[October 29, 2024] In this Open Studio Conversation, Andi Fink, a designer, educator, and illustrator, will share her insights about how to she balances her personal art and design career and thriving greeting card and specialty item business with roles as a graphic design instructor at Anoka Ramsey Community College and Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She’ll unpack how she multitasks and how she prepares her students to take advantage of multiple opportunities as working professional artists and designers. She’ll share some of her work, her teaching tips and tricks, and some much-needed affirmation for art educators who also want to practice what they teach! This Open Studio Conversation is sponsored by Wacom.

[November 20, 2024 | 7pm ET] Community colleges offer options for many art students including affordable tuition, ability to stay close to home, alternative schedules, and more. Join us and explore a groundbreaking initiative established between the North Carolina Community College System and public 4-year institutions within the state. Articulation agreements have been designed to streamline transfer for fine arts students, providing opportunities for quality, accessible, and economical higher education for fine arts–interested students. We’ll also delve into the stellar example of the Association of Fine Arts program offerings at Cape Fear Community College and the development of their degrees in terms of transferability and the practical application of skills.

[December 4, 2024 | 7pm ET] Explore fashion design for all ages in the art room! Find out how to make fashionable lessons that are affordable and accessible by reusing and recycling everyday materials. See the steps of the fashion design creative process and come away with curricular examples for cost-effective projects, artists for reference, and design inspiration.

[January 8, 2025 | 7pm ET] Join a discussion with leaders from community-based mural organizations from around the country and discover how the art of mural making can transform public spaces and individual lives.

[February 12, 2025 | 7pm ET] Advance your visual arts program by developing strong relationships with your school administrators. Hear from two school principals on ways to best approach and collaborate with your administrator (as well as parents, colleagues, and stakeholders) to foster connectivity, overcome challenges, and improve communication to support your visual arts program and celebrate the depth and breadth of learning through visual arts education.

[March 5, 2025 | 7pm ET] Placing assessment in the student’s control by having them assess themselves and each other is empowering! Learn from educators about their strategies for student-centered classroom formative and summative assessments in elementary, middle-level, and secondary settings. Discover ways for students of all ages to self-assess using guided worksheets or simplified rubrics. Explore ways assessment works in choice-based classrooms and how to use rubrics to plan backward to help clearly unpack lessons for student success. We’ll also discuss ways to differentiate between on-level rubrics and advanced or AP rubrics for secondary students, as well as appropriate accommodations for all students in the classroom.