Category: News

Attend the MAEA Conference for Free Call for Session Proposals – Deadline July 31

The call for conference session proposals is now open.

We are looking for a variety of sessions for our 2 day conference held in Beverly, MA on November 9-10, 2024. Please consider submitting a proposal for a Best Practice Lecture, Demonstration, Research Lecture, Interactive Discussion, Studio Workshop, or other type of session offering not listed here. All presenters selected to present at the 2024 MAEA conference will receive complimentary tickets to attend the conference. We encourage new presenters! The deadline for session proposals is July 31, 2024.

More presenter information can be found on the session proposal form, linked here.

  • Best Practice Lecture – Presentation of exemplary lessons, instructional practices, programs, and/or initiatives followed by Q&A.
  • Demonstration – Presenter demonstration of an artistic technique, arts-based method, or pedagogical approach.
  • Research Lecture – Presentation of academic papers and/or discussion of research.
  • Interactive Discussion – Participatory discussion about art education issues/topics among presenter and attendees.
  • Studio Workshop – Studio art-making session.

MAEA Museum Meetup: Worcester Art Museum, July 19

Join us for a summer MAEA Museum Meetup! Teachers will meet up at the Worcester Art Museum, exploring their collection and exhibitions, the latter including:
Jakob Fioole: The Sally Bishop Prize (through September 1)
John Vo /Central Massachusetts Artist Initiative (through November 3)

Advance registration required. Space is limited. Cost: FREE
When:
Friday, July 19, 2024, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Where:
Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury Street Worcester, MA
Cost:
Free
Register here! 

Call for Articles – MAEA News

The deadline for the conference edition of the MAEA News is February 3, 2023.
Share your take aways or what you presented on from the 2022 MAEA conference; or what you are looking forward to at the 2023 NAEA Convention in April.
If you are interested in contributing an article, check out submission guidelines here. Be sure to email editor@massarted.com to submit your article or to discuss article ideas. Please remember to include a signed Artwork Release form and a Photo Release form, as needed.

Check out the most recent edition of the MAEA News.

Vote to Elect Elizabeth Buck as Treasurer

We are happy to share that Elizabeth has expressed interest in the role of Treasurer. While Elizabeth is running unopposed, please take a moment to cast your vote in support. You will find the ballot in an email that was sent to MAEA member emails on December 15 from info@massarted.com. The deadline to cast your vote is January 4, 2023.

Below you can read her full bio as well as what additional positions we are currently looking to fill on the MAEA Board of Directors.

Artist-educator Elizabeth Buck has taught art since 2004 to youth and adults in many non-profits, schools, and museums throughout central Massachusetts. As an educator, Elizabeth helps others learn to enjoy their creativity and successfully express their thoughts, experiences, and emotions through art. As a program manager at the Worcester Art Museum, she concentrates on providing enjoyable, high-quality art experiences for visitors and students, supporting her staff, and helping to highlight artists in the community.

The MAEA board is filled by MAEA members just like you. Consider giving back to your state association in the role of an official board position.
We have a number of positions open for a full or partial term. If you are interested or want more information, please reach out to secretary@massarted.com!
  • Elementary Division Director – Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2024
  • Secondary Division Director – Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2024
  • Higher Education Division Director – Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2024
  • Supervision/Administration Division Director – Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2024
  • Awards Committee Chair – Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2024
  • Webmaster (non-voting) – Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2024
  • Retired Representative – Now – Dec 31, 2023
  • Community Arts Representative – Now – Dec 31, 2023
  • Exhibitions Committee Chair – Now – Dec 31, 2023
  • Advocacy Liaison – Now – Dec 31, 2023
  • Publications Editor – Now – Dec 31, 2023
More information about any of the other the positions above can be found here. If you are interested in any of these positions please submit a resume or CV and a letter or email of intent to secretary@massarted.com.

October Watch Party Discussion

The October Watch Party Discussion theme is PD = Personal Development: Reflecting on Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion. Don’t miss this great opportunity to connect with colleagues across the state for an engaging discussion. The session will be facilitated by MAEA ED&I Director-Elect Emily Moran and MAEA Secretary Jaimee Taborda.  Find more info & register!

The MAEA Watch Party Discussion Series are ten companion discussions to the monthly NAEA webinars, facilitated by MAEA leaders, members, and selected guests who bring their unique experiences to each month’s topic. Watching the NAEA webinars is not a prerequisite, however doing so will enhance attendees’ general knowledge of the topic. For the 2021 – 2022 Watch Party series, MAEA facilitators will engage participants in open conversation, share helpful resources, and promote a supportive space for all to join in. These discussions will relate back to the theme of the NAEA webinars, but will include stand alone content so that they are not exactly the same.

The companion NAEA webinar is October 6.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force Update

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force is happy to share that we have completed the work of drafting our ED&I Task Force recommendations. These recommendations were approved by the MAEA Board of Directors at the July board meeting.

The ED&I Task Force based these recommendations on the recommendations shared by NAEA and revised to fit the needs of MAEA. We would like to note that the ED&I Task Force considers this list of recommendations a living document that will evolve as the ED&I Committee works to execute on these recommendations, under the leadership of our new ED&I Director-Elect, Emily Moran.

