AC to Host 400 High School Students for 2026 IGNITE Creative Arts Conference
More than 400 high school students from across the region will gather Friday, March 27 at Amarillo College for the annual Ignite the Arts high school creative arts conference, a day of faculty- and artist-led workshops designed to inspire the next generation of creatives.
Co-presented by Amarillo College and the Texas Panhandle Art Education Association (TPAEA), Ignite will take place at AC’s Washington Street Campus. Students representing Amarillo ISD, Boys Ranch, Bushland, Canyon, Pampa, Plainview, River Road, Sanford-Fritch, Spearman and Texline schools will check in at 8 a.m.
Internationally acclaimed artist and muralist Birdcap (Michael Roy), whose career includes work in South Korea, Los Angeles, Denver and his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, will deliver the keynote address at 9 a.m. in Ordway Hall.
The first round of workshops will be held from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m. Lunch is scheduled from noon to 12:55 p.m. During lunch, Margarita Rocha, AC director of outreach services, and Sarah Webb, AC advising associate, will provide information about enrollment opportunities at Amarillo College. The second round of workshops will take place from 1:05 to 2:35 p.m.
More than 30 sessions will be led by Amarillo College and West Texas A&M University faculty, high school educators, museum professionals and community artists. Representatives from Blank Spaces, Discovery Center and Arts in the Sunset will also present workshops. Students will select the sessions they attend.
Sessions will include both career-focused and hands-on learning opportunities. Workshops will cover topics such as creating 2D animation using Blender; building figure mannequins for rendering poses in space and producing photograms, which are photographic images made on light-sensitive paper without a camera.
Additional sessions will include fused glass night lights with Blind Bird Glass Studios, where students will design custom pieces using flat glass and other materials; Big Fat Sketchbooks, which encourages students to transform sketchbooks into expressive visual journals; and monoprinting with gelli plates, a process for creating one-of-a-kind layered prints. Other offerings include aluminum cast metal sculpture, urban sketching inspired by the international Urban Sketchers organization, and a behind-the-scenes look at radio and television production, where participants will gain experience in anchoring, producing, audio editing and camera operation.
Additional sessions will explore pysanky, the Ukrainian art of decorating eggs using wax-resist and dye techniques; and exhibit design through a presentation by the Discovery Center, which will highlight its new dinosaur installation.
“We are excited to welcome these students to AC and to highlight the academic pathway in the visual arts from high school to college to university,” said Stephanie Jung, Amarillo College visual arts instructor and conference co-organizer. “Ignite is designed to bring young creatives and arts professionals together to forge connections and introduce students to the many resources available locally. Creative thinking is crucial in many fields and continues to grow in importance. Nurturing that imaginative outlook and connecting these students to the larger community is meaningful.”
The Texas Panhandle Art Education Association was founded to enrich education through the arts and to promote art as an integral part of the curriculum throughout the Panhandle. On behalf of TPAEA and the college, Jung expressed appreciation to the Amarillo College Foundation and Art Force for their continued support of Ignite the Arts.
For more information about ignite, contact Jung at sajung@actx.edu or Shawn Kennedy at shawn.kennedy@amaisd.org.