Education
2023* :: Ph.D. candidate, Information Sciences *In progress
Research area: Art as Information
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
2017 :: Master of Fine Arts, Art-Graphic Design
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
2006 :: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design
Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University
Grand Rapids, MI
Academic Appointments
2022 Aug – Current
Graduate Teaching Assistant, UIUC: Black Arts Today
- Course: FAA 201: Black Arts Today (asynchronous online)
- Department: College of Fine & Applied Arts (FAA)
- Professor: Lou Turner, Ph.D.
- Black Arts Today is a foundational course in theorizing Black cultural expression across historical, social, and geographic spaces. It surveys artistic and cultural responses to types of racism, modes of anti-racist resistance, and expressions of black liberation and self-determination. Assisted in course planning, assignment development, online/Canvas management, grading, and other logistical items regarding student concerns and communication.
2022 Jan – Current
Graduate Research Assistant + Hourly Worker, UIUC: Digital Archives
- Project: Doris Duke Indian Oral History Program Archives Grant Project (As part of the Doris Duke Native Oral History Revitalization Project, Coordinated by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM))
- Funding: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF)
- Advisor: Bethany Anderson, Ph.D., Project Director
- Assisted project director and collaborated with Indigenous communities to create/edit metadata for paper, audio, and digitized materials. Digitized and organized interview transcripts and managed digitized files of audio recordings. Conducted ingest of digital materials into university’s archives repository and Mukurtu (open source, community archives platform).
2021 Jan–Dec
Graduate Teaching Assistant, UIUC: Data Storytelling
- Course: IS 457: Data Storytelling (online)
- Professors: Kathleen McDowell, Ph.D. and Matthew Turk, Ph.D. (Fall/Spring)
- Professors: Kathleen McDowell, Ph.D. and Jill Naiman, Ph.D. (Spring-term)
- Data Storytelling is an introductory course that combines narrative theory, data comprehension, and visualization toolkits. In a collaborative workshop format, students will understand data as a source for storytelling and tell stories based on data. Assisted co-instructors in grading, attendance, and other logistical items concerning student concerns and coursework management.
2021 May–Jun
Graduate Research Assistant, UIUC: Publication Preparation
- Project: “RealTalk” Publication Project
- Advisor: Sundiata Cha-Jua, Ph.D., Columnist of “RealTalk: A Black Perspective” in The News-Gazette of Champaign, IL
- “RealTalk” offers critical investigations about African American historiography and community formation, social theory, and Black social movements to local and national audiences. Managed volunteer assistant during project. Categorized articles by topic and wrote brief abstracts for each to submit to publishers.
2020 Aug – 2021 May
Graduate Research Assistant, UIUC: Pedagogy and Wellness
- Project: Gameful Pedagogy: Instructional Design for Student Well-being
- Funding: UIUC Provost’s Investment for Growth Program (Part of P.I.’s award: University of Illinois 2020–21 Distinguished Teacher-Scholar)
- Advisor: Judith Pintar, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
- Assisted in study consisting of multiple student focus groups to assess student wellness in relation to course syllabi. Served as main contact for research team. Assisted in the study’s recruitment, procedures, survey development and data management along with internal scheduling, note-taking and communication.
2020 May–Dec
Graduate Teaching Assistant, UIUC: Introduction to Information Sciences
- Course: IS 101: Introduction to Information Sciences (online)
- Professor: Judith Pintar, Ph.D.
- Collaborated with 1–2 other TAs in conducting group discussions, grading, exam development, attendance, and other logistical items concerning students and coursework management. During Summer term, in collaboration with professor, developed and managed student group project that involved creating an imaginative archive documenting COVID-19 pandemic.
2019-20 May
Graduate Research Assistant, UIUC: Digital Publishing
- Project: Digital Publishing with SourceLab and History Harvest
- Funding: CFHR (The Classroom and the Future of the Historical Record, A Humanities Without Walls Initiative)
- Advisor: Bonnie Mak, Ph.D.
- Assisted in projects’ overall public-outreach mission to make history scholarship (SourceLab) and historical objects (History Harvest) more accessible to the broader public by designing and developing custom templates for scholarly digital publications using Scalar. Also designed branding material to help promote public history research and access.
2019 May–Dec
Graduate Research Assistant, UIUC: Digital Archives
- Project: Harold (Hal) Baron Digital Archival, Research, and Publication Project
- Funding: Harold Baron Foundation
- Advisor: Kathryn La Barre, Ph.D., Project Director
- As part of a larger project to contribute unpublished material crucial to race, labor, and urban planning scholarship, accessed and inventoried archival documents of the late Hal Baron (former Director of Research for the Chicago Urban League and Chief Policy Advisor to Chicago Mayor, Harold Washington) in order to make his manuscripts and other papers accessible to research and public communities for continued use.
2018 Aug–May
Graduate Research Assistant, UIUC: Community Archives
- Projects: openED Archive (UCIMC Archive, Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center) and ASIS&T
- Advisor: Kathryn La Barre, Ph.D.
