[flickr id=”8189021472″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

Every year, the new Art Education MAT cohort organizes an all-student art exhibit around the Critical Encounters theme for the year. This year, the Art MAT’s own Devin Schuyler and Melissa Miller are co-chairing it up, and it’s going to be a fabulous show! Well, what’s Critical Encounters, you ask? I’ll tell you that and then some!

Critical Encounters is a school-wide organization that works to establish valuable dialogue among the students, faculty, and staff of Columbia about a given theme. This year, Critical Encounters is exploring the theme of Art + Activism. This theme is explored by various academic programs, as well as by individual students in the form of music, poetry, discussion, and in our case, art exhibits!

I can tell you from experience how involved our first-year students get with planning the show. I was one of three co-chairs last year to help organize it (big shout out to my co-chairs Joanne and Kim!!), and there is a good amount of work that goes into it.

First, there’s designing the show cards and posters to advertise the event around school. After that, there’s creating a system for collecting the art, since all of the Art Education MAT students need to submit work for the exhibit.Then, there’s getting tasty food ordered (because no one wants to go to an art show that has no food), and the all-important hanging of the show. My co-chairs and I put in some effort there. There were three of us last year, so I know Devin and Melissa are working hard!

With that being said, I’m inviting everyone who reads this to come to the Art Education MAT art show and come support your future art teachers!

When is it? Wednesday, November 28th

What time? 7:30pm

Where? 33 East Congress Parkway, 4th Floor, Room 404, Chicago, IL 60605

See you there!