Introductions are in Order

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Hello everyone and welcome back!

I wanted to take a quick moment and introduce myself: my name is Cailee Mellen, and I will be the new Art Ed Department Assistant (aka the new Deborah)! I know I have amazingly huge shoes to fill in this position, but I am so excited to be a part of the vibrant community here at MassArt.

How about a few fun facts about me to break the ice? I grew up half in Missouri, half in Southern California, but I have called Boston home now for about seven years after graduating from BU in 2011. While there, I studied Art History & Archaeology, and I recently completed a term of graduate study in the UK focusing on Medieval Archaeology and Historic Preservation. I have also lived abroad in France and Cambodia. My favorite TV show is Game of Thrones (which I can nerdily talk about for hours); my favorite artists are Michelangelo and Delacroix; and I have a secret/not-so-secret love of musical theatre.

I am really looking forward to meeting everyone over the coming weeks, so please feel free to stop by the office and say hi!

Meghan Robbins Shines at the State House

Art Education senior Meghan Robbins was honored today at the State House as one of the “29 Who Shine.” 29 stellar graduates of the 29 Massachusetts community colleges, state universities, and UMass campuses were chosen for the honor.

Meghan ‘s work as a student leader, artist, activist, and educator was recognized. Among  many other things, Meghan created a community project to help save the Parker Hill branch of the Boston Public Library when it was rumored that it might be closed.  She and others in the community staged “a participatory art intervention,” interviewing local residents about their desire to keep the library open and then transcribing their comments onto bookmarks, where were placed in countless books in the library.

The 29 students honored today were in turn able to invite a faculty mentor to the ceremony for recognition. Meghan chose Adriana Katzew, who has inspired her to continue her passion for community arts education.

Congratulations to Meghan and Adriana.

India Now Travel Course

India_art2_forweb Lois Hetland and Saul Nava of the Liberal Arts Department will be leading MassArt’s new travel course to India, called India Now: Contemporary Art, Craft, Ecology, and Culture. This course can be taken either as a studio elective in Art Education or for Liberal Arts  math/science credit, and the deadline to apply is April 1st.  In the fall semester the class will meet Thursdays 7:00-9:00 pm; then the trip to Bangalore and the Andaman Islands will take place January 2-19, 2015.

Students can expect to make art in response to their experience in India; observe and carry out service work in community learning centers for impoverished students, where art propels the curriculum; and use art to investigate a tropical archipelago with a unique ecology. The course facilitates exploration of the aesthetics, ecology, educational innovations, and contradictions of India’s culture-in-rapid-transition. It is hosted by Srishti College of Art, Design, and Technology–one of the few Indian art colleges based on the indigenous instead of the colonial model of art education imported from Britain.

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Art Education Student Writes Winning Nomination for High School Art Teacher

Erin-Grocki

Erin Grocki

Gina Mudge

Gina Mudge

Behind almost every MassArt student there is probably an amazing, inspiring  high school art teacher, maybe even one who changed their lives.  Many would not be at MassArt today without the encouragement and advice of their teacher.

Gina Mudge, sophomore Art Education major, had a chance this year to nominate her high school art teacher, Erin Grocki, for the annual Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award.  The Sondheim Awards “celebrate the teaching profession, the important role of teachers in society, …. [and] the power one teacher has to inspire others and transform lives.”

Of hundreds of nominees from around the country, six teachers were chosen, and Gina’s nomination won the award for her teacher at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, Erin Grocki. Along with the honor, Mrs. Grocki, who now teaches at Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield, will receive $10,000.
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Majors Registration Day

Majors Registration  Day is  Thursday March 27 in South 109:
9:00        Rising  Seniors and Super Seniors
10:00       Rising  Juniors
11:00        Rising Sophomores
No appointments are needed. Come at the appropriate time and sign up on your advisor’s sheet, and you will be seen in order.
New sophomores will sign up on the sophomore sheet and see any advisor; you will be assigned your permanent advisor over the summer.