From Margin to Mirror: Queer Asian Art as a Lens for Intersectional Transformation

This study addresses the invisibility of queer artists of Asian descent in U.S. art education and calls for a shift from identity-based inclusion toward queerness as a conceptual mode of inquiry, reflection, and empowerment. Using intersectionality as a framework for queer pedagogy, the authors, queer Taiwanese immigrant teacher-educators, conducted action research to confront the issue. 60 preservice art teachers across three U.S. public universities consented to participate in the art project In Their Shoes, through which they analyzed artworks by queer artists of Asian descent, engaged in authentic discourse on layered identity, and expressed their reflections by creating original artworks. The analysis of their artworks reveals three prominent themes: intersecting racial minority and queer identities, confronting intergenerational trauma and gendered expectations, and reclaiming agency through interracial learning. To reflect the overall learning experience, these themes are further theorized as positional displacement, reclamation aesthetics, and intersectional resonance. The study demonstrates the transformative potential of integrating queer Asian art into teacher education to challenge normative narratives and foster empathy, reflexivity, and critical consciousness in preservice art educators.