The IADEA Annual Conference
The IADEA Annual Conference and Awards were a non-profit initiative by RainbowFish Educational Trust, with the intention to provide support, direction and advocacy for quality Visual Arts Education across India. Over 100 art educators participated in the event from schools across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Madurai, Jaipur, Bhopal, Ahmedabad and other cities. The conference was held at the Piramal Art Museum in Lower Parel, Mumbai, on the 15th and 16th of February, 2018.
The goal of the IADEA is to significantly improve the quality of art education for over a million students in schools across the country in the next 5 years.
To this end IADEA will conduct smaller regional workshops in addition to the annual conference, send out a monthly newsletter and create an online platform for Art Teachers to share knowledge and showcase their student activities.
The first IADEA annual conference was supported by Development Partner, Tata Trusts. The event was hosted by the Piramal Museum of Art.Sundaram Finance has also generously supported the event. Knowledge partners include Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, Pomegranate Workshop, Art 1st, Tara Books, RainbowFish Studio, Tulika Publishers, Dakshina Chitra Museum and Dharavi Art Room. The radio partner wasFever FM.
The conference featured speaker sessions, multiple hands-on workshops and skill enhancement sessions, ready-to-apply curriculum, lesson plans and worksheets, and an Art Educator Award presentation. Speakers included renowned figures from the art world, including Nilanjana Nandi – Artist, Art Educator; Harry Hancock – Portrait Painter, Performance Artist and Art Educator; Maya Thiagarajan – Educator and