- Supported projects’ goal to prepare and present histories of the organizations, preserve institutional memory, encourage ongoing research about the organizations, and to increase public accessibility to and interaction with community-made records. Support involved inventory of archival (local activist, artist, admin) materials, assisting in a zine fest for local independent publishers and zine workshop for children, tending to and photo-documenting archive/library spaces, and designing promotional material for public engagement.
2017 Aug – 2018 May
Lecturer, Wayne State University: Graphic Design
James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History
- Taught various graphic design courses from freshman- to senior-level within the Graphic Design department.
2015–17 Aug
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Wayne State University: Graphic Design
James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History
- Instructor of record during all except one semester. Taught various graphic design courses from freshman- to senior-level within the Graphic Design department. As assistant, aided professors in grading, attendance, and other logistical items concerning student concerns and coursework management.
Courses Taught
During academic appointments at Wayne State University
- Introduction to Graphic Design
- Introduction to Typography
- Typography
- Graphic Design 1
- Graphic Design 2
- Senior Seminar
- Senior Studio
- Independent Studies
Honors and Awards
2020–21 Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) Fellowship,
The Imagining America Consortium.
- National network of scholars, artists, designers, and organizers. Received mentorship, professionalization training, community and financial support in a year-long working group of 9 other graduate fellows. Participated in PAGE’s Blog Salon online publication and virtual Lightning Talk to explore collaborative scholarship, artmaking, and creating knowledge with and within community.
2020 Second-place Winner, UIUC Image of Research Competition.
- Complicating Matters of Cultural Historical Information Reproduction through Art and Design: A Material/Visual Study on Emigration Data about the Black Loyalists. April 2020. 2020 Image of Research Virtual Exhibition, May 2020.
https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/8606/807623.
Publications
Peer-reviewed
2021 :: La Barre, Kathryn and Courtney Richardson. “Chaos and Conception in the openED Archive.” Library Trends 69, no. 3 (2021): 646-671.
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790443.
Public Scholarship
2020 :: Richardson, Courtney. “Intersecting Black Histories, Art Practice, and Information History.” PAGE Blog Salon, September 24, 2020.
https://imaginingamerica.org/intersecting-black-histories-art-practice-andinformation-history/.
Keynotes and Invited Lectures
Keynote Presentation
2020 :: “Telling a Story with Data from an Artist’s Perspective.” Storytelling with Data Virtual Webinar by Library Administrators Conference of Northern Illinois (LACONI) Tech Program, April 10, 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3ttu5ilZA8&list=PLZ4RUdlgI5uM-4E57tAxXGO85u_bFvc91&index=1&t=142s.
Invited Lectures
- 2022 :: “Graphic Design, Art, and Archives in Conversation.” Center for Advanced Studies and the Arts. Oak Park, MI. October 20, 2022.
- 2020 :: “Pursuing Art-Design as Research in Graduate School.” Graphic Design Department and AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Student Chapter with WSU Alumni Online Office, Wayne State University, April 13, 2020.
- 2020 :: “Naming and Power within Name Travel, an Artwork-in-Progress: How Does/Can Incomplete Historical Information Matter?” “Naming and Power” with Kathryn La Barre. Champaign, IL, February 24, 2020.
- 2019 :: “Design Consistency with Omeka Themes.” “History Harvest: Collaborative Digital Public History” with Kathryn Oberdeck. Champaign, IL, December 5, 2020.
- 2017 :: “The Meaning Behind: ‘I’m a Graphic Designer.’” AP Curriculum Enrichment Day, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, April 2017.
- 2016 :: “Inside Out: Collections and Accessibility.” 2016 Art Graduate Talk, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, May 2016.
- 2015 :: “Re-member.” 2015 Art Graduate Talk, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, May 2015.
Conference Activities
Solo Presentations
- 2020 :: “Re-embodying Historical Data with Art and Design.” 2020 Imagining America Online Summit, October 19, 2020.
https://iagathering.org/page/courtney-richardson/. - 2019 :: “Name Mapping the Book of Negroes: A Material/Visual Study on Document Reproduction and Representation of Cultural Memory.” Midstates Chapter of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) Fall Meeting, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, October 4, 2019.
Panels and Group Presentations
- 2022 :: “The Doris Duke Indian Oral History Program Archives at UIUC: Respect, Return, and Community Engagement.” Intertwined Cultures: Stronger Together, International Conference of Indigenous, Archives, Libraries, and Museums, Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM). Presentation and Panel, Temecula, CA. October 2022.
- 2022 :: “Decolonizing Arts Education and Professional Development for Emerging Artists.” Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Panel and Podcast recording, Urbana, IL, June 2022.
- 2022 :: “Building Relationships and Revisiting Indigenous-created Materials at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.” Future of Native American Oral History Symposium, Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, Virtual Panel, April 2022.
- 2022 :: “Course Design for Well-being: Towards a Students’ Bill of Rights.” Gameful Pedagogy Research Project by Judith Pintar. Annual Faculty Retreat, Center for Innovation in Teaching, UIUC, March 2022.
