Mohamad S. Bazzi
Curriculum Vitae

(PDF version for printing here)

OBJECTIVE

A position teaching art, design, computer graphics and/or a position in art/design curriculum development, in a private school or a post-secondary technology institute in Lebanon or the greater Middle East.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Art Education; Wayne State University; Detroit, MI, June 2000

QUALIFICATONS

• State of Michigan Teaching Certification in K-12 Art Education, June 2000.
• Successful high school teaching experience in traditional drawing/painting media and 2D & 3D digital design software; 2000-present.
• Art exhibit organizational experience in galleries, museums and with students.
• Art curriculum writing experience in committee and in a solo capacity.

EMPLOYMENT

• Design Instructor; Michael Berry Career Center, Dearborn, MI 2005-present
• Art Instructor; Fordson High School, Dearborn, MI 2000-2005
• Teaching Assistant; Maples Elementary School, Dearborn, MI 1998-1999
• Document Translator; A.C.C.E.S.S. (Arab Community Center) Dearborn, MI 1997-1998
• Retail Manager; Bazzi Mobil, Inc., Hamtramck, MI 1990-1997

AWARDS

• LebRecord “Featured Artist” Jan 2008; Featured artist in LebRecord, an online magazine promoting Lebanese artists.
• WSU Art Education “Community Service Award” Apr 2007. 1st annual award from Wayne State University’s Department of Art Education.
• “Artist/Performer Award” Oct 2006; Annual Award from the Mayor of the City of Dearborn & Dearborn Community Arts Council.
• Superintendent’s Graduation Honors May 2003; Teacher Award for recognized influence on graduating honor student.
• “Cinco De Mayo” Arab Community Poet May 1996; Poet representing the Arab Community at annual “Cinco De Mayo” collaborative celebration of Arab & Latino poetry/music/art; Detroit Public Library, Detroit, MI.

