Room A195, MacLaurin Building, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC and via on-line participation

In attendance:  Peter Vietgen (Chair), Joanna Black, Mary Blatherwick, Jan Brown, Genevieve Cloutier, Miriam Cooley, Robert Dalton, Mary Ann Dobson, Michael Emme, Laurel Hart, Heather McLeod, Alison Shields, Paul Syme, Boyd White, Michelle Wiebe, Jennifer Wicks, Mary-Jane Emme (Secretary).

1. Approval of the Agenda:

MOVED by Laurel Hart, seconded by Mary Blatherwick, that the agenda be adopted as circulated.  CARRIED.

2. Approval of the 2016 Annual General Meeting Minutes:

MOVED by Mary Ann Dobson, seconded by Jan Brown, that the minutes of the 2016 Annual General Meeting, held on October 21, 2016 in Victoria, BC, be adopted as circulated.  CARRIED.

3. President’s Report – (Peter Vietgen):

Peter Vietgen thanked Michael Emme, Regan Rasmussen and their conference committee, for the huge success of Intersections 2016, held in Victoria last October.

He also reported on Eksperimenta! 2017, happening in Estonia right at this moment; the success of the CSEA/AGO 2017 summer institute and plans for a third annual summer institute in 2018; and the CSEA/SCÉA’s “Allied” status with the National Art Education Association (NAEA).  His full report is attached to these minutes.

4. Financial Report 2016-17 – (Mary-Jane Emme):

Mary-Jane Emme drew attention to the Statement of Financial Position, prepared by Obee & Co. Accounting Ltd., distributed with the agenda.  The CSEA/SCÉA’s assets as of July 31, 2017 were:  $39,155 (cash) plus $23,267 (inventory) plus $1,125 (accounts receivable).  She also pointed to the Statement of Operations, as detailed on the spreadsheet attached to the agenda, which lists revenue for the 2016-17 fiscal year at $41,849 and expenses at $44,823.

5. 2017-18 Budget – (Mary-Jane Emme):

On behalf of the executive, Mary-Jane Emme presented the 2017-18 budget (attached to the agenda), with proposed revenue of $40,000 and expenses of $45,000.  It was noted that the $10,000 expense for printing StARTing With… (4^th edition), will result in an increase in inventory of approximately $25,000 (resale value).

MOVED by Genevieve Cloutier, seconded by Laurel Hart, that the financial statements for 2016-17 and the proposed budget for 2017-18, be approved as presented.  CARRIED.

 

6. Reports:

The Past President and each Director highlighted items from their annual reports (attached).  In brief:

 Past President’s Report – (Miriam Cooley):

A call for nominations for all executive positions will be sent to the membership, to be followed by on-line voting.  Election results will be announced at the AGM in Winnipeg in 2018.

Director of Fundraising Report – (Mary Blatherwick):

Requests for donations in the 2016-17 year resulted in donations of $1,850, earmarked for publications, awards sponsorships, and special projects.

Director of Provincial Liaison and Social Media Report – (Laurel Hart):

FaceBook page is continually being updated; Roundtable being planned for Winnipeg 2018.

Director of Special Projects (National and International) Report – (Joanna Black):

Canadian students were well represented at Eksperimenta!2017 in Estonia.  Artworks will be on display until December.

Director of Publications Report – (Boyd White; Heather McLeod; Genevieve Cloutier; Laurel Hart):

StARTing With… (4^th edition) is set to go to the printers in the next month.  The upcoming issues of both the Canadian Review of Art Education (digital) and the Canadian Art Teacher (print) will also be ready in November or December.

Director of Awards Report – (Mary Ann Dobson):

Nominations for awards have been received, and the sub-committee will be working to select and announce the award winners by December 15, with awards to be presented in Winnipeg in May.

Director of Graduate Students’ Report – (Genevieve Cloutier)

The next issue of CAT will include 6 graduate student submissions.  Plans are underway for the graduate student symposium to be held at the Winnipeg conference.

Director of Communications Report – (Paul Syme):

Jennifer Wicks has been recruited to work with Paul Syme to enhance communications.

MOVED by Mary Blatherwick, seconded by Joanna Black, that the reports be accepted as presented.  CARRIED.

