Newly Filled Positions

All positions start January 1, 2017

• Laura Marotta – President
• Melissa Hayes – President-Elect
• Helen Downey – Treasurer
• Mary Geisser – Early Childhood Representative
• Billy Claire -Independent Schools Representative
• Sheila Tetler- Retired Representative
• Erin Sutton – Special Needs Representative
• Jessica Sassaman – Elementary Representative
• Carolann Tebbetts – Secondary Schools Representative
• Liz Rudnick Reiser – Awards Committee Chair
• Amy Briggs – Museum Representative

Open positions: NAHS, Higher Education, Pre-service, Exhibitions Committee Chair, Secretary.

Description of all positions are in the bylaws.

Dear MAEA Members,

It is with a heavy heart that I write to you this afternoon regarding the unfortunate passing of John Michael Gray.

As the founding father and committed member of MAEA for approximately 40 years, John Michael certainly wore many hats serving tirelessly as Treasurer, President, Conference Coordinator, and Exhibitions Director.

With his long time partner and husband, Timothy O’Connor, the “Hat Sisters” have made a substantial and lasting impact on the art education and LGBTQ community across the state. Their dedication to advocating on behalf of art education is truly unmatched.

For those of us who have been working with John Michael on the Board and through various projects over the years, we will certainly miss his positive, upbeat personality and wonderful calming demeanor. As our unofficial MAEA historian, we valued his insight, advice and guidance in all Board activities. Among his many legacies, John Michael and Tim O’Connor co-directed the Scholastic Art Awards celebrating the creative achievements of our students and provided professional development for our educators through directing the New England Art Education Conference for many years.

As we receive additional information regarding the arrangements and services we will be sure to forward along. If you have the means, please consider donating to the GoFundMe page set up by a family friend to assist with medical expenses – click here.

We are still planning to complete the book for both Tim and John Michael and will present it to Tim at an appropriate time. If you would like to submit a page for the book the deadline for receiving artwork has been extended to October 20. We have many ideas as to how we can best honor John Michael’s memory and commemorate the founding father of MAEA. If you have any ideas, please let us know as we are committed to honoring both John Michael and Tim in the future.

Our most sincere and heartfelt sympathies to his husband Timothy O’Connor and family.

With deep sympathy,

Kristi Oliver
MAEA President, on behalf of the MAEA Board of Directors

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The following MAEA Executive Board positions are currently open for a two-year appointment:

• President
• President-Elect
• Secretary

Please submit a letter of intent, resume/CV, short biography (250 word), and head shot for the election to secretary@massarted.com by October 1, 2016.

Elections for President, President-Elect, and Secretary will open October 15 through October 31 and will be held electronically.

For a description of responsibilities, please refer to the bylaws.

If you have any questions, please contact president@massarted.com

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Worcester public schools art educator Stacy Lord was accepted to the NASA SOFIA program. The rescheduled launch into the stratosphere is now scheduled for November 11 – 15.

Read the entire article – click here for the pdf.

You spoke, we listened…..

For the past two years, MAEA leadership has been hearing numerous comments about the direction of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. After gathering much information and discussing the matters at length, we have decided to send a letter to Dennis Inhulsen, NAEA President, and the NAEA Board of Directors asking them to assist us in advocating for changes to the awards program. We hope to convince the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers to restore the program back to its roots in art education while fostering honesty, integrity, and equality.

We are aware that the transition of state affiliates in MA has been a rocky one, however, we do believe the issues we have are not with the state affiliate, rather with the Alliance itself.

To read the letter and NAEA policy statements on contests please click below.

• Letter from MAEA
• NAEA Policy on Contests and Competitions
• NAEA Policy Statement on Involvement in Art Contests and Competitions for Students at the Secondary Level

All comments regarding the MAEA’s position on this matter can be sent to president@massarted.com