In Memoriam: Dr. Ruth Starratt

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”   

                                              – Albert Pike [19th century American author]

As we move through this journey of life we encounter many different people and in so doing recognize that each and every life is unique. The time that the living essence of a being graces this world, and often for those of us who are fortunate to have had contact with the living essence of the person we are often forever changed and our lives thereby enriched by this experience.  

Art Education has lost a beloved colleague and longtime teacher, scholar, and artist and we are profoundly saddened at the death of Dr. Ruth Starratt, who passed away suddenly on March 12, 2021. 

Prior to her retirement Dr. Ruth, as those of us who knew her often called her, taught at Boston University, and was especially influential in the lives of her students. While many will remember Dr. Ruth for her artistic spirit and talent and for how she enriched the lives of all she touched with not only her artistic flare but also her intellectual curiosity, she, undoubtedly, will be best remembered as the engaging and wonderfully supportive art educator that she was. Dr. Ruth has without question left an indelible mark on the students that she taught and supervised as well as all of those who had the great, good fortune to have known her.

Dr. Ruth was a self-starter and had an infectious passion for learning, which she in turn imparted to her students. Learning was for her an essential part of life, and she encouraged her students, friends, and family members to pursue advanced degrees. Her characteristic drive is apparent in the fact that she received her Ed.M in Art and Education in 1981 from Columbia University, and one year later in 1982 had attained her Ed.D in Art and Education from the same institution with concentrations in the Art of Oceania and Art Education. Additionally, she held an MFA from Southern Connecticut State College with a concentration in painting, drawing, and printmaking, and her undergraduate degree was from the University of Bridgeport in Art and English Literature.

Dr. Ruth worked as an art teacher for nearly thirty years before becoming a full-time Lecturer at Boston University in 1998 until her retirement in 2017. Her professional affiliations were many including a membership in the Massachusetts Art Education Association for many years as well as memberships in the American Educational Research Association, Delta Kappa Gamma (Honorary Society for Women Educators), and a lifetime membership in the American Society of Botanical Artists. However, her longest professional affiliation, one of over fifty years, was with the National Art Education Association, in which she was extremely active, especially in the Women’s Caucus and held a lifetime membership in it. She served as an NAEA Elected National Assembly Delegate from 2000 to the present. She and her husband Jerry (Dr. J. Starratt, who previously served as a professor of Educational Administration at Boston College, and whose death sadly followed hers by a month) were permanent fixtures at the annual NAEA Conventions for years, and for those of us who had the good fortune to socialize and meet with them over food or a beverage were always in for stimulating, informative, and enlightening conversation that might go on for hours on end. Sharing the rarified air with these two incredible human beings was not only an uplifting experience but also a transformative one.  

Dr. Ruth’s artistic and academic undertakings were manifold such as the research monograph on the papier-mache teaching models of Louis Auzoux that she was commissioned to write by Wellesley College a number of years ago.  Her trip to Zambia and Botswana to continue her research in pre-history art and the petroglyphs produced by the early peoples of these countries. This work was part of ongoing research that she had begun many years ago at Columbia University. She delivered papers and seminars in Europe in numerous countries by invitation as part of her on-going work with national and international educators over the past thirty-five years. Her exquisite and delicate botanical paintings have graced many botanical exhibitions over the years, and are in the collections of close friends and family as well.

The sorrow that many of us feel for the loss of this dynamic force of nature is lessened only slightly with the comforting thought that we had the privilege to have known her, and experience her vitality and “joie de vivre”, which will live on in the many lives that she touched.

If you would like to create a paper crane in Ruth’s honor you can send one to Stacey Piwinski is collecting them. Please fold a paper crane and attach a fond memory or story. Mail them to Cranes for Ruth, P.O. Box # 560036, Medford, MA 02165.

If you have additional images you would like to share of Dr. Ruth Starratt, please send them to webmaster@massarted.com

Join the Board – Open Positions – Join a Committee

We are looking to fill the positions of National Art Honor Society Representative, Retired Representative, Preservice Division Director, Awards Committee Chair, Exhibitions Committee Chair, and Webmaster.
The MAEA Board of Directors holds monthly meetings online via Zoom which make it accessible for members across the state. Interested candidates should submit their resume or CV/letter of intent to secretary@massarted.comLearn more here.
Interested in becoming more involved, but aren’t ready to take the plunge into an official board position? Consider joining one of our active committees like awardsconference, youth art monthpublic relationsstudent recognitionsexhibitions, or professional development. Committees typically meet monthly via Zoom.
MAEA Recognitions Exhibit Logo

2021 MAEA Recognitions Exhibit Now Accepting Submissions

Registration for the 2021 Online Massachusetts Amazing Emerging Artists (MAEA) Recognitions Juried Exhibit is now LIVE! Each teacher can submit up to 5 student entries (1 entry per student) on ArtCall. The submission deadline is Friday, January 15, 2021. Visit the MAEA Recognitions exhibit page for everything you need to know.

More about the exhibit: Piloted in 2018, the Massachusetts Amazing Emerging Artist Recognition Exhibit is a juried show for students of Massachusetts Art Education Association (MAEA) members in grades 9-12.  This exhibition has been very successful with participation growing annually.  Student entries are submitted digitally and judged by a panel of art educators. Selected works were exhibited at the State Transportation Building in Boston.