A wealth of literature shows positive outcomes and experiences from arts learning, yet youth access to arts education has become significantly more inequitable over the past 30 years. Alongside the growing discourse around arts learning and equity issues, there is a recognized and persistent need for more research. We conducted a critical,…

Despite convincing research and strong public support, education budget cuts have forced schools and districts to limit or even eliminate arts instruction. Author Robin Ward argues that educators need to address the critical need to preserve and, in those cases, re-integrate the arts back into the school curriculum--mostly because the arts are…

In this visual essay, NAEA Women's Caucus members gather at the National Convention to create collages in an effort to brainstorm ways to end violence. The mission of the Women's Caucus of the National Art Education Association is a clear call for equity between men and women and a call for social justice in general. Discriminatory practices and…

Dallas artist Jon Flaming's deep love of Texas is evident in his paintings and sculpture. Although he has created one sculptural Texas theater, his work primarily showcases old Texas barbershops, vacant homes, and gas stations. In this article, the author describes how her students, inspired by Flaming's works, created three-dimensional historical…

The 153 paintings that San Antonio-based artist Mel Casas calls Humanscapes were inspired by a glimpse of a drive-in movie screen. This article treats the first three years of work on this series, a period in which the artist referenced cinematic settings and audiences while registering aspects of the sexual revolution. Marshall McLuhan's…

To demonstrate the significance of cultural crossings in Texas and how cultural exchanges can inform teachers and students in the areas of history, fine arts, geography, and social studies, the author constructed a Summer 2013 teacher workshop for Texas K-12 teachers through the Smithsonian Affiliated Institute of Texan Cultures. The author…

As a child, the author saw that art held a daily purpose for her family. It inspired her grandmother to worship and communicate to God and her many saints. This art uplifted them with spiritual, miraculous images that taught them morals based on the narratives of the image. The first work of art she owned was a painting given to her by her Tia…

This article places youth spoken word (YSW) poetry programming within the larger framework of arts education. Drawing primarily on transcripts of interviews with teen poets and adult teaching artists and program administrators, the article identifies specific benefits that participants ascribe to youth spoken word, including the development of…

A remarkably consistent picture of the value of the arts in a comprehensive Pre-K-grade 12 education emerges from a review of two decades of theory and policy recommendations about arts education. Over the past decade, the National Governors Association, the Education Commission of the States, the National Association of State Boards of Education,…

This study examined how Texas community college artist-educators balance artistic productivity with their teaching responsibilities. The 98 survey respondents represented 76.6% of a stratified random sample of the full-time instructors in visual arts departments within the 50 Texas public community college districts. Access to studio space and…

In this article, the author recalls the life of playwright, artist, and educator Sterling Houston. Sterling was a teaching artist in a much more global sense. He taught everyone who encountered him how to connect across difference--across race, class, ideology, age, gender, and sexual orientation. He had a talent for gently pushing aside the fears…

Whenever possible, the author tries to incorporate the work of artists who are included in the collection of nearby museums. The school is close to the Dallas area and visiting the Dallas Museum of Arts (DMA) is in the realm possibility. The DMA has a sculpture in their collection by artist David Bates called "Seated Man #4." The fact…

Porfirio Salinas has been hailed the best painter of the Texas hill country and its bluebonnets. Born on November 6, 1910, Porfirio's teachers recognized and encouraged his drawing ability. When Porfirio found employment after school in a graphics company that also sold art supplies, he met Robert Wood, recognized for his Texas landscapes, and…

Almazan, a pioneering painter and graphic artist, played a major role in the development of Chicano art in San Antonio. He was admitted into the Men of Art Guild, the preeminent Texas art group, when he was nineteen years old.

In 1939, Texas artist Alexandre Hogue completed "The Crucified Land," a striking comparison of water erosion on a Denton, Texas, wheat farm to the martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth. "The Crucified Land" was originally intended as the final canvas of Hogue's "Erosion" series, which the artist began in 1932 as a…