The G. Holmes Perkins Teaching Awards are presented annually, based on nominations by students at the Weitzman School of Design, to recognize distinguished teaching and innovation in the classroom, seminar, or studio. 

The 2021 faculty honorees are:

G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award

Gabriel Martinez, senior lecturer in the department of fine arts, is a Cuban American visual artist originally from Miami, Florida who works largely with photography, performance, and installation. Mr. Martinez was a recipient of a Pew Fellowship in the Arts in 2001 and was granted a Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship in 2003. He has received two Individual Artists Grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He has also participated in several national artist residencies and artist-in-residence programs including: The Rosenbach Museum and Library and the Fabric Workshop and Museum, both in Philadelphia; Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida; Arcadia Summer Arts Program, Maine; MacDowell, New Hampshire; and Yaddo, New York.

He has created performance-oriented events and installations for various venues including: in Philadelphia at the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Art Alliance and NEXUS/Foundation for Today’s Art; in New York at White Columns, Franklin Furnace, Exit Art, Thread Waxing Space and the SCOPE Art Show at Lincoln Center; and in Miami at Miami Art Central and Bernice Steinbaum Gallery. Mr. Martinez studied at the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting in 2003. His work is included in the Phaidon Press publication Art & Queer Culture (Themes and Movements Series).

One of Mr. Martinez’s students said, “Gabe has been a pivotal part of my journey as a photographer. He is genuinely excited about his students’ work and provides clear and constructive criticism.” Another said, “he has taught me how to boil down my ideas into a concept that’s clearly communicated to my audience. I really owe him a lot!”

G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award, Non-Standing Faculty 

Paul Farber, lecturer in the department of fine arts, is a curator, historian, and educator, serving as the artistic director and co-founder of Monument Lab and senior research scholar at the Center for Public Art and Space at the Weitzman School. Dr. Farber’s research and curatorial projects explore transnational urban history, cultural memory, and creative approaches to civic engagement. He is the author of A Wall of Our Own: An American History of the Berlin Wall, which tells the story of a group of American artists and writers who found refuge along the Berlin Wall and in Cold War Germany in order to confront political divisions back home in the United States. He is also the co-editor with Ken Lum of Monument Lab: Creative Speculations for Philadelphia, a public art and history handbook and catalogue designed to generate new critical ways of thinking about and building monuments. 

As a curator, Dr. Farber works with artists and their families to engage, revisit, and re-imagine their archives. In doing so, he also brings multi-generational students into the fields of public art and history. In addition to curating Monument Lab’s City Hall exhibition (2015) and citywide exhibition (2017), he is a co-curator with Salamishah Tillet of Monument Lab’s A Call to Peace exhibition in Newark (2019). His work on culture has also previously appeared in The Guardian, Museums & Social Issues, Diplomatic History, Art & the Public Sphere, Vibe, and on NPR. Dr. Farber earned a PhD in American culture from the University of Michigan and a BA in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He previously served as a postdoctoral writing fellow and visiting assistant professor of history at Haverford College, a doctoral fellow at the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C., and a visiting scholar in the urban studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. 

One of Dr. Farber’s students said, “I took Paul’s Monument Lab class last semester, and it was one of the best learning experiences I’ve had, even though it was over Zoom.  I always left his classes feeling more energized and with many more ideas and important questions.” “Paul’s classroom, even virtually, is a place that cultivates warmth, creativity, and openness,” said another. “He leaves space for close listening and lively candor. His interpersonal skills paired with his research and experiences are invaluable and prescient. The intimacy in which he operates his classroom provides ground for sacred and fruitful interrogation into the human condition.” A third student said, “his knowledge and his critical work with issues of monuments, public space, and public art were inspiring, as was his sense of humor and ability to engage a group of people.” 

G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award for Standing Faculty

Erick Guerra is an associate professor and the associate chair of city and regional planning in the Weitzman School of Design, where he teaches courses in transportation planning and quantitative planning methods. His research focuses on the relationship between land use, transportation systems, and travel behavior with an emphasis on rapidly motorizing cities, public health outcomes, and transportation technologies. He has published articles on land use and transportation in Mexico and Indonesia, public transport policy, land use and traffic safety, and contemporary planning for self-driving vehicles. As a practicing researcher and consultant, Dr. Guerra has completed projects on accessibility and transportation affordability for the Brookings Institution, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He holds a PhD in city and regional planning from the University of California Berkeley, a master’s in urban planning from Harvard University, and a BA in fine arts and French from the University of Pennsylvania. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gabon from 2002 to 2004.

One of Dr. Guerra’s students said, “He teaches in an engaging manner and creates a learning environment in which students want to perform well.” Another said, “Erick serves as a great example of civility which makes not only an educator but also a role model.” “His courses inspire an atmosphere in which students want to perform well and impress,” said a third student.