Call for Awards Nominations – Deadline May 1

Here is your chance to celebrate your outstanding colleagues and nominate them for the 2021 MAEA Art Educator Awards. MAEA will honor the award recipients at the 2020 MAEA Conference in November. The submission deadline is May 1, 2020.

Don’t forget you can also toot your own horn and ask your administration to nominate you for an award!

There are over 15 different MAEA Awards – Click here for more information and to submit a nomination.

Funding, Job Listings, Summer Programs – Opportunities

You will find many new opportunities highlighted on the MAEA website for both students and teachers. Be sure to visit the opportunities tab for funding opportunities, job listings, student contests, and summer programs for students and teachers.

One opportunity we think you won’t want to miss is the Snow Farm Art Retreat for Educators in late June. Snow Farm shares that it’s “Art camp for grown-ups”. Snow Farm is a DESE PDP provider, so you can also apply for PDPs if you attend the art retreat. More info.

Secondary art educators – Snow Farm also has a summer program for students age 14-18. Studios include ceramics, drawing & painting, glass blowing and many more. If a student of yours in a Scholastic gold or silver key winner with financial need, they can apply for a full summer scholarship. The deadline for scholarship is March 15.

Upcoming Exhibit Opportunities – Celebrating the Drawing Act

MAEA is happy to partner with the Massachusetts Cultural Council, MassCreative, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Massachusetts Legislature to bring you two exhibit opportunities to celebrate the 150 anniversary of the Drawing Act of 1870.

150 years ago, on May 16, 1870, Massachusetts passed An Act relating to free instruction in drawing, which has become known as the Drawing Act of 1870. This was the first law in the nation requiring drawing to be taught in public schools and communities, passed by our own Massachusetts legislature!

More information will be coming soon for both exhibit opportunities. Be on the look out for details for the MAEA sponsored drawing exhibit at our 2nd floor atrium gallery at the State Transportation Building in Boston going up late April, as well as the exhibit Drawing Act 150 sponsored by the Drawing Act Coalition, which will be on display at the Massachusetts State House.

Join us at the Youth Art Month Family Day Celebration – March 1

We are looking forward to celebrating all the amazing artists with work in the juried MAEA Recognitions exhibit and the Statewide Youth Art Month exhibit on March 1, 2020 from 12:00 – 4:00 pm.

The exhibits are on view Now – March 26, 2020 at the State Transportation Building, Second Floor Atrium Gallery, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA. If you are planning to join us at this event, please RSVP today!

Congratulations to the 2020 Youth Art Month Flag Contest winners, including the Grand Prize winner Haylee Wagner from Shepherd Hill Regional High School. See all the winning designs and honorable mentions here.

We are also looking for volunteers to help take down the exhibit on March 28. Sign up to volunteer today!

President’s Choice Award Winners

Congratulations  to the President’s Choice Award winners, whose work will be on display at the National Art Education Association Youth Art Month exhibit in Minneapolis, MN.

These students will be honored at the 2020 Youth Art Month Awards Ceremony on March 1 at 12:30 pm. Learn more.

Hiba Khan, Gr 11
Timeless Progression, Drawing
Groton-Dunstable Regional High School, Teacher: Rebecca Kostich

Justin Freeland, Gr 12
Commitment to Excellence, Photography
Oxford High School, Teacher: Evelyn Mwenye

Francisco Navarrete Granados, Gr 5
Stacked City, Drawing
Beachmont Elementary School, Revere, Teacher: Shaun Harris

Samuel Brooks, Gr 8
The Crying Shadow, Photography
Wayland Middle School, Teacher: Pete Curran

Avery Conine, Gr 1
John Breather, Painting
J.W. Killam Elementary School, Reading, Teacher: Amy Hussey

Benjamin Garcia, Gr 2
Ben, Drawing
The Oliver Partnership School, Lawrence, Teacher: Leslie Quinlan

Snow Farm – Art Retreat for Educators, June 26 – 30

When the last bell rings, head to Snow Farm for art camp!  Educators have the hardest (and most important) job, so after months of tending to the creative lives of others, turn the tables and tend to yourself.

Choose one workshop and sink into 3 full days of learning and making.  Let us take care of all the planning and meals. Enjoy the lightening bugs at dusk and a bonfire at night (with smores, of course). Inspire yourself in the company of other educators and your next year will be inspired, too.

Educators include anyone who teaches or works in a public or private school, in higher ed, or in a community art setting. Snow Farm is a MA approved Professional Development Provider. Most states offer reciprocity. To apply for PDP, contact maryjo@snowfarm-art.org. Learn more here. 

