Southeastern Region Column: Feb/Mar 2022

The columns for this issue of NAEA News were written prior to the 2022 National Convention. As such, you may find information about Convention sessions and references to past occurrences in the future tense.

What a fantastic start to the school year. With a sense of normality returning, our schools were back in face-to-face mode. State organizations also moved forward with hosting their fall conferences. It was wonderful seeing members able to reconnect with one another after almost 2 years of cancelled in-person events.

State organizations implemented a schedule of many incredible speakers, sessions, and hands-on activities that were showcased within their conferences. Here are some of the highlights from each of our Southeastern Region states:

Alabama:
AAEA’s conference was hosted November 12–13 at Spring Hill College in Mobile. The theme, “Illuminate, Ignite, Excite!,” was chosen with the purpose to reengage and reignite our passion as art educators. The conference primary guest speaker and presenter was SE Region/TAEA art educator, Cassie Stephens. Other guest speakers included Ardith Goodwin and Nancy Raia.

Florida:
FAEA’s conference was hosted October 14–17 at the Caribe Royale in Orlando. This year’s theme was “Reunite, Reconnect, Recharge.” The conference keynote speaker was public artist Hamilton Glass. With every opportunity Glass is given to create, he tries to convey a message that connects his art to the community. In 2020, Glass founded two large projects, Mending Walls and All In Together, which were created to address the civil unrest and pandemic raging in our country. This was a way for Glass to process current events, and share that opportunity for expression with others through art.

Georgia:
GAEA’s fall virtual conference was hosted on November 6. GAEA has scheduled an exciting spring conference for March 10–13, 2022, on Tybee Island.

Kentucky:
KYAEA’s conference was hosted on October 22 (hybrid) and October 23 in four of their regions for in-person, small-group sessions. This year’s theme was “Reignite the Light.”

Louisiana:
LAEA’s conference was hosted on January 15 in Alexandria at the Alexandria Museum of Art. This year’s theme was “Wig Out!”

Mississippi:
MAEA’s conference was hosted November 11–13 in Jackson. This year’s theme was “Schoolyards & Beyond: Bringing Hope.” The conference keynote speaker was Mississippi artist H. C. Porter, who depicts people in ordinary settings. Her mixed-media paintings begin as black-and-white portraits of her neighbors. She has been creating these portraits since 1987. Using a printing technique called serigraphy, Porter screens her photographs onto paper and begins painting. It is an unusual process, but it’s one that reflects a way of life.

North Carolina:
NCAEA’s conference was hosted October 22–24 in Winston-Salem. The conference keynote speaker was Browning M. Neddeau, Chair of NAEA’s ED&I Commission. Neddeau has three lines of research under the larger umbrella of student engagement: art education, Native American culturally appropriate representation in schools, and agricultural education. He explores issues, challenges, and misconceptions of content integrity and draws connections between the lines for interdisciplinary studies in education.

South Carolina:
SCAEA’s conference was hosted November 12–14 in Greenville. The conference theme was “Courageous Creativity.” The conference keynote speaker was Natalie Daise, who is a writer, actor, educator, and internationally renowned television performer who presents about creativity, faith, and Gullah heritage at museums, theaters, conferences, and educational institutions across the country.

Tennessee:
TAEA hosted a 2-day virtual conference (October 29 and 30) and an in-person component (November 6) in regions. The conference’s keynote speaker was illustrator Gordon C. James. James is the award-winning illustrator of Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, written by Derrick Barnes, for which he received the Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor, and Ezra Jack Keats Honor awards, among others.

Virginia:
VAEA’s conference was hosted October 14–16 in Virginia Beach. This year’s theme was “Shape of Memory.” The conference keynote speaker was Ehren Tool. Tool is a ceramic artist and senior laboratory mechanician at the ceramics department at University of California, Berkeley, and a Marine veteran of the 1991 Gulf War. He focuses primarily on cups. Tool creates works that are graphic in nature, and as he states, “I think we as a country and as humans should look at what is actually going on.… I would like my work to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the world. That is a lot to ask of a cup.”

As the NAEA National Convention in New York City approaches, we are excited about all of the sessions and opportunities for our Southeastern Region participants, both in person and virtually, and celebrating together as a group our State Art Educators of the Year.

Catherine Campbell, Regional Vice President
Curriculum Facilitator/Visual Arts Educator. Tel: 803-699-2750, ext. 72117.
Email: ccampbel@richland2.org

Elect:
Cheryl Maney, PreK–12 Visual Arts Curriculum Supervisor, Charlotte, NC. Tel: 704-533-1913. Email: cherylmaney@gmail.com