Fabulous designer Iris Apfel. Image: blog.mawi.co.uk
From March 1st through March 4th the National Art Education Association will hold their annual conference right here in New York City. Over 3,000 art educators from all levels, including myself, will descend upon The Hilton and Sheraton hotels in midtown and have the opportunity to attend hundreds upon hundreds of workshops offered by colleagues from close to everywhere across the country.
Here at Art21, we have a few very special things planned….
On Friday, March 2nd at 8:30am Art21 is proud to present Janine Antoni’s keynote address, “Circuitous Path”, in the Hilton Grand Ballroom. As many of you already know, Janine Antoni employs a variety of mediums including performance, sculpture, photography and video. Her primary tool for making has always been her own body and she is known for using extreme processes and unusual materials. As an educator, Antoni is interested in teaching people ways to develop their individual creative process and will discuss her own art making as an example of the circuitous journey that one travels to arrive at a work of art.
At 12:00 noon, I will be co-presenting an offsite workshop at the Museum of Art and Design with Catherine Rosamond that focuses on teaching with contemporary art on film and in the museum gallery. While the workshop is already sold out, it never hurts to inquire at the NAEA information desk about any cancellations if you want to be in on the fun. Last year’s workshop with a similar focus at the Seattle Art Museum was wonderful.
Later Friday afternoon, at 3:30pm, we are excited about the “supersession” titled “Sown Within: A Performative Workshop with Janine Antoni” at the Sheraton’s Metropolitan Ballroom East. This workshop, led by Janine herself, will focus on the body as a tool for exploration and certainly promises to be a unique event!
To cap off Friday, Art21 is proud to participate in NAEA’s film salon and offer preview screenings of two new season 6 episodes. “Change” and “History” feature artists Ai Weiwei, El Anatsui, Catherine Opie, Marina Abramović, Mary Reid Kelley, and Glenn Ligon. All screenings will take place at the Hilton’s Concourse G- Lower Level. Check it out if you want a sneak peek at some of the segments before national broadcast.
On Saturday, March 3rd at 9:00am in the Hilton Mercury Ballroom, Lois Hetland will moderate a conversation featuring a few of our outstanding past and present Art21 educators including Julia CopperSmith, Maureen Hergott , Anna Dean and Jocelyn Salaz. Participants will discuss case studies they created and changes in their teaching practice since taking part in the Art21 Educators program. This should be an excellent way to become familiar with the program for anyone interested.
Then, starting at 11:00am and continuing through 4:00pm on Saturday, Oliver Herring will kick off a huge TASK party in the Sheraton’s New York Ballroom East. Join Oliver and fellow educators for an unprecedented collaborative art experience. TASK is an improvisational, open-ended, participatory event with a simple structure and very few rules. It creates almost unlimited opportunities for a group of people to interact in a given space. TASK parties have been held throughout the world at museums, galleries, and schools but this will be the first-ever TASK event at an NAEA conference. Stick around afterward with Oliver and guests (including Dennis Greenwell, Karen Melvin, Kendra Paitz, Emmett Sandberg and Jack Watson) for a conversation moderated by our own Jessica Hamlin that focuses on “What is TASK and what can you do with It?” Teachers will share their experiences both participating in and organizing TASK events.
Finally, on Sunday, March 4th at 10:00am in the Hilton Gramercy Suite A, artist LaToya Ruby Frazier will discuss the collaborative work with her family over the past nine years as well as her role as daughter, photographer and filmmaker. LaToya Frazier is currently featured in Art21’s new documentary film series, New York Close Up.
Looking forward to seeing everyone in just a few weeks…