 

7. Conference 2018 – (Joanna Black):

 Joanna Black highlighted a number of items included in her written report on Taking ACTion:  Human Rights in Art Education, to be held in Winnipeg on May 3-5, 2018.  Keynote speakers will be Shawna Dempsey, Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, and Pam Patterson (Gaitskell address).  Proposal deadline is November 15, 2017.  Joanna was thanked for all her work on this upcoming conference.

8. Other Business: None

MOVED by Michelle Wiebe, that the meeting be adjourned.

Attachments:  President’s Report; Directors’ Reports; Conference Report.

AGM Attachment 3:  CSEA /SCEA 2017 AGM President’s Report

Thank you to all of our members and Executive who have made the effort to attend our first AGM that is being conducted live in Victoria, BC, and at the same time, virtually across Canada!  I appreciate your dedication and commitment to our organization.

In order to keep this meeting moving, I have tried to keep my report brief in order that we may progress through the agenda with efficiency.

Our last CSEA/SCEA AGM was held in Victoria, BC, during the amazing conference that was chaired by our own Mike Emme and BCATA’s Regan Rasmussen.  Members are still raving about the huge success of that conference and how we had to cap attendance and maintain a waiting list.  Thank you to Mike and to Regan, as well as their conference committee, for putting on such an amazing event!  You truly set the bar for our conferences!

Since last October 2016, each of our elected Directors and Executive Members in appointed positions have been working hard to move their portfolios forward.   As volunteers of the Canadian Society for Education through Art, I would like to personally thank each of you for your time and continued commitment to our organization over the past year.  I could go through each portfolio and highlight your achievements but I know that these highlights will be shared by each of you as we progress through the agenda of this AGM.

My focus over the past year has been to lead our organization with confidence and to support each of you as you developed new ideas and moved ahead to see these ideas become a reality.  My personal focus over the past year has been to make sure that we hold our bi-monthly Executive meetings over Skype and that lines of communication are kept open and honest.

Over the past year, I was also personally involved with two particular initiatives, the first being Ekperimenta! 2017, the international youth art exhibition, and the second, being our annual CSEA/AGO Summer Institute for Educators.

For Eksperimenta! 2017, I had the wonderful opportunity to be part of the organizing team with executive member Joanna Black and former executive member Adrienne Boulton-Funke.  In this capacity, in the fall of 2016 and winter of 2017, I was able to work with a secondary school in Ottawa that was partnered with the National Gallery of Canada. It was works in the National Gallery that inspired the artworks created by the students in the Ottawa school for possible inclusion in the Eksperimenta! Exhibition.  This school was one of a handful of Canadian schools that had art works selected for the final juried Eksperimenta! 2017 exhibition that just opened in Tallinn, Estonia, last week.  I am very proud of our participation in this, the third edition of the Ekperimenta! Triennial project.  I know that our Interim Director of International Projects, Joanna Black, will be speaking in more detail about this initiative, so I will stop there and will let her share more Eksperimenta! 2017 details when it comes to her report.

On April 26, 2017, the CSEA/SCÉA received “Allied Group” status with the National Art Education Association (NAEA).  This is an exciting step for the CSEA/SCÉA as we now will be able to send a representative to the Delegates Assembly the day before the NAEA conference begins.

The other major initiative that I would like to speak to, is our annual CSEA/AGO Summer Institute for Educators that I help coordinate with a colleague from the Art Gallery of Ontario.  Held for four days during the second week of July, our 2017 Summer Institute was a huge success!  23 art educators from across Canada gathered in Toronto, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, for four days of intense discussions on contemporary art education practices, presentations by invited guests (ie. gallery directors, artists, curators, and museum educators), field trips to other local art galleries, and opportunities for hands-on art-making.  The feedback from the institute participants was all incredibly positive and we are now already planning our 3^rd CSEA/AGO Summer Institute for Educators to be held in July 2018!  The success of the Summer Institute was also shared by myself and a colleague from the AGO at presentations that were made at two academic conferences over the past year – the CSSE (Canadian Society for the Study of Education) conference held at Ryerson University back in May, and just last week at the CNAL (Canadian Network for Arts & Learning) conference held in Ottawa.  Both conference presentations were well-received with much interest from participants who were present from across Canada.  I must, at this point in time, thank the Art Gallery of Ontario, for their partnership in this initiative and for their ongoing generosity in allowing us to hold this annual event at the gallery.  I am already looking forward to next year’s event with great excitement!  Our Summer Institute is getting stronger each year!

