About 120 art teachers arrive in Whanganui today for the start of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Art Educators (ANZAAE) conference.
The conference, held every two or three years, will be hosted by Whanganui UCOL today, tomorrow and Thursday.
ANZAAE president Lee Devenish said the conference was always held at a tertiary institute, usually in Auckland. The last one, in 2014, was held at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
"This is definitely the first time the conference has been held in Whanganui," Mr Devenish said.
"It is easier to host a conference in a big city, but it's also important to recognise that there is a lot going on in regional parts of New Zealand."