"Owning the Art Show: How to Conduct a Student-Lead Art Show" is a presentation style workshop where participants will learn how to plan, prepare, and present a school-wide art show that focuses on student ownership and accountability. In this workshop, teachers of every experience level will learn how to empower students to plan an art show that centers student voice and the school community. We will cover everything from how to encourage students to take on responsibilities related to curating and displaying art, to organizing, storing and displaying the art in a "Wow!" worthy way.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how child artists’ monster drawings can become the starting point for soft sculpture, social-emotional learning, cross-age collaboration, and community connection. Based on a project in which young students explored emotions through The Color Monster and created monster drawings that older students transformed into handmade plushies, participants will practice translating an “ish-style” drawing into a small felt plush object while considering both creative interpretation and responsibility to the original young artist. Participants will sketch or work from a sample monster design, create a simple pattern, begin sewing and stuffing a plushie, and discuss classroom adaptations; a $8–10 materials fee is requested to cover felt, stuffing, thread, needles, pattern paper, and embellishments.
How can we help students see deeper meaning and purpose in their artwork? Through examples from graphic design, photography, drawing and painting, and Fine Arts Seal implementation, participants will explore strategies for using reflection, storytelling, and portfolio development to help students connect creative work to personal interests, future goals, and real-world opportunities. The session includes student work analysis, reflection activities, and discussion.
Discover how a cross-school & zone partnership transformed imaginative kindergarten drawings into dynamic three-dimensional sculptures created by high school students, highlighting the power of process and vertical curricular alignment. Participants will explore the project’s development, view student work, and engage in a brief collaborative brainstorming activity to adapt the model for their own settings. (For this project, 60 student pieces of artwork were created in total: 20 drawings, 20 clay sculptures, and 20 written creature origin stories. One "exhibit" consists of three works, one 2D, one 3D, and one write-up. We will showcase multiple exhibits of the Collaborative Creatures project at our presentation.)
Ready to bring your walls to life? This workshop introduces teachers to mural basics, bold beginner friendly lettering, and the behind the scenes essentials like proposals, budgeting, and planning. Come sketch, experiment, and leave with creative ideas and real world tools you can use right away with your students or your own projects.
Elementary students are capable of extraordinary leadership, service, and artistic excellence when given meaningful opportunities to shine. This session shares the journey of piloting a new National Elementary Art Honor Society designed to recognize young artists while fostering creativity, citizenship, school pride, and community service. Workshop is presented by four NEAHS Pilot Program leaders from Georgia.
Get ready to celebrate the most wonderful, COLORFUL time of the year with fresh ideas and creative energy centered around this year’s YAM theme, “Your Community, Your Story.” Participants will enjoy a make-and-take lesson that’s designed to amplify student voice through meaningful connections. Discover fun, impactful ways to advocate for your art program while planning exciting, community-driven events that bring everyone together. Whether you're new to YAM or a seasoned pro, you’ll leave inspired and ready to create a vibrant, unforgettable celebration!
In this hands‑on workshop, participants will explore how Artsonia empowers students to make their mark through creative‑ish lessons, process‑focused documentation, and legacy‑building community projects. Attendees will engage in a guided Artsonia upload demo, design a mini lesson incorporating process documentation, and collaborate on a legacy‑project brainstorm. Participants should bring a mobile device or laptop; the presenter requires Wi‑Fi access, a projector, and one power outlet. No fees are required.
Freeform crochet is all about letting go of patterns and jumping into intuitive, creative making, and this workshop is the perfect place to try it. Beginners are absolutely welcome as you explore how to build shapes freely, mix stitches, play with texture, and create work that grows in unexpected and exciting ways. Come ready to experiment, relax into the process, and discover a style of crochet that feels expressive, personal, and fun.
Explore ideas and strategies for improving your program! Sometimes advocacy feels daunting, but you can build relationships and develop proposals to help you school program or any project you are working on. We will go over how to utilize recent laws and data dashboards to add validity to your ideas!
A strong presentation for teachers on how to publish articles, student work, and lesson ideas should be practical, inspiring, and give them immediate next steps. I am an experienced educator with published work in SchoolArts Magazine; my perspective could make this especially powerful.
Mentoring Matters will share practical teaching strategies, professional wisdom, and lots of creative service learning lessons learned throughout a career! Designed for teachers at every stage, this session celebrates the power of mentorship, collaboration, and lifelong growth in art education. And we’ll make stuff too!
