Siobhán Byrns is a Full Professor of Art at the University of Lynchburg and teaches in the Westover Honors College.  

She will also be participating in an artist residency with the Burren College of Art in Co Clare, May 2024.

Siobhán is the 2024 Award recipient of the James A. Huston Award for Excellence in Scholarship. Established in 1979, this award is named for James A. Huston, a former dean. It is given annually to one or more members of the University of Lynchburg teaching faculty for making noteworthy scholarly contributions to their field(s).

She is also the 2024 Award recipient of the Shirley E. Rosser Award for Excellence in Teaching. Established during the 1988-89 academic year, the University of Lynchburg’s top teaching honor is presented each year to a member of the teaching faculty in recognition of personal and inspirational teaching, consistency of course preparation, current study in one’s field, and encouraging students to be active and lifelong learners.

The award is named for Dr. Shirley E. Rosser, a physics professor at Lynchburg for 45 years. A 1940 Lynchburg graduate, he was loved and respected by generations of students and faculty.

Siobhán maintains an active artistic career and has participated in numerous one-person and group exhibitions. Her current research stems from sustainable darkroom practices and alternative process techniques that focus on current social and political pressures on women and the environment.

She has recently closed a solo show, Signaling Theory in March 2024 at Riverviews Artspace, Virginia, but is working toward her solo show at the Daura Museum of Art, Anam Cara in March 2025.

Siobhán received her MFA in photography from the Art Institute of Chicago and received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, focusing both on traditional and time-based new media and photography.

While a graduate student, she was formally trained as a fine art restorationist and conservator in some of the country’s most prominent museums. In 2004, while working in the Museum of The Art Institute of Chicago, she assisted in the digital restoration of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.