January 2007

Happy New Year, everyone! Hopefully, you are happy to be back at work after a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

Conference 2006

I would like to present a number of highlights from the annual Conference, which took place at the end of November in Winnipeg. Fears of traveling challenges due to weather and of enduring the cold that would inevitably greet us in Winnipeg were unfounded as we were given a sunny weekend with reasonably warm temperatures and only a skiff of snow. 

The first thing I would like to say about this conference is a big thank you to the planning committee of the MAAE. Karen Geist, current President of MAAE and her committee members were wonderful to work with. Being extremely organized and being prepared well in advance describe their way of working. It was a pleasure partnering with Manitoba for this conference, and we greatly appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with these fine art educators. Thank you, Manitoba!

For those of you who were not able to attend the conference, a few highlights will give you some idea of the conference content. The kick off event, Artropolis, was an opportunity to do what is always appealing to educators, get together and talk. While catching up with known friends and meeting new people, we were also able to see what was new in art materials and resources.

Keynote speaker, George Littlechild, gave a strong start to the next day. It was a delight to see his latest artwork. The next two days were filled with a variety of topics and presenters, and an opportunity to enjoy the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

The highlight of Saturday was the CSEA Luncheon, at which awards were presented and the Gaitskell Address was given by jan jagodinski from the University of Alberta in Education. We were very pleased to have jan give this address, as he met our every expectation with a provocative talk. Hopefully, you will have a chance to read that address at some time.

2006 Canadian Art Educator of the Year – Rita Irwin

The major new feature of the CSEA Luncheon was the presentation of our new award, “The Canadian Art Educator of the Year” sponsored by Sax Canada – SpecialtySchool. Dr. Rita Irwin from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC was the deserving, first recipient of this award. Rita has served the CSEA in many capacities, including President, Past President and Honourary President, for about 17 years! In addition, her contributions to art education have been abundant and strong at many levels, provincial, national and international. It would be impossible to list all of Rita’s accomplishments here, but I would like to refer to several qualities that are part of her success. Rita generously supports and promotes those around her, thereby encouraging others to succeed. Rita is competent in all her work, and is sincere as she dedicates so much time and creativity to art education. There was no doubt that Rita was the appropriate first recipient of this award. Congratulations, Rita Irwin!

In following messages, I will give you some additional information about the other award winners who were honoured at the conference, as well as look ahead to some of the exciting things the CSEA is working on.

Conference 2007

Just a brief tid-bit at this time, next year’s Conference will be held in Toronto, Ontario on October 19, 20. More on that later….

Provincial News

If you have any news about art education in your province that could be highlighted here, please contact me with the details. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you everyone, have a good month.

Sharon McCoubrey
CSEA President

May 2007

I have recently returned after being in Australia for several months, so there is much to catch-up on, which I will try to do through several messages in the next short while. While in Australia, I was able to meet with several people involved in their national art education association, and to hear about their issues and work. It is always reassuring to know that similar aims and issues are common elsewhere as well as at home. I would be happy to show my 200+ pictures of art in Australia to anyone brave enough to watch!

Conference 2007

It is time to look ahead to our next CSEA Conference, which will be held on October 19, 20, 2007 at York University in Toronto in partnership with the Ontario Society for Education through Art, and with the Fine Arts department at York University. The title of the conference, “Synergies” is certainly appropriate for a collaboratively planned conference.

Mark your calendars and reserve your professional development funds so you will be able to join us for this great conference. Partnering with a provincial organization each year results in a slightly different content and tone for the conference. Let’s meet in Toronto and experience a conference in Ontario style. Look for more details in the next few weeks regarding registration, hotels, special features, and more.

Call for Papers

Click here for the Call for Papers/Workshops for the Synergies Conference in Toronto. As you can see, the sessions are of two lengths, one and one-half hours or three hours. I encourage you to share your ideas about art education by giving a presentation at this conference.

The timelines are very tight for this call. Please forward your email proposal to me by May 31st. The timelines are tight because the planning committee was challenged to secure a location in Toronto. After negotiating with several institutions, an agreement was finally reached with York University. The dates of the conference, and other details, were dependent on the location. We do apologize for giving only two weeks to prepare your proposal, however we trust that will be sufficient time. Please forward your proposals to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Provincial News

If you have any news about art education in your province that could be highlighted here, please contact me with the details. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you everyone, have a good month.

Sharon McCoubrey
CSEA President

March 2007

During my last message, I gave a few highlights from the 2006 Conference held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and congratulated Dr. Rita Irwin on being the first recipient of the newly established CSEA/Sax Canada award, the Canadian Art Educator of the Year Award. At this time, I would like to congratulate the provincial affiliate award winners, all of whom were at the conference to receive their awards in person. The following highlights are very brief summaries of their many contributions to art education. Congratulations to these four award winners!

