Bethany College Welcomes Two New Art Faculty Members

LINDSBORG, Kan. April 29, 2026 - Bethany College is pleased to announce the appointment of two accomplished artists and educators, Jordan Ramsey Ismaiel and Johannah Cairns, to its art faculty. These dynamic additions reflect the College’s continued commitment to excellence in the visual arts and interdisciplinary learning.

Jordan Ramsey Ismaiel (they/them) is a painter and drawer whose work explores themes of desire, longing, and emotional safety through self-portraiture and composite imagery. Living and working between Hastings and Omaha, Nebraska, Ismaiel draws deeply from their experience growing up in the rural Midwest after moving from Washington, D.C. at age 15. Their artistic practice stages moments of intimacy and self-reflection, contextualized by life in the Great Plains.

Ismaiel’s work has been featured in GAYLETTER Magazine and exhibited in “Meet Me in the Middle of Nowhere” at the Hessel Museum of Art in New York, curated by Kyle Herrington in collaboration with the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. A 2025 artist-in-residence at the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency with Collar Works, Ismaiel has also been awarded a 2025 Nebraska Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship and will present a solo exhibition at the council’s Fred Simon Gallery in Omaha.

They hold a BA in Studio Art and Philosophy & Religion from Hastings College and earned both an MA and MFA in Painting & Drawing from the University of Iowa, where they were a recipient of the prestigious Iowa Arts Fellowship.

“As a student of the liberal arts educational model and alum of institutions situated within the American Midwestern region, I consider my appointment with Bethany College to be an opportunity that not only allows me to continue cultivating the values of interdisciplinary teaching but also the ability to contribute further to arts education within the state of Kansas and broader community of the Great Plains,” said Ismaiel.

Also joining the faculty is Johannah Cairns, a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Athens, Ohio. Cairns holds a BA in Visual Art from the University of Kansas and a Post-Baccalaureate Artisanry Ceramics Certificate from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She is expected to complete her MFA in Ceramics from Ohio University in Spring 2026.

Cairns has received numerous honors, including a nomination for the 2026 Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship, the Anonymous Studio Artist Fellowship at the Northern Clay Center, and the Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center in 2022. In 2019, she was named a Windgate University Fellow through the University of Kansas and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

Her work investigates the fallibility of memory, particularly in relation to relocation and the lack of documentation of personal history, offering deeply reflective and conceptual explorations through multiple media.

“Becoming a Bethany College faculty member will allow me to join a community distinguished by its commitment to mutual support and a profound respect for the arts,” Cairns said. “As a multi-media artist, I am particularly enthusiastic about the program’s interdisciplinary approach and the opportunity to collaborate with my new colleagues across disciplines. I look forward to mentoring students as they cultivate their artistic voices and to supporting their development toward meaningful and successful careers in the arts.”

“These talented artists bring exceptional creative practice, scholarly achievement, and a passion for teaching that will enrich our campus community,” said Dr. Tash Smith, Bethany College Academic Dean. “We are excited to welcome them to Bethany College and look forward to the impact they will have on our students and programs.”

For more information about Bethany College’s art program, visit www.bethanylb.edu.

About Bethany College

Bethany College (bethanylb.edu) is a higher educational institution located in Lindsborg, Kansas. Bethany College was established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881. For more than 140 years, Bethany College has been dedicated to educating, developing, and challenging individuals to pursue truth and excellence while leading lives of faith, learning, and service. At Bethany College, students join a community of dedicated educators and caring mentors who support them as they discover, explore, and navigate their purpose. Bethany College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.



CONTACT: 

Christie Denniston, APR

Vice President of Strategic Engagement

303-827-5164 

Bethany College

335 East Swensson Street

Lindsborg, KS 6745