Juana Meneses is an artist educator who is passionate about making artists’ books, drawing every day, keeping a sketchbook, and the crossover between science and art. Her artistic practice involves collecting natural objects and collage elements, researching her surroundings, making zines, and producing editioned artists’ books. 

Juana has over 15 years of experience teaching studio art and art history courses in various settings such as museums, art centers, high schools, and higher education. She lives in Miami, where she is an academic advisor and assistant professor for AOEU. When she is not teaching and making art, she loves to travel with her family and ride her bike around tropical Miami, FL.

Walk in the park, explore your surroundings, your home, and gather visual elements that define a place. You will see examples of zines that do just that. You will walk away with lists of actions you can take, maps you can make, and a quick demo on how to put it all together. 

We will use all of these visual clues and fragments to make a zine that stores your observations, drawings, and prints in a fun interactive format. These zines can be one-of-a-kind gems or multiples that can be exchanged with other artists, teachers, and students. Bring your supplies—anything with which you can make a mark and start a zine!

Candido Crespo is a husband, father, artist, and art educator. He has taught in the Central Islip Union Free School District in Central Islip, N.Y. for 14 years. He is a firm believer that art teachers are at their best when they not only teach others but create for themselves.

NFTs are all the buzz online and in the art world, and the idea of NFTs is starting to make its way into educational spaces as well. But what do art teachers need to know about the digital art marketplace? Join Candido as he explores the world of NFTs with artists, sellers, and buyers, telling you what you need to know and what might be worth exploring with your students.

Mercedes Faunde is a high school fine arts teacher, a Fulbright Fellow, and a teacher advisor for the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler National Museum of Asian Art.  She promotes multiculturalism and arts integration in ways that honor cultural ownership. When she is not teaching art, Mercedes loves to wander the world, chatting with people at markets, and experiencing the world’s art treasures in situ.

Lena Rodriguez is the High School Painting and Drawing Director at the Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy in Grand Prairie, Texas. Her teaching focuses on creating a positive culture within her studio, conducive to exploration and conceptualism.

Assessment can play a critical role in students’ learning and understanding with the myriad topics we cover in the art room. But how can art teachers create effective and meaningful assessments that will benefit their students? Join Lena Rodriguez as she shares tips and tricks for improving your assessment practices, no matter the level you teach.

Khadesia Latimer is an elementary art teacher at both Wright Elementary School and Belton Elementary School in South Carolina. Her career as an art teacher allows for a creative outlet to experiment with creating new lessons, classroom management strategies, and techniques for skill-building. More importantly, she loves teaching art because it also allows her to share my love of art-making (and messes) with the students who come into her classroom.

Procreate is an effective app for digital armaking, used by teachers all over the country (and the world!). In this presentation, Khadesia will share some of her favorite lessons that you can use to get your students creating digitally. She will also share strategies for helping students deepen their knowledge and skills in the digital artmaking space.

If you’re getting bored doing the same projects over and over again with the same materials, using the medium of fibers can be a great way to build foundational skills with students while also infusing variety into the materials and techniques that they are exposed to. In this presentation you will learn how to take a standard unit–portraiture–and combine it with a fabric collaging technique that will be sure to excite both you and your students to create amazing art. Alanna will share introductory skill building techniques that lead to a final project so you can effectively scaffold the learning. 

Kyle Robertson is a husband, father, educator, artist, designer, entrepreneur, and overall creative. Kyle holds a BFA in Studio Art, MAT in Art Education, and is in the process of completing his MFA in Media Design. He has a desire to see people navigate their creative abilities, which is why the motto for his business is to “Build, Employ, and Empower.”

Amy Neiwirth is a visual artist & art educator living and working in Columbus, Ohio. In August 2021, Amy began a new adventure as the 4th & 5th grade art teacher at New Albany Intermediate School in the New Albany-Plain Local School District, after 15 years of teaching K-12 art at Columbus Torah Academy, an independent Jewish day school.

Amy earned both her BFA (Painting & Drawing) and MA (Art Education) from The Ohio State University. When not in the classroom, she enjoys painting, creating handmade polymer clay jewelry, cooking, and attempting to be a plant lady.

The search for a new teaching position and the prospect of starting fresh can be daunting and stressful! Join Amy to explore some practical tips and important lessons she’s learned through her job search process and taking on a teaching role at a new-to-her school.

Chelsea Whittington is a former art teacher turned grad student who is studying Arts in Health. After struggling through burnout, Chelsea felt it was important to be a resource for teachers. She is deeply interested in the intersection of art and mental wellbeing, and hopes to provide tangible action items you can use in or out of the classroom.