bio
Trained as a painter and educator, Ursula Beck works in an interdisciplinary practice. She curates creative inquiries and implements a range of artistic, relational, and pedagogical processes. Conceptually, her work is concerned with relationship to location and place, sustainability, the human experience, and borders between self and other.
Ursula grew up among the pines and lakes of Minnesota. She received her BA Studio Art from the University of Puget Sound in Washington State and MFA from Malmö Art Academy, Lund University in Sweden. She’s pursued her love of art, education, and the natural environment: guiding wilderness canoe trips in Minnesota; working with the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle; facilitating study abroad experiences in Denmark; reimagining higher education with Wayfinding Academy in Portland, OR; and facilitating writing, art, and environment-based courses in the U.S. and abroad.
Education
2019 MFA Critical & Pedagogical Studies, Malmö Art Academy of Lund University, Sweden
2013 BA Studio Art: Painting, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, United States
2012 Exchange: Sustainability & Environmental Action, School for International Training, NSW, Australia
2011 Exchange: Memory & Identity, Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark
Experiences
2021/present Faculty & Study Tours Educational Specialist, Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, DK
2019/20 Experiential Pedagogue, Bilingual Montessori School, Lund, SE
2019 Pedagogue, International School of Lund Katedralskolan, Lund, SE
2019 Art Workshop Facilitator, Botanical Garden, Lund, SE
2018/19 Visiting Instructor, Lake Country Montessori School, Minneapolis, MN
2018 Visiting Faculty, Wayfinding Academy, Portland, OR
2016/17 Event planner, TEDxMtHood, Portland, OR
2016/17 Internship Program Director & Event Planner, Wayfinding Academy, Portland, OR
2016/17 Gallery Assistant, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
2016/17 Photographer, Content Creator, Wayfinding Academy, Portland, OR
2016 Studio & Gallery Assistant, Pigeons Studio & Gallery, Portland, OR
2015/16 Exhibition Coordinator, Cafe Retro, Copenhagen, DK
2014 Writing Instructor, Young Writer’s Academy, Seattle, WA
2014 Editor in Chief, Generation Waking Up, San Francisco, CA
2013/14 Curatorial Intern, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2012/13 Content Director, Crosscurrents Literary & Arts Magazine, Tacoma, WA
2010/11 Poetry Editor, Crosscurrents Literary & Arts Magazine, Tacoma, WA
2010/13 Program Director, Youth Counselor, & Wilderness Trip Leader, YMCA Camp Warren, Eveleth, MN
Grants & Awards
2017/19 Global Scholarship, Lund University
2013 Artistic Grant, University of Puget Sound
2011 Vivian Willits Memorial Scholarship, University of Puget Sound
2009/13 Trustee Scholarship, University of Puget Sound
Exhibitions
2019 Attuning to Place questions and traces, installation, Annual Exhibition, Malmö Art Academy, SE
2018 Listening & Learning: A performative lecture, Schools of Tomorrow Conference, Berlin
2018 What’s Cooking, participatory installation, Annual Exhibition, Malmö Art Academy, SE
2018 Practise Practice, Public Dinner, Skånes Konstforening, Malmö, SE
2017 Mindscapes, photography, time, instant coffee, KHM Gallery, Malmö, SE
2014 Featured Artist, Miko Kuro’s Midnight Tea, Seattle, WA
2014 2 Person Exhibition, Pocket Theater, Seattle, WA
2013 Solo Exhibition, Cradle Mountain Valley in three, oil on canvas, Saravida, Tacoma, WA
2013 White Pine Series, oil on canvas, Senior Art Show, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2013 Cradle Mountain Valley Series, oil on canvas, Alder Arts Walk, Tacoma, WA
2013 Australia, oil on canvas, Pacific Northwest Shop, Tacoma, WA
2012 Boundary Waters, oil on canvas, Art Student Annual, juror Beverly Naidus, Tacoma, WA
2012 Dancers in Blue Study, oil on canvas, Jones Mini Gallery, University of Puget Sound, WA
Courses
2024 Art in the Making, Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, DK
2019 Attuning to Place, Botanical Garden, Lund, SE
2019 Locating a Sense of Place, Land School, Lake Country Montessori School, Minneapolis, MN
2018 Locating the Artistic Impulse, Wayfinding Academy, Portland, OR
2018 Locating a Sense of Place, Land School, Lake Country Montessori School, Minneapolis, MN
2018 Listening & Learning: A performative lecture, Schools of Tomorrow Conference, Berlin
Publications
2019 Coming to Our Senses, Yearbook, Malmö Art Academy, Lund University
2019 A Creative Exploration of Location, The Courier, Lake Country School
2018 What’s Cooking, Yearbook, Malmö Art Academy, Lund University
2018 Public Dinner, Practise Practice, Yearbook, Malmö Art Academy, Lund University
2013 Tr-eye-fecta, Crosscurrents Literary & Arts Review, University of Puget Sound
2012 Dishes, Crosscurrents Literary & Art Review, University of Puget Sound