The Art of Outreach

TRIGGER WARNING- In this episode some very traumatic experiences are recounted and spoken about at length.

On Saturday, August 21st the mid-south had one of the most devastating flooding events in recorded history. Bonnie Bentley art teacher at Waverly Central High School lost most of the supplies in her classroom in the flood and is grieving 20 members of her tight nit community.

In this episode, Bonnie discusses how the flood has impacted her community, how she's making it through, why she's going back even after 29 years in the art classroom, and supplies she might need (she actually doesn't even know fully what has and hasn't made it from her classroom) when her students go back sometime in the next month or so.

The TN Art Education Association will be collecting supplies for all three Art Classrooms at the Fall Conference. The Educators' Cooperative will be accepting general classroom supplies. Contact mmitchell@mauryk12.org with questions

If you would like to reach out to Bonnie directly her email is bentleyb@hcss.org

If you know of other art classrooms that were impacted by the flood please reach out to Mike at mmitchell@mauryk12.org

Janie Giles Carp is a K-8 art teacher at Community Montessori in Jackson, TN. 

I found out about Sydney through Sisavahn Phoutavaong Houghton who sent me the link to her incredible zine "The Remains" about women artists she sought to know more about. Her illustrations of each artist are as filled with as much passion and curiosity as each thoroughly researched essay. I immediately bought 5 copies to give out to fellow artists and educators. I hope one day it will be required reading for art education programs and until then I hope everyone else buys 5 copies and spreads them around!

In this episode the head of MTSU painting department Sisavanh Phouthavong talks about how art gave her a language when she was new to the United States, her consistent studio practice, her passion for her students, teaching even though SHE CAN, outreach in her work and her role at MTSU and living with other artists! Please listen, share, and subscribe if you value art education!

Bobbi Negrón is the art teacher at Paragon Mills Elementary School in Nashville, TN. In our 10th episode, she talks about Radio Dignity 104.1 a radio station she helped start as part of Workers Dignity that fights for the rights of workers in Nashville as well as how those projects flow in and out of her art classroom, the similarities and differences of teaching in a public and private school and how art gave her a voice as a young student when she was struggling with learning a new language.

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