DETAILED EXPERTISE

• Design Instructor, Michael Berry Career Center
  • Graphic design, illustration, advertising and communication design methods;
  • Elements and Principles of Design as they relate to the applied arts;
  • 3-dimensional design including product design and furniture design;
  • Instruction in a variety of digital design software including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Flash, Adobe Contribute, Rhino 3D Modeling, and more;
  • Professional presentation of student design projects and portfolios.
  • Guidance of students towards preparation for university careers.
• Fine Arts Instructor, Fordson High School
  • Introductory and advanced drawing and painting fundamentals;
  • Art as an instrument of self-expression and visual communication;
  • Elements and Principals of Design as a language of visual composition;
  • Art history as a reinforcement of art education and human civilization/history;
  • Art criticism, discussion and interpretation through both written and verbal strategies;
  • Additive and subtractive sculpture methods; Hot & cold metalsmithing methods;
• Elementary Classroom Experience
  • Literacy, writing and arithmetic tutoring of small and large student groups to supplement the instruction of the classroom teacher.
• Special Education Students
  • Classroom instruction incorporating differentiated methods for students with a variety of special education classifications.
• Bilingual Students
  • Classroom instruction incorporating differentiated methods for immigrant students with limited English language skills.
• Art Department Chairperson, Fordson High School
  • Responsibilities included allocation of budgetary resources for a department of three art teachers; organizing departmental scheduling; liaison role between school administration and art teachers; communication of administrative policies to the Art Department; representation of the department with parents and community; resolving teaching obstacles for art teachers; meeting academic interests of art students; overall harmony of the department;
• “Design Concepts” Curriculum, Michael Berry Career Center
  • Researched, wrote, planned and implemented a hybrid art-technology design curriculum for the new Michael Berry Career Center; Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, Michigan.
• A.P. Art Course, Fordson High School
  • Researched, petitioned for, and implemented a successful Advanced Placement Art course for the first time at Fordson High School.
• Dearborn Public Schools Art Curriculum Committee
  • Member, Dearborn Public Schools Art Curriculum Committee, which annually reviews, modifies and implements curriculum on a k-12 district-wide level.
  • Departmental course design for introductory, intermediate and advanced level art courses, including writing of units, lessons, projects, assessments, and rubrics for formative and summative assignments.
• State of Michigan Art Standards & Benchmarks Committee
  • Worked in committee with art teachers from around the state to re-write and edit Art Standards and Benchmarks of the K-12 Art Curriculum for the State of Michigan Department of Education.
• Art Education Advisory Council, College for Creative Studies; Detroit
  • Serving on committee that advises the new Art Education Program at the College for Creative Studies, on issues relating to instruction, classroom management, and district affairs.
• City-Wide Student Art Exhibit Committee
  • Serving on committee that organizes the annual Dearborn K-12 student art exhibit, facilitating student art submitted by art teachers from around the city.
  • Select, prepare, label and frame selection of student artwork for gallery exhibit.
• High School Student Exhibits and Portfolios
  • Continuously counseling and directing advanced high school art students in portfolio preparation for university admission, and for participation in art competitions and exhibits.
• Art Therapy, Mental Health Dept, Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services
  • Worked with at-risk and emotionally-challenged students as a volunteer art therapist, in collaboration with A.C.C.E.S.S. child psychologist.
• “Peace Camp”, with A.C.C.E.S.S. & Inside-Out
  • Brought together Arab youth from Dearborn with African-American youth from Detroit, for a summer "Peace Camp" that promoted interaction and understanding through art and culture;
  • Implemented the visual arts component of the camp, a collaborative venture where students designed and created a theatrical set for a puppetry performance;
  • Assisted in general administrative and camp guidance duties.
• “Art on the Avenue” Festival; Dearborn
  • Recruit and guide high school art students to design and implement a collaborative street chalk mural, during the duration of the annual 3-day festival.
• Focus Hope Food Bank Mural Project; Detroit
  • Recruited and joined high school students in painting a mural to beautify the Focus Hope Food Bank interior, with lead artist Vito Valdez.
• “Hubbard Street Mural Project”; Chicago
  • Recruited and accompanied high school students on a trip to Chicago to help paint a mural that aimed to beautify a neighborhood train embankment, with lead artist Dan Cascardo.
• College for Creative Studies “Patterns of Detroit” Mural Project, Detroit
  • Recruited and guided high school students in designing a section of the collaborative public mural “Patterns of Detroit,” with lead artist Hubert Massey.
• Teacher’s Workshop: “The Private World of India’s Mughal Emperors”; DIA, Detroit
  • Presented a workshop to middle school and high school art teachers, in conjunction with the visiting exhibit “The Private World of India’s Mughal Emperors – Albums of Painting and Calligraphy”, at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
  • Demonstrated how to use traditional Arabic geometric motifs along with figurative elements in new ways, including hands-on methods and computer-generated methods.
  • Provided lesson support for use in Visual Arts and Social Studies classrooms.
• Exhibits Committee, Arab American National Museum; Dearborn
  • Serving on committee that advises the Arab American National Museum on their rotating gallery exhibits.
• Padzieski Gallery Board; Dearborn
  • Serving on the Advisory Board of the Padzieski Gallery, helping to choose and plan exhibits in the gallery in conjunction with the Dearborn Community Arts Council.
• OTHER: Arab Artists Collective; Detroit
  • Founding member of OTHER: Arab Artists Collective; instrumental in leading discussions to formulate common vision and implement collaborative art projects.
• “Facing Identity” Exhibit
  • Commissioned by the Arab-American National, along with a team of designers, photographers and filmmakers, to conceptualize and design a multi-media exhibit on racial stereotyping of Arabs & Muslims in film, television and popular culture; currently a permanent installation at the Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.
• “Journeys & Distances” Curator
  • Recruited artists for a thematic multi-media art installation on the journeys, memories and transformations of immigrant cultures; Recruited a team of artists to create an 8x24 ft mural in situ over a 2-month period.
• Art Exhibit at A.C.C.E.S.S. Annual Dinner, Curator
  • Organized and curated a group of Arab artists in a first ever art exhibit to accompany the Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services annual community dinner.
• Assistant Curator, “The Paintings of Alya Husseini”
  • Assisted in curating and planning of the solo exhibit of Alya Husseini; Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.
• “Allied Media Conference” panel presenter; Bowling Green University
  • Member of a panel presentation on the relationship between art, identity, activism, self-representation, and independent media.
• “Global Frequency” panel presenter; Kalamazoo College
  • Member of a panel presentation on the history of OTHER Art Collective, and on identity and self-representation in media and art.
• “DIWAN 2006 - A Forum for the Arts” Planning Committee
  • Served on a committee which invited national and international artists and scholars to submit papers and presentations for a forum on issues relating to visual, performance and literary arts; committee chose panelists, moderators and facilitated forum schedule; Arab American National Museum, Dearborn.
• “DIWAN 2006 - A Forum for the Arts” panel moderator
  • Moderated Panel titled “The Personal Narrative in Visual Arts,” featuring artists Doris Bittar and Helen Zughaib; annual “DIWAN” symposium at the Arab American National Museum.
• Artist’s Society of Dearborn, Juror
  • Juried their annual spring show, Rotunda Gallery, Henry Ford Centennial Library, Dearborn.
• Arabic-English Translation
  • Translated school, university, legal and personal documents from various Arab countries into English, for certification in the United States; Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services.

EXHIBITS

• Siraj Cafe 2008-present
  • Solo exhibit; Dearborn, Michigan.
• “Harvest” Oct-Nov 2007
  • Group exhibit; Alley Culture Gallery, Detroit, Michigan.
• “Connections & Contrasts” Mar-May 2007
  • Group exhibit; Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.
• “Art Teacher’s Art” July-Sep 2006
  • Group exhibit; Padzieski Gallery, Dearborn, Michigan.
• “WSU Art Education Student Exhibit” July-Aug 2006
  • Graduate work; WSU Community Arts Gallery, Detroit, Michigan.
• “Profiling” Oct-Nov 2005
  • Group exhibit; 555 Gallery, Detroit, Michigan.
• “Journeys & Distances” Sep-Nov 2005
  • Group exhibit; Lead artist, “Journeys” mural; Padzieski Gallery, Dearborn, Michigan.
• Public Mural at “Art on the Avenue” Festival June 2005
  • Commissioned to create a mural as performance for public viewing; Dearborn, Michigan.
• “The Art of Art Teachers” May-June 2005
  • Group exhibit; 555 Gallery, Detroit, Michigan.
• “Facing Identity” Exhibit 2005-present
  • Permanent Installation, Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.
• Art Exhibit at A.C.C.E.S.S. Annual Dinner Mar 2004
  • Group exhibit; Detroit, Michigan.
• “Facets of Our City” Jan-Mar 2004
  • Group exhibit; Padzieski Art Gallery, Dearborn, Michigan.
• “Fan Wa Tarab” Oct 2002
  • Group exhibit; Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.

LANGUAGES

Fluent in English and Arabic.

REFERENCES

References provided upon request.

PERSONAL

Born June 25, 1969. Married with three children.