Abstract
This article, a two-person narrative, makes visible some challenges embedded in queering pre-service art education in an educational sphere that tends to be seen as heteronormative, White, able-bodied, and cisgendered—even for those who are queer themselves. In this piece, Ria, an undergraduate student, offers the reader a peek into a lived experience rarely shared as they describe the challenge of finding themselves at university, navigating the repeated coming out process both in and outside the classroom, undergoing treatment for cancer, and returning a changed person. The co-narrative offers the perspective of Ria’s university faculty member and mentor. Acknowledging moments of awareness and dissonance, she discusses the journey to rectify curriculum and pedagogy in a responsive manner while noting the value of being present for one’s student beyond the walls of the classroom. Ria’s comic book images are the vehicle through which life, grief, and moving forward are explored.
