Naila

Latham

Advocate for Creativity and Education

Bio

Naila Latham is an accomplished professional and graduate student from Ellenwood, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography and Integrated Media from Ohio University. She is pursuing a Master of Arts in Art Education at Virginia Commonwealth University, with an expected graduation date of May 2025.

Latham has extensive experience in higher education, focusing on fostering inclusive communities, mentoring students, and coordinating initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her work emphasizes creating welcoming environments that support academic and personal growth for students from diverse backgrounds. She is also deeply engaged in developing innovative strategies to strengthen connections between institutions, students, and their families.

With a strong foundation in art, Latham’s creative practice explores experimental concepts and mediums, often addressing themes of mental health through graphic design and film photography. She has shared her expertise through presentations and collaborations in academic settings, highlighting her commitment to merging art and education to inspire and educate others.

Naila Latham is dedicated to making a meaningful impact through her work in higher education and the arts, continually striving to inspire others and promote positive change within her communities.

Artist Statement

Art is the equivalent of therapy for me. I began creating art due to my experience with my start and it kept me grounded and gave me a creative outlet. Later in my college career, photography became a part of my therapy. It was the beginning of me working in alternative processes, film, and digital photography. It was a new world but it was the beginning of me producing mental health-inspired artwork.

I like creating art to explore what comes out, especially in photography. In graphic design, I would like for everything to be perfect, however, in photography, I am more experimental and like to channel certain moods or emotions. Overall, I like to see what I can create with these random ideas in my head, and what the audience sees is up to them.

Currently, I am inspired by surrealist photographers like Man Ray, Tsoku Maela, Gabriel Isak, and Antonio Mora. The idea of mixing the dreamlike world with emotions is amazing. It creates beautiful images. It is a new inspiration how it has inspired me lately in my college career.

 I see art in two different ways. One, I see art as exploratory, the artist can create one thing, but the viewer may see another. One piece of work can have multiple meanings to whoever is the viewer. Secondly, art is my haven, so I create based on what or how I am feeling.

Teaching Statement

When I decided to go in to art education, my educational story in regards to my art experience fueled my motivation. I have taken over 1o art classes (art history, education, administration and studio classes)and I’ve only taken two art class taught by a black individual.I was the only black student in my undergraduate and graduate co-hort. So, I want to encourage Black students to pursue the field of art, and think of it as a career and not just a hobby. I also want art educators to consider there minority students in their classroom, and focus on critical art multicultural education which can reach all students.