Art teachers from throughout the country will descend on Whanganui for the ANZAAE Art Education Conference. Photo / File
Art teachers from throughout the country will descend on Whanganui for the ANZAAE Art Education Conference. Photo / File
Art teachers from throughout New Zealand will descend on Whanganui for the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Art Educators' (ANZAAE) 2017 Conference.
The conference is being hosted by Whanganui UCOL from July 18 to 20.
The ANZAAE conference is a three-day, biennial event which welcomes teachers, researchers and artists fromthe education sector. This year's theme, "Me hoki whakamuri, kia ahu whakamua, ka neke - Looking Back, Moving Forward, Looking Back, Moving Forward", focuses on the significant drive towards digital media and moving imagery, while still maintaining a connection to time-honoured traditions.
The president of ANZAAE, Lee Devenish, said the conference is extremely beneficial as it allows art teachers to come together as one to share their ideas and best practice.
"The ANZAAE Art Education Conference brings together the very best art teachers from around the country to share best practice," Mr Devenish said.
"In a world where jobs are increasingly becoming automated, it is the creative human skills that will be most valuable in the future world of work. For this reason alone, all students should be nurturing their creative selves, and we believe that the visual arts is a natural place to do this."
Speakers come from throughout New Zealand; but there is a strong contingent from Whanganui, including Kathryn Wightman (Whanganui Glass School), Andrea Gardner and Sietske Jansma (Sarjeant Gallery), Glenn Hayward and Brit Bunkley (local artists), Graham Hall (Whanganui High School) and Scott Redding (New Zealand Glassworks).
Whanganui UCOL campus manager Bronwyn Paul said that UCOL's strong creative programmes backed up by passionate students and teachers, technology and purpose built facilities, makes the campus the perfect place to showcase arts and design education at a tertiary level.
"To have over 100 art teachers here from around the country is an honour. This conference has been two years in the planning and we are looking forward to hosting it," Ms Paul said.