At this point, I would like to conclude my President’s Report for our 2017 Annual General Meeting.  I would like to, again, thank each member of our Executive for all the time and commitment that they have so generously dedicated to the Canadian Society for Education through Art over the past year.  Without your efforts, we would not be able to function and maintain our status as Canada’s only thriving national organization dedicated to the practice and celebration of Art Education!

Before I sign off, one specific member of our Executive that I do wish to acknowledge personally in my report, is our Executive Secretary, Mary-Jane Emme.  There is so much behind-the-scenes business that Mary-Jane takes care of every day to ensure that our organization runs smoothly, that I must sincerely thank her for everything that she does for us.  You are our rock, Mary-Jane!!

In closing, it is an honour to serve as your President and I would like to thank you all for your continued support and trust in my leadership.

Respectfully submitted,

Peter Vietgen, President – CSEA/SCEA

AGM Attachment 6 (Reports): 

(a) Past President’s Report (Miriam Cooley):

Eksperimenta! 2017 is now open, and Canada is well represented.  Canadian students have done very well.

Proposals for the Taking ACTion Conference (Winnipeg, May 2018) are being received.

All executive positions are filled for their two-year terms, so there are no elections in 2017. Nominations will be open for all positions at the May 2018 AGM.

 (b) Director of Fundraising Report (Mary Blatherwick):

In the past year we focused on reaching out to our membership for donations towards three categories of our operations. The categories were: special projects, publications and awards.

In the 2016-17 fiscal year, we received 11 donations:

Publications $200

Awards Sponsorships $850

General Revenue: $800

For a total of $1,850

So far in 2017-18, we have received:

Publications $350

Awards $50

Special Projects $50

For a total of $450

The request for donations will continue to take place periodically with the hope that additional members both past and present will come forward to support a specific category.

Harold McGee who sponsors the Ronita C.deBlois Award for Elementary Art Education at the national CSEA conferences has agreed to donate $500 during the interim year for special projects or other areas of our operations that might need additional support.

Other fundraising initiatives were discussed such as applying, as a non-profit organization, for financial assistance for special projects. This process will be started by the coordinator of a special project and then supported by the fundraising committee.

Two patrons of the arts in Ontario were approached about possible sponsorship of special projects. One said to approach her again next year as she is committed for 2016/2017.

It was suggested that we hold a raffle at the 2018 CSEA conference to raise funds for a specific area such as special projects, publications or awards.

 (c) Director of Provincial Liaison and Social Media (Laurel Hart):

Over the last year I have focused my energies largely on updating the CSEA/SCÉA Facebook page with content that is educational and entertaining, with updates regarding CSEA/SCÉA activities, and content shared from Art Education organizations across Canada. We encourage CSEA/SCÉA members to share their independent projects, as well as regional activities, and artwork from students with us for our Facebook page.

This year, the PAL sub-committee included representatives from across Canada, (BC, Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia), who were asked to complete a short survey providing some insight into the varied contexts of art education from their regions. Some of the ideas already put into place include: sharing social media posts (about conferences and workshops) from provincial organizations on Facebook, organizing a gathering at the next conference, and incorporating teaching/lesson planning ideas into the forthcoming Canadian Art Teacher publication.

National/Provincial Art Educators Gathering:  For the upcoming national conference, CSEA/SCÉA will be holding a special gathering of art educators from across Canada interested in advocating for art education in their provinces and territories. We will be discussing the unique needs and circumstances of each province, as well as determining how to maintain connections between provincial organizations and the CSEA/SCÉA PAL liaison from year to year. This meeting will be open to everyone–please come by to tell us how CSEA can encourage and support you as an art educator in your province or territory!

