry based practice in and out of the public realm combining object making and community engagement. He has collaborated with a wide range of people, from barbers to biologists, and exhibited and produced work in the US, Europe, Caribbean and Africa.<br>Tom is currently developing two commissioned artwork projects with a team of students from Western Carolina University School of Art and Design for the US Embassy in Niamey Niger.

Education

• MFA, Indiana University-Bloomington, Sculpture

Teaching Interests

Sculpture, contemporary art, public art, collaborative, community and socially engaged art.

Research Interests

Contemporary art education, collaborative and public practices, woodworking, architecture and landscape architecture, design/build, folk art, ethnomusicology, wandering.