Build Your Studio Practice at Montserrat from June 28 – July 3

Montserrat’s Wildly Popular Summer Program Designed for Art Educators is Back!

Montserrat’s Art Educator Summer Institute is a week-long residential summer program (June 28 – July 3) created for art educators teaching grades K through 12, and community college art educators. Our Summer Institute immerses art educators from across the country in our state-of-the-art studio spaces to focus on developing their own practice and build new skills that they can bring back to their classrooms.

Participants will spend the week living on Montserrat’s idyllic seaside campus, which is located in the vibrant downtown Arts District of Beverly, MA — just five train stops from Boston. Art educators will have access to an open studio space throughout the duration of the program.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Participants will engage in two workshops each day, taught by Montserrat’s faculty of professional artists and scholars. Workshop choices include:

Life Drawing
Digital Photo
Landscape Painting/Drawing
Printmaking
Creative Drawing
Warm Glass
Digital Illustration

A broad array of optional evening activities range from excursions to local museums and galleries, to local outings with members of the Montserrat community to experience all that our city has to offer. Come spend a week building meaningful connections with fellow art educators and pushing the boundaries of your own studio practice!

Learn more here, or e-mail admissions@montserrat.edu or call us at 978-921-4242 ext. 1153.

Congratulations to the 2020 Youth Art Month Flag Contest Winners

Grand Prize Winner: Haylee Wagner, Grade 12, Shepherd Hill Regional High School

We are excited to announce the 2020 Massachusetts Youth Art Month Flag, as well as all of our honorable mentions. Thanks to Sargent Art for sponsoring the 2020 Youth Art Month Flag Contest. 

Grand Prize Winner
Haylee Wagner, Grade 12, Shepherd Hill Regional High School, Dudley – Teacher: Stephanie Lashua
Elementary Winner
Manjula Viswalingam, Grade 4, Martha Jones Elementary School, Westwood – Teacher: Maggie Pasquan
Middle School Winner
Carla Miranda, Grade 7, Quinn Middle School, Hudson – Teacher: Diane Hoff
High School Winner
Jesslyn Croteau, Grade 12, Shepherd Hill Regional High School, Dudley – Teacher: Stephanie Lashua

Click through to see images of all the winners as well as the honorable mention winners for each grade. 

Join the Board!

We are always looking to welcome MAEA members to the Board of Directors and Committees. All board meetings and committee meetings have the option to meet virtually, so we welcome members from across the state!

We have the following positions open for a partial or full term:

  • Museum Education Division Director – Now – December 31, 2020
  • Middle Level Division Director – Now – December 31, 2020
  • Retired Representative – Now – December 31, 2021
  • Awards Committee Chair – Now – December 31, 2020
  • Exhibitions Committee Chair – Now – December 31, 2021

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 awardsyouth art monthpublic relationsstudent recognitions, or exhibitions .

For additional information about responsibilities and descriptions please refer to the MAEA Bylaws, Article III: Directors and Representatives .

Questions? Please contact Melissa Mastrolia at president@massarted.com.

2020 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest

Entries Due March 1, 2020

Elementary, middle and high school teachers and their students are encouraged to participate in the 2020 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest, an integral part of the 15th annual Endangered Species Day, celebrated on and around May 15, 2020. 

Started in 2006 by the United States Congress, Endangered Species Day is a celebration of the nation’s wildlife and wild places.  The Youth Art Contest provides K-12 students residing in the U.S. with an opportunity to learn about endangered animal and plant species and express their knowledge and support through artwork. Young artists who are home schooled and participate in youth groups are also eligible to submit their art. More than 1,300 young artists from throughout the country entered the 2019 contest. 

Saving Endangered Species Youth Art contest entries should depict a land or ocean-dwelling species that either lives in or migrates through the United States and its waters and has been placed on the threatened/endangered species list.  Artwork must be submitted electronically by March 1, 2020.

A prestigious panel of artists, photographers and conservationists will judge the artwork. Winners will be chosen in four categories: K-Grade 2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8 and Grades 9-12, and will receive plaques and art supply gift packs (from Chartpak Inc.). In addition, one grand prize winner will be honored at a reception in Washington, D.C. in May 2020 and also receive a special art lesson from a professional artist.

The Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest is organized by the Endangered Species Coalition.

Visit www.endangeredspeciesday.org for more information, including complete contest guidelines, submission details, an art lesson plan, and the 2019 contest winners’ and semi-finalists’ artwork. If you have any questions, contact David Robinson (Endangered Species Day Director): drobinson@endangered.org