(d) Director of Special Projects [National and International] (Joanna Black):

For three years we have been working on Eksperimenta! 2017. Originally Dr. Adrienne Boulton-Funke, Director of International Projects, worked with co-curators Dr. Peter Vietgen and Dr. Joanna Black on EK! 2017. Dr. Boulton -Funke wrote a grant request for Canada 150!  that was unfortunately not awarded to finance Ek! 2017. Since then, Dr. Black took over her position as Acting Director of International Projects working with Dr. Peter Vietgen.

In 2015 Art Educators from the Ontario Gallery of Art, The National Gallery, Vancouver Art Gallery, The Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery were involved with students and art teachers for Ek! 2017. The Canadian co-curators juried student artworks in 2016 and sent these on to be further juried in Estonia.  From these, in 2017 the curators in Estonia selection 9 art works that represent the involvement of thirty-six Canadian students.

The following people are participating in EK! 2017 in Estonia at this time:

Students from Ontario who worked at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Student Youth Programs:

1. Rowan Lynch; 2. Roy Luo; 3. Zoe Statiris: Youth Participants

Student from Sisler High School in Manitoba

4. Donovan Saunders, Student

Teachers

5. Sarah Febbraro: Youth Facilitator Art Gallery of Ontario
6. Mike Thwaites, Art Educator, Sisler High School, Manitoba

Representing the CSEA/SCÉA

7 Joanna Black; 8 Miriam Cooley

For the opening events in October 2017, 4 students and 4 art educators are in Tallinn for Eksperimenta! We are currently documenting the entire experience.

Four Canadian students were able to travel to Estonia with their teachers to be involved. The workshop is in progress as we write. Students have been invited to participate in a 5-day photography workshop preceding the opening of the Ek! exhibition. They were exposed to a presentation on photography in relation to art and the economy. Following this, they were introduced to Estonian professional artists and their practices. The artists worked with the students on a photo-shoot and at the current time the printing process is occurring. Once the works are printed they will be installed in an art gallery for the opening of Eksperimenta! Consequently,  students will have their works in two art galleries: one in the Tallinn  Art Hall and the other body of work from the 5-day workshop in an art gallery nearby. (The opening is announced in the e-mail announcement below. Please attach this to the report).

On Friday, October 20, the opening of Eksperimenta! 2017 will occur. Joanna Black will also talk in the IDEAlab out Indigenous Canadian Art in relation to Art and the Economy. She has also been asked to critique students’ works during the IDEAlab.

Joanna Black received the following invitation from Taaniel Raudsepp / Tallinna Kunstihoone / Tallinn Art Hall / Juhataja / Director:  “We are honoured to invite you to the opening of Disruption of Economy at the Tallinn Art Hall, Vabaduse väljak 8 on 20th of October 2017 at 18.00.  From October 21st, Disruption of Economy, the main exhibition of contemporary art triennial Eksperimenta!, will be open at Tallinn Art Hall, Art Hall gallery and Tallinn City Gallery. The exhibition presents over 70 works from young artists in ten countries. With the help of contemporary art tools, the artists, who range in age from 14 to 21, analyse the situation in the world and the economy. Disruption of Economy is curated by Tamara Luuk and Annely Köster.  The exhibition will remain open until 3rd of December 2017.”

(e) Director of Publications Report (Boyd White):

Recently CSEA/SCÉA published its first e-book, Emergent Art Education, edited by Alison Shields and Mike Emme. This is a milestone in CSEA/SCÉA publications.

In our more traditional hardcover publications StARTing With… (3^rd edition) continues to sell consistently.  A fourth edition is set to go to the printers in November, to be ready for December/January sales.  ReVisions and What Works are also regularly offered in some of our colleagues’ methods courses. Other publications are less subscribed.  Selling packages of texts at conferences has been suggested.

Two CSEA/SCÉA-related publications are now available:  Creative Dimensions of Teaching and Learning in the 21^st Century (edited by Jill B. Cummings and Mary L. Blatherwick) is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble; and Good Question: Arts-based Approaches to Collaborate Research with Children and Youth (edited by Michael J. Emme and Anna Kirova), is an e-book available through Amazon and iTunes.

It remains to be seen whether our recently formalized affiliations with NAEA will result in increased attention to our Canadian publications.

