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Meredith Cawley is a Texas-based multimedia artist and educator whose work begins in the particular tension of natural history collections: the wonder of them, and the grief just beneath the surface. The act of preserving is always also an act of control. You can mean well and still trap something. Her response to that predicament involves bears, aliens, and a deep appreciation for the absurdity of the situation we have all found ourselves in. Her practice lives in that gap, between the label that fits on a placard and the truth that does not.
Cawley teaches at the University of North Texas. She earned her MFA from the University of Houston (2016) and her BFA from Sam Houston State University (2012). Recent projects include her solo exhibition The Specimen and Spectacle at Southeast Missouri State University; a completed research fellowship with UNT's Willis Library Special Collections investigating the archive of conspiracy theorist Jim Marrs; and chairing panels at the 2025 FATE Conference. |
News & Updates:
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Puzzlement: A Show to ObserveWhat happens when you curate an exhibition without gallery walls? This summer Jordan Black and I set out to find out. After putting out an open call for artists, we transformed the Golden Triangle Mall into a place where sculpture, ceramics, painting, and interactive work invited shoppers to stop and engage with art in an unexpected setting. From developing the curatorial concept to working alongside artists through installation, Puzzlement asked what happens when a shopping mall becomes a place for curiosity. Through playful artworks and slow-looking activities, the exhibition encouraged visitors of all ages to spend meaningful time with art. Participating artists: Jordan Black, Eric and Morgan Grasham, Meredith Cawley, Robyn Rozelle, Kevin Contreras, Vanessa Guajardo, Vincent Villafranca, Anna Galluzzi, and Tamara Rafkin. Learn more about Puzzlement → DEL "In Between" International Webinar On March 6, 2026, I presented Archive to Adventure: Reigniting Curiosity Through Campus-Based Creative Research at the DEL "In Between" International Webinar, hosted by Digitally Engaged Learning in the United Kingdom. The presentation drew on pedagogy developed in ART1600 and ongoing work with UNT's campus collections, arguing that archive-based, object-driven encounters can rebuild the curiosity that test-driven systems train students out of. |
