Heather Ujiie

Heather Ujiie is an Interdisciplinary Associate Professor at Moore College of Art & Design, where she teaches across the Fashion Design, Interior Design, Foundation, and Textiles programs. She is a full-time faculty member with a nationally and internationally recognized artistic practice.

Her research and creative interests lie at the intersection of textile art, fashion, identity, and environmental storytelling. Drawing from medieval tapestries, medical history, sci-fi, and surrealism, her work explores themes of biodiversity, gender, and cultural hybridity. She integrates analog and digital techniques in textile design, emphasizing both functional and conceptual applications.

The most recent creative outputs highlight her 2023 site-specific installation at the Hill-Physick House, which merges Gothic aesthetics with 19th-century medical illustration, creating an enigmatic, dreamlike environment. Her artistic trends emphasize narrative depth, material experimentation, and interdisciplinary fusion, often addressing climate change and identity through fantastical, otherworldly visuals.

Scientific and Artistic Recognition:

• Edna Andrade Grant for site-specific textile installation
• Featured on the cover of NJ Lifestyle Magazine
• Exhibitions at Hill-Physick House, Philadelphia

Heather actively mentors students through studio courses such as Art to Wear and Drawing & Painting Into Pattern, fostering creative risk-taking and technical skill development. Her students have produced public art, including a textile-wrapped school van. She emphasizes dialogue, community, and critical thinking in her pedagogy. While no specific grants beyond the Edna Andrade are listed, her projects demonstrate external funding and institutional support.

Her work functions as a lab of interdisciplinary experimentation, blending fashion, fiber art, and installation. She operates within a creative studio model that encourages material investigation, narrative exploration, and historical engagement, forming a collaborative environment between student and faculty practice.