The art room has always been where creativity, problem-solving, communication, and resilience are built. Now, more than ever, that work matters. In this session, you will hear a compelling, research-backed case for why visual art education belongs at the center of every school's future-ready investment, participate in an art-making experience, and leave equipped with a classroom-ready lesson and a strategy to activate parents as advocates for your program.
Fear is one of the most powerful forces working against creative growth — and art teachers are not immune. In this workshop, you will explore the nature of creative fear and walk away with a personal action plan for doing the one scary creative thing you’ve been putting off. Through honest conversation, practical frameworks, and a hands-on activity, you’ll leave with tools you can use yourself and bring straight back to your students. Participants: Please bring a journal or paper, a pen or pencil, and any art supplies that feel personal to your practice. A handout will be provided by the presenter.
Inspired by the work of Nick Cave, participants will explore how sculpture, sound, and personal expression can amplify student voice and help students make their mark. Attendees will learn about Cave's Sound Suits, examine classroom connections to identity and self-expression, and create a miniature Sound Suit sculpture using mixed-media materials while experiencing a lesson that can be adapted for a variety of grade levels.
Workshop activities include a brief artist introduction, discussion of student voice and artistic messaging, hands-on construction of a miniature Sound Suit sculpture, and sharing of student examples/ideas for classroom implementation. Requested room needs include tables, chairs, projector/screen, and access to electrical outlets. All materials will be provided. Participant fee: $10.
From censored exhibitions to public backlash, this session shares powerful classroom stories from around the world. Learn how to guide controversial student work with confidence, clarity, and care while centering responsibility and student safeguarding. Gain practical tools to support creative risk-taking while navigating cultural context, institutional expectations, and real-world consequences.
What happens when fine arts educators collaborate to reach students who may be disconnected from school and he arts? This presentation explores how k-12 art and music teachers can build partnerships that increase participation and retention and spark creativity in low-engagement student populations and communities.
Students scroll past images, ads, memes, AI-generated content, and misinformation every day, but many are less prepared to question what they see than they realize. This presentation shares classroom-based research and practical artmaking prompts that help students slow down, analyze online media, and visualize their own relationships with smartphones, social media, manipulation, anxiety, and trust. Participants will leave with adaptable strategies for using visual analysis, discussion, reflection, and artmaking to make critical media literacy feel relevant in the art room.
During the State of the Arts presentation, participants will learn about the GaDOE Fine Arts initiatives for K-12 Fine Arts including the new instructional resources available to all Georgia Arts teachers. These resources include curriculum maps, unit plans, example lesson plans, instructional videos, and assessments all housed on the GaDOE Inspire platform.
Discover how to spark a creative movement in your community by launching a highly successful, county-wide summer art camp. This interactive workshop provides a step-by-step roadmap for camp logistics, innovative visual arts fundraising strategies, and impactful grassroots advocacy tools. Attendees will walk away with a ready-to-use playbook to secure funding, mobilize volunteers, and keep visual arts education thriving both inside and outside your school district lines.
This presentation will share the story of a schoolwide mural collaboration that brought together student voice, community partnership, and public art through a partnership with Paint Love, engaging more than 600 students in grades 1–5. Participants will learn how our student art club helped shape the mural design process, how community collaboration led to the city adopting the mural as an official student-created public artwork, and how Paint Love’s resources and partnership supported the experience. Whether joined by Paint Love representatives or through shared tools and materials, attendees will leave with practical ideas and resources for creating meaningful, student-centered mural projects in their own schools and communities.
A middle school visual art teacher and an elementary school media specialist discuss ways to foster a love for the planet for the next generation of students in K-8. We will share lesson ideas on scientific illustration, earthworks, recycled art, etc. In addition, we will share how to start a birding club at your local school to help students get outside and learn to appreciate our connection to nature and how to preserve this connection. An art activity will also be provided featuring grid drawing and watercolor painting of birds based on the work of John James Audubon. No fee, sinks would be helpful but not absolutely required, projector to connect to chromebook for presentation.
Literacy in the visual arts classroom empowers students to interpret, analyze, and communicate meaning through both images and words, strengthening critical thinking and creative expression. In a hands-on experience like Japanese stab-bound bookmaking, students naturally integrate reading, writing, and visual storytelling as they design pages that convey personal or cultural narratives. This blend of visual and textual literacy deepens engagement, making artmaking a powerful tool for comprehension, reflection, and authentic communication. All materials for creating the Japanese stab-bound book will be provided—just bring your creativity and an open mind to incorporating literacy in the art room.
