In This Story
By Zoë Charlton, Director of the School of Art, George Mason University
It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Dr. Hayon Park, Assistant Professor of Art Education in the School of Art at George Mason University.
Dr. Park passed away on Friday, May 15, 2026, after a year living with cancer. She continued to work, write, teach, mentor, and show up for her students and her field for as long as she was able. That was part of who she was.
Dr. Park was a deeply respected scholar, educator, mentor, and colleague whose work centered early childhood art education, relational pedagogy, and culturally responsive teaching practices. Her research, writing, mentorship, and leadership contributed meaningfully to the field of art education nationally and internationally. Her care for students and commitment to teaching shaped the daily life of our community in ways that will not fade.
Dr. Park joined the George Mason University School of Art faculty in 2021 and recently served as Interim Director of the MAT Program. Prior to Mason, she taught at the University of Arkansas, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Dayton, and Penn State University. She authored of Rancière and Emancipatory Art Pedagogies: The Politics of Childhood Art and was co-editor of Visual Arts with Young Children: Practices, Pedagogies, and Learning. Her scholarship appeared in numerous journals, including Studies in Art Education, Art Education, Visual Arts Research, Qualitative Inquiry, and in edited volumes and international publications.
Dr. Park believed in the creative and intellectual capacity of children and she championed future educators.—Zoë Charlton
Dr. Park co-founded and served as Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Childhood Art at the University of Arkansas. She co-lead the Childhood Art Speaker Series and podcast, creating spaces for conversation and research around children’s art, pedagogy, and creative practice. She held multiple national leadership roles within the National Art Education Association, including recently being elected President of the Early Childhood Art Educators Interest Group for the 2026–2028 term.
Even in recent months, while navigating serious illness, Dr. Park remained active in her field. In March, she participated in multiple sessions and presentations at the National Art Education Association Annual Convention 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky, including conversations on early childhood art, mentorship, research, and collaborative pedagogies.
Dr. Park believed in the creative and intellectual capacity of children and she championed future educators. She insisted that children are not empty vessels waiting to be filled, that they are already thinking, already making meaning, already becoming. That conviction lived in her scholarship and in her classroom in equal measure. In her own writing, she reflected that “People remember the people who made them feel visible.” Many students and colleagues experienced exactly that in her presence, her attentiveness, her care, and her willingness to take seriously what people brought into the room.
Her loss is felt across the School of Art, George Mason University, and the broader art education community she served and loved. We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, students, and all who knew and loved her.