Canadian Art Teacher:  The upcoming issue, under the interim editorship of Genevieve Cloutier and Laurel Hart, is expected to be completed and mailed to all members by the end of 2017.

Canadian Review of Art Education:

 2017 has been an active year. There has been a strong interest in submitting articles for CRAE. The 2017 issue will be published in late November/early December.

The following motion regarding guest editing CRAE was moved and passed in July 2017:

CSEA members may apply to the Editor-in-Chief of CRAE to edit a special issue at any time.  To make an informed decision, the Editor-in chief requires that interested individuals submit a CV and a proposed call for submissions that is pertinent to readers of CRAE.  Evidence of previous editing or related experience, especially on-line production, will be important.  Guest editors must agree to take full responsibility for production of the issue.  That is, the Editor-in-Chief is not a mentor for such projects.  Nevertheless, the editor-in-chief has the final oversight and responsibility to maintain the quality and integrity of the journal.

CRAE is currently supported by a new research assistant with previous experience in the editing of an electronic peer reviewed journal. This will ensure increased ease of use of the McGill journal system.

 (f) Director of Awards (Mary Ann Dobson):

Sub-committee: Jan Brown, Miriam Cooley, Mary Ann Dobson, Harold Pearse, Britt Petracek.

Surge in donations this year has put our committee in better shape. We anticipate a maximum $350 shortfall for the 2018 awards in Winnipeg but are still working as a committee to secure sponsorship.

The awards committee has been receiving award nominations and will be spending Oct and Nov reviewing applications in preparation to announce award recipients by Dec 15, 2017.

The Awards committee will select, work with and communicate with adjudication committees for the Master’s Thesis and Dissertation awards.

(g) Director of Graduate Students (Genevieve Cloutier):

Six graduate students are included in the following issue of CAT. Laurel and I made every effort to include all of the submissions. Canadian Art Teacher continues to be a highly supportive space for Graduate Students in the field of Art Education in Canada.

The graduate student symposium call for submissions was distributed. I recommend that we send a reminder via social media in the next couple of days.

(h) Director of Communications Report (Paul Syme):

The new CSEA website has been operating smoothly. The WordPress ecosystem is robust, expansive, and easier to manage than Joomla. I hope to see executive and members comfortably create, operate, and develop pages and projects in this space.

I have been having troubles with our analytics, I haven’t trusted the numbers. After spending time with it, I have recently installed new trackers on our publications and main page. I recommend that we closely watch the sites traffic and expand our use of analytics for clues on how to best reach our audiences in an era where websites, while important to offer and maintain as a form of legitimacy, fewer people go to websites as they subscribe to content on social media. Twitter and Facebook promotion are important!

I have recently recruited Jennifer Wicks, a Ph.D. candidate and graduate instructor in Art Education at Concordia University, to join the CSEA communications team and work with me to enhance and grow our communications portals.

Skype as a tool for CSEA meetings is growing as a stable venue for meetings. This is great as it has been spotty in the past.

Seeking suggestions on how we can assess the effectiveness of our brand designs since implemented?

Attachment 7:

Report ON CSEA 2018 Conference in Winnipeg

Taking Action: Human Rights in Art Education

The conference committee was struck in 2017. A team comprised of art educators from Winnipeg and Victoria/Vancouver have been meeting on a consistent basis throughout the last year to do the following; (1) make sure the bank account is established for the conference, and for the treasurer; (2) set up the location sites; (3) book the speakers; (4) create the conference program; (5) set up the proposal system with a working team under Miriam Cooley and art educators from British Columbia;  (6) create a fundraising team; (7) engage a graphic artist; (8) set up a website; (9) form a registration system under a company; (10) and establish an events schedule. The Winnipeg CSEA 2018 conference will be held at the Hotel Fort Garry, The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Plug-In Institute for Contemporary Art and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The keynote speakers will be  Shawna Dempsey, Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, and Pam Patterson — the latter person will be delivering the Gaitskell Address. Sponsors so far who have committed are the University of Manitoba and Artist Emporium.

At the present time we are waiting for proposals, which has a deadline of November 15^th 2017.

To obtain more information please visit the conference website found at https://cseascea2018.com/ 

(Drafted on October 30, 2017)