President Barack Obama announced that he intends to nominate Pepón Osorio, Laura Carnell Professor of Community Art, to the National Council on the Arts.

Last year, Osorio’s reForm was featured in The New York Times. The exhibition, which was on  display at Temple Contemporary, was created in response to the anger and heartbreak expressed by many when dozens of schools in the School District of Philadelphia closed.

With reForm, Osorio recreated a classroom from Fairhill Elementary, a school about one mile away from Temple’s Main Campus that closed. His work often uses the exhibition space to bridge local communities and the mainstream art world. He has worked with more than 25 communities nationally and internationally, creating installations inspired by personal experiences.  

Members of the council are selected for their widely recognized knowledge of the arts or their expertise or profound interest in the arts. The National Council on the Arts advises the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts on agency policies and programs.  

Osorio’s nomination is pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate. He plans to continue teaching and pursuing creative work at the Tyler School of Art while serving on the council.