Since the 1930's Mid-America College Art Association has provided a forum for the artists/teachers of America to discuss and debate the issues of our profession, to share ideas and information of mutual benefit and to affirm the friendships and collegiality that bind us together. We are made up of art faculty, art historians, independent scholars, artists, museum professionals, and affiliate organizations; our conferences also invite graduate students to participate.
MACAA at SECAC
2019 SECAC Conference
Oct. 16-19, Chattanooga, Tn.
"Global Art Projects"
Session Chairs: Heather Hertel, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania & Ann Kim, Indiana University East
Art connects people. Learning cross-culturally elevates the understanding of human beings. Traveling to share and create grows awareness. This session invites artists and travelers to share their art projects that they have conducted across the globe. Have you traveled for research? Have you created art in a new place or environment that was foreign to you? What have you gained from working overseas? How has learning from a new culture affected your art? How have you infused this experience with your home environment? How was your travel funded? What can you share with artists who dream about venturing to a new location to conduct an art project? Have you coordinated a student art travel trip? What can we learn by transporting our studio to a new environment? What are cultural barriers to consider when venturing abroad? This session aims to share and discuss travel experiences that incorporated new studio settings, residencies, art exhibitions, and public art projects in a foreign country.
"Catalyst for Change: Community Partnerships"
Session Chair: Barbara Giorgio-Booher, Ball State University
People need to be more engaged in the community that they are living in, whether it’s a community based on shared space, special interest, affiliation or identity. Creativity is a vital part of this process. As educators, we are always striving towards mentoring our students to engage through traditional or digital means. Collaborations have a shared vision and can achieve positive outcomes. Understanding the project can be complicated. Is this a short term versus long-term partnership? The course or project may invite engagement as one piece of a larger initiative or lead to other opportunities. It’s important to realize the course
may be bound by a semester, but your partnership is not. When the community engagement is successful, it includes all persons involved. The community members are consulted, involved and empowered. As mentors, we are creating opportunities for students that provide an experience with valuable learning, meaningful research, and strengthens their civic responsibility. This session is to serve as a catalyst for anyone wanting to engage with a community.
Breaking Boundaries: Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in the Arts
Session Chair: Dr. Michelle Corvette, Belmont University
This session asks us to consider the construction and influences of intersectional gender studies, in tandem with cross-cultural and transnational inquiry, in contemporary art and society to discover the factors and artists that are shaping the current status of inclusion as we explore paths to achieving equality in art studios, art classrooms, and art communities. Emphasizing the perspectives from artists such as Wu Tsang (2018 MacArthur Fellowship), Charlotte Prodger (2018 Turner Prize), Beatriz Preciado, Heather Cassils, Zackary Drucker, Rhys Ernst, this panel is seeking proposals that focus on reimagined racialized and gendered representations beyond the visible frame to encompass multiple and shifting perspectives through which interdisciplinary artworks are serving as change agents to explore marginalized narratives and hidden histories that are at the forefront of studio art education and practice.
