JULIA STAPLES
Meet our upper school art faculty, Julia Staples.
Julia Staples
- Role at Shipley
Photography and Video Teacher
Upper School Advisor
Shipley TV Faculty Advisor - Education
BFA, Parsons School of Design
MFA, Tyler School of Art
Prior Professional Experience
Adjunct Professor, PCAD, Rowan, UArts, Saint Joseph's University, Moore College of Art and Design, Tyler School of Art, DCCC, TCNJ
| Are you an exhibiting artist? If so, tell us more about that. |
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| Why did you become an art teacher? |
| Beyond being a means of self-expression, art was also an essential part of my learning as a young person. Museums, art books, magazines, and the process of making my own work were more than sources of inspiration — they were how I learned to navigate and understand the world. I want to provide young people with that same opportunity: an alternative way to explore and come to know the world. |
| What is your teaching philosophy or style? |
| Art is just as much learning about culture, politics, humanity, and science as it is self-expression. Making art isn't about being good — it's about understanding how to express ideas. |
| Do you have any favorite artists, genres, or works of art? Why? |
| Contemporary artists explore ideas and the world around us. The non-traditional means of expression — including absurd ideas like pinning a banana peel to a wall or staging performances as political acts — provide ways for folks to see things differently. |
| Fun fact about you: |
| After spending a year on a Fulbright Fellowship in Iceland, I lived there on and off for ten years. |