AC will Host 400 High School Students for a Creative Arts Conference
A collaborative tradition of faculty- and artist-led workshops aimed at inspiring the next generation of creatives returns Friday, March 28 to Amarillo College, where 400 high school students will gather for the IGNITE High School Creative Arts Conference.
For the fifth time Amarillo College and the Texas Panhandle Art Education Association (TPAEA) will co-present IGNITE, from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on AC’s Washington Street Campus.
And this year’s conference features not only morning and afternoon workshops and breakout sessions aplenty, but sandwiched in between those hands-on opportunities will be a midday keynote address given by Drew Merritt, a mural artist who uses a realistic style and a larger-than-life scale to create pieces including Amarillo’s own mural of rodeo influencer and cowboy Dale Brisby at 506 Tyler Street.
IGNITE officially kicks off at 8:55 a.m. in Ordway Hall with opening remarks by TPAEA’s President and Caprock High School Art Teacher Shawn Kennedy, who then will then sit on a panel discussing “How Murals Get Made: The Public and Private Perspective.” The panel, moderated by Jason Boyett of Brick & Elm Magazine and the “Hey Amarillo” podcast will also include:
● Michael Kashuba: Director of Parks & Recreation (City of Amarillo)
● Andrew Hall: Founder, Hoodoo Mural Festival
● Jon Revett: Art Program Director and Muralist (WTAMU)
● Katt Massey: City of Amarillo Beautification and Public Arts Advisory Board, Hoodoo Board
After the morning panel, the 400 students in attendance – from Amarillo, Boys Ranch, Bushland, Canadian, Canyon, Plainview, River Road, Sanford-Fritch, Spearman, and Texline schools – will fan out to across the campus to attend breakout sessions in the College Union Building and in Byrd, Parcells, Dutton and Ordway halls.
Presentations by college faculty and students, high school faculty, museum curators, community artists and art experts will be options for students. Representatives of the mural squad Blank Spaces, Discovery Center and Arts in the Sunset will also lead sessions.
For example, Austin Ullen, graphic designer at Local Legends Outfitters, will lead a session called “Always Creating Whether You’re Good or Not,” while Chase Brady, City of Amarillo multimedia production manager, will present a session on mixed media collage, something he pursues as part of his personal creative process. Leslie Moody Castro, owner of AtravesArte, will discuss Contemporary Art in Mexico City.
AC faculty will be strongly represented as Steve Cost, AC professor of art, will present “Abstract Drawing.” Rene West, professor of art, and Brent Cavanaugh, AC art coordinator, will present “Photograms,” and Jaime Carrillo, AC instructor of graphic design will present “Animating with Blender,” and John Brixen, AC instructor of art/graphic design, will present “Elements and Principles of Design.” While Amy Presley, FM90 program director, will offer a tour of FM 90/Panhandle PBS.
Other sessions will feature faculty from WTAMU, such as Jon Revett, assistant professor of painting and drawing, and Echo Sibley, assistant professor of theatre, who will present “Physical Storytelling.”
The keynote address by Merritt, who grew up on a cattle ranch in New Mexico, will be from 11:25 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. in Ordway Hall. The keynote and panel are open to the public. Merritt merges street art and portraiture and known worldwide for his romanticized, renaissance-inspired murals and oil paintings.
“We are glad to welcome these students to AC, and to highlight the academic pathway in the arts from high school, to college, to university,” said Stephanie Jung, AC instructor of art and conference organizer. “And we’re thrilled that Drew has agreed to be our keynote speaker.
“Our conference is designed to bring young creatives and local arts professionals together to forge connections and introduce students to the many arts resources available locally,” she said. “Creative thinking is crucial in so many fields, and more important now than ever—nurturing that creative outlook and connecting these students to the larger arts community is truly special.”
The Texas Panhandle Art Education Association (TPAEA) was founded with the purpose of enriching education through the arts and stimulating the teaching of art as an integral part of the total curriculum throughout the Panhandle. On behalf of the TPAEA and the College, Jung wishes to thank the AC Foundation for their generous support of IGNITE.
For more information about IGNITE, please contact Jung at sajung@actx.edu or 405-788-6591, Kennedy at shawn.kennedy@amaisd.org or 806-640-4490.