The Department of Art announces Dr. Renee Sandell as the 2015-16 Distinguished Lecturer in Art Education as part of the annual John A. and Betty J. Michael Autobiographical Lecture Series. Sandell will be on Miami's campus to present both a lecture and workshop, both events being presented at the Miami University Art Museum, April 5-6. Also presented on April 6, a closed session where the honored guest will engage in a dialogue with current art education student teachers concerning her work and issues in the field.

Reception: Tues, April 5, 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: Tues, April 5, 7:00 p.m.

Dr. Renee Sandell directs NAEA’s SummerVision, an intensive, multiple museum-based experience, drawing national/global participants into an evolving Professional Learning Community (PLC) since 2010. She served as Professor of Art Education at George Mason University (2004-2014) and Maryland Institute College of Art (1990-2003).

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Miami University Art Museum and is free and open to the public.

Workshop: Wed, April 6, 4:30–6:00 p.m.*

Visual Literacy for Interdisciplinary Learning: Using Form+Theme+Context (FTC)™ and Conversing With Works of Art

This interactive presentation, followed by a multisensory, hands-on workshop is designed to help viewers look and really see into works of art, reading them for personal relevance and contextual understanding that can be shared and applied to diverse teaching experiences.  "Using Form+Theme+Context (FTC)™ as a group, we will collectively engage in the discovery of visual forms, themes, and contexts embedded in a work of art," states Sandell. "Each participant is guided through a unique, in-depth, personal “conversation” with a postcard-sized art reproduction. By utilizing a packet of playful materials and creative strategies, each participant decodes and explores the artwork and its layers of meaning with interdisciplinary connections."

The workshop will conclude with an opportunity for lively group sharing of observations, connections and discoveries followed by discussion of Visual Literacy applications for teaching art and other subjects in educational levels.

*Registration required, open only to local educators and current art education students.

John and Betty Michael Lecture Series

The John A. and Betty J. Michael Autobiographical Lecture Series in Art Education was in initiated by Dr. Michael with a generous gift from he and his wife in 1972 when Edwin Ziegfeld lectured at Miami University. Outstanding educators who have retired or are near retirement are invited to present autobiographical lectures in the series noting the influences which have shaped their philosophy about art education and the arts. Noted art educators who have presented in the series include Mary Adeline McKibbin, Victor D’Amico, Natalie Robinson, June King McFee, Charles Gaitskill, Edmund Feldman, Laura Chapman, Eugene Grigsby, Elliot Eisner, John Michael, and many more.

The lecture and panel discussion will be recorded and added to the John Michael Autobiographical Lecture Series in Art Education archives, maintained here at Miami. The archives are currently undergoing digitization.

Learn more about Renee Sandell and the John and Betty Michael Lecture Series>>

Contact: Dr. Stephanie Baer (baersa@miamioh.edu) or Dr. Stephanie Danker (dankers@miamioh.edu) for additional information.