Creative Activities
Artwork accepted into group exhibitions
- 2020 :: Complicating Matters of Cultural Historical Information Reproduction through Art and Design: A Material/Visual Study on Emigration Data about the Black Loyalists. April 2020. Embroidered fabric, 60 x 60 in. 2020 Image of Research Virtual Exhibition, May 2020.
https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/8606/807623. - 2017 :: Quicksand by Nella Larsen. 2016. Vinyl, embroidery, 12 x 12 in., 30 x 30 in. Bent, but Unbroken Exhibition. Charles H. Wright Museum, Detroit, MI. July–October 2017.
https://www.thingsfeelheavy.info/copy-of-yah-show-info-exhibiting. - 2017 :: Multiple artworks from graduate thesis. 2015–17. Fluid Impressions: 2017 WSU MFA Thesis Exhibition. Wayne State University Art Department Gallery. Detroit, MI, February–March 2017.
- 2016 :: What’s In a Name: Viola Liuzzo. 2014. Fabric on plywood, 32 x 38 in. Just My Type Exhibition. Whitdel Arts, Detroit, MI, February 2016.
- 2015 :: Undefined (Re-membering Study: Emmett Till). 2015. Collage, acetate paper overlays, 16 x 20 in. DE:limit Exhibition. Galerie Camille, Detroit, MI, December 2015.
- 2014 :: Bloody Sunday. 2014. Ink on burlap and chiffon, 60 x 40 in. Ritual Exhibition. The Jam Handy, Detroit, MI, April 2014.
Professional Development
2020 :: Online Teaching Academy, UIUC
- Nominated by iSchool to participate in 4-week course to practice online and hybrid course design, instruction, and foundational pedagogy principles. In collaboration with UIUC’s CITL (Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning) and Tech Services, June 2020.
Service Activities
Leadership Positions
2021–22 :: Ph.D. Student Leader, UIUC iSchool.
- Student-Elected Representative for Department Faculty Meetings.
- Represented doctoral students at the iSchool’s All-Faculty meetings by gathering questions/concerns/opinions from students to relay during monthly meetings. Participated in student leadership meetings to discuss department concerns with other iSchool student representatives.
2018–21 :: Ph.D. Student Leader, iSchool Doctoral Student Association (iDSA), UIUC.
- President (2020–21), Vice President (2019–20), and founding member (2018–19).
- Registered Student Organization to advocate for doctoral students’ academic and social/communal interests. Coordination of monthly colloquiums focused on research/profile development and student wellness, student social events, and fostering communication between student and administrative bodies.
Departmental Activities
2021 :: “Women’s History Month Conversation about the Documentary, Knock Down the House (2020).” UIUC’s iSchool Diversity Committee and iSchool Doctoral Student Association (iDSA), Virtual Panel, UIUC. March 2021.
2020 :: “Re-visiting and Re-visualizing Historical Data through Textile-Art Processes.” University of Illinois Community of Scholars Research Symposium. Presentation, Champaign, IL, March 29, 2020.
2020–21 :: Panelist for iSchool Admitted PhD Virtual Session Student Panel, UIUC, May 2020 and March 2021.
2019 :: Volunteer for ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Conference on Digital Libraries, UIUC, Champaign, IL, June 2019.
Other Volunteer Service
2016 :: Volunteer for Letterpress Shop and Exhibit, Detroit Historical Society, Detroit, MI, May–June 2016.
Additional Work Experience
2021 :: Graduate Hourly Worker
- UIUC School of Labor and Employment Relations, Champaign, IL
United Steelworkers Summer School (July–August 2021) - Provided clerical and classroom assistance during program. Main tasks included: attend check-in table, prepare, and deliver classroom supplies, troubleshoot classroom technology, provide shuttle service to attendees, coordinate food services for breaks and lunch, and additional errands as requested.
2005–20 :: Independent Graphic Designer
- Recourtney Design Studio, LLC
Freelance graphic design, sole member company - Provided design, development and consultation to small businesses, organizations, and individuals. Services included: Design education, brand identity, invitations, promotional materials (posters, flyers, etc.), iconography, line/2D illustrations, and web layout/graphics.
2011–15 :: In-house Graphic Designer
- The Dental Advisor, Ann Arbor, MI
Research, training, and product publication - Responsible for printed collateral, branding, icons/award badges, web graphics, eblasts and print advertising, PowerPoint slides, conference/symposium banners, table displays, forms, data infographics and front-end HTML website support.
2006–11 :: Graphic Designer and Developer
- Media Genesis, Troy, MI
Internet services firm - Designed digital graphics/illustrations, web layouts, banner ads, identity collateral and icons for client businesses and in-house. Produced standard compliant and cross-browser compatible websites using XHTML/HTML 4-5, CSS 2-3 and Jquery library. Edited e-learning modules for Flash sale courses.
Technical Skills
- Adobe Creative Cloud: Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign
- Mac iWork: Pages, Numbers, Keynote
- Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Web Development: Dreamweaver, Notepad++, Jupyter Notebook, XHTML/CSS
- Web Publishing Platforms: WordPress, Scalar, Omeka, Mukurtu