Wendy Long: British Columbia CSEA Affiliate Award Winner

Wendy is a high school art and media teacher in White Rock/Surrey, BC. She has been active in the BC Student Film Festival, served on the BCATA Executive in many capacities including President, has written curriculum for the Ministry of Education, has planned a Conference, and continues to be a leader in her school district. Wendy has an energetic approach to her teaching and a passion for art that capture her students and lead to their successes.

Carol MacDonnell: Alberta CSEA Affiliate Award Winner

Carol has recently retired from many years of work in art education, mainly as an instructor at the University of Calgary, but also at several art galleries, several different universities, and elementary school. She has been recognized for her excellent teaching. Carol has been editor of the CSEA Journal, and is known for her effective work with the Reggio Emilia approach to education. We wish Carol all the best in her retirement.

Cheryl Zubrack: Manitoba CSEA Affiliate Award Winner

Cheryl is a well-known art teacher and leader in Manitoba. She has taught in many contexts, including the University of Manitoba Faculty of Education. She is currently the Art Consultant, teacher support for the Winnipeg School Division. Cheryl has held many leadership roles within art education, many with the Manitoba Association for Art Education, including being President and being newsletter and journal editor.

Mary Intven-Wallace: Ontario CSEA Affiliate Award Winner

Mary is an art teacher for the London District, and program developer and instructor with Museum London, as well as part-time faculty at the University of Western Ontario. She is been recognized as an excellent art teacher. She is supportive of new teachers and is active in beginning teacher mentorship programs. Mary is well known as the illustrator and author of many books, often created after spending time in the far north. She is an active artist, having had many group and solo exhibitions.

Provincial Affiliate Awards

Is there someone in your province who is making a significant contribution to art education, and who deserves to be recognized for that work? This is a reminder that the CSEA has an award for each Province. The nomination forms, timelines and requirements are on the website, and the awards are presented at the fall Conference.

CSEA Publications

We can be proud of our two main print publications, the Canadian Art Teacher or CAT, and the Canadian Review of Art Education, or the CRAE. We encourage you to consider submitting something for these publications, a lesson plan, a description of a special project, a report of some recent research, or whatever profile of your work in art education would make a contribution to these publications. CAT editor Mike Emme and CREA editor Boyd White would be pleased to receive a submission from you, or to answer any questions you might have about a submission. Reading about what is happening in art education in other areas in Canada is a great way to keep us connected while sharing valuable information and ideas.

Provincial News

The BCATA annual provincial conference “About Face” recently took place in Kamloops, BC under sunny skies and warm hospitality. Keynote speakers jan jagodzinski and Gu Xiong both presented visually rich talks, followed by many great workshops. A flame dancer at the banquet, great food throughout the weekend, and an art gallery reception all added sparks to the conference.

If you have any news about art education in your province that could be highlighted here, please contact me with the details. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you everyone, have a good month.

Sharon McCoubrey
CSEA President

July 2007

Conference 2007

“Synergies 2007” in Toronto on October 19 – 20 is the upcoming CSEA Conference in partnership with the Ontario Society for Education through Art. More details about the conference can be found on the two websites. We encourage you to add this conference to your plans for the fall, book it into your schedule, book you flights, and count on a great opportunity to connect with art educators from across Canada. I will highlight some of the features of this conference in upcoming messages.

CSEA Awards

Do you know someone who deserves to be awarded for all the work done for art education? This is a reminder that the CSEA offers two types of awards. There is a single, national award, the “Canadian Art Educator of the Year” which will be awarded to an art educator from any area across Canada and from any area of work, either the K – 12 or post secondary levels. This award is made possible partly through our sponsor Sax Canada Specialty Schools.

The second type of award is the Provincial Affiliate Award. One person from each province is given an award for significant contribution to art education. Typically, the selection of this art educator is done by the provincial association.

These awards are presented at the annual national conference each year. This year, “Synergies 2007” in Toronto in October will include a special event on the Saturday for the presentation of these awards.

Please go to our website to find the forms for nominations of these awards. A reminder about the deadlines for submissions: The Canadian Art Education of the Year Award nominations are to be sent to me directly by July 31, 2007. The end of September is the deadline for Provincial Associations to notify me of the Provincial Affiliate Award recipient.

Awards are important to our association not only because they provide a pat on the back for a deserving art educator, but also because they provide an opportunity to profile the specific work and accomplishments of the award recipients, and thereby serve as valuable advocacy and awareness for art education.

Provincial News

I would like to pass along at least one piece of information about art education in each province each year. So, if you have any news about art education in your province that could be highlighted here, please contact me with the details. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 

Thank you everyone, have a good month.

Sharon McCoubrey
CSEA President