Amy Königbauer is an artist and a teacher, born and raised near Detroit, Michigan. She holds an MFA from Transart Institute in the Creative Practice, a certificate in Art Education from Massachusetts College of Art and Design,  and a BFA in Photography from The University of Michigan. She currently resides in Montpelier, Vermont where she heads the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at U-32 Middle and High School. Amy’s current studio work aims to create and investigate relationships, exchange, and the movement of energy between people in relation to physics. She dismantles barriers in cooperative relationships using mindfulness, vulnerability, improvisation and participation. In this work, she sees that the fluency of creative exchange is determined by how vulnerable we are willing to be.

As a teacher, Amy advises a project-based learning program called The Pilot, where select students at U-32 design their own curriculum and work independently on projects with support from mentors and advisors. Amy believes that giving students more autonomy can transform education in public schools. She also believes that schools are in desperate need of such transformation. In her classroom, she teaches photography (with an emphasis on its role in visual communication), sculpture, and several courses that integrate traditionally textbook-driven classes with art. In every subject area, Amy is encouraging independent learning and exploration through the creative process.