Margaret Carsello

Margaret believes that creativity is a superpower in today’s fast-paced, visual world—and she’s passionate about helping aspiring artists and designers unlock that power to advance their creative paths in new and ever-evolving ways.

Margaret brings a wealth of experience across the creative industries as a designer, interdisciplinary artist, and visual art educator. She maintains an active studio practice, exhibiting both locally and internationally, and works across a broad range of disciplines within contemporary art and digital technologies. Her professional background includes roles in graphic design and art direction for the feature sections of the Chicago Tribune, as well as over a decade of leading creative direction for her special events design firm, Carsello Creative.

In higher education, Margaret has taught art and design at the university level, including within the Contemporary Practices program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has also taught IB and AP Visual Art programs and served as Head of the Art Department at international high schools in Beijing, China; Chennai, India; and Madrid, Spain. Her years living and teaching abroad continue to shape and inform her global perspective.

Margaret holds an MFA in Contemporary Art from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, an MA in Art Education with a focus on Visual Culture and Contemporary Practices, a certification in Drawing and Painting, and postgraduate studies in New Media and Technologies, all from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

FUN FACT: In her free time, Margaret spends time with her family, travels, and when summer hits Chicago, she joins the floaty faithful community on Lake Michigan—gliding by the Belmont Rocks in her inflatable shark.