Nike Romano teaches art and design theory at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Having worked in the field of graphic design and visual art for many years, Nike diffracts her practices as visual artist and teacher through a post-constructivist perspective of the ‘living curriculum’ and the ‘becoming curriculum’ in order to support design students’ transition into the first year experience in the academy. Her research is concerned with developing art history pedagogical strategies and methodologies that respond effectively to the contingencies arising out of current debates around the call to ‘decolonise the academy’ in South Africa. In the context of polarized local and global politics, as and educator, Nike works with design students as they seek to navigate difference(s) in the classroom in order to critiqueunequal power relations, embrace difference(s), and model compassionate behaviours that promote social justice. To this end, she examines how arts based practices contribute to building socially just pedagogies in higher education in South Africa. Nike completed her completed here MFA at Michaelis School of Fine art in 2013 and is currently registered to do her PhD in Higher Education at the University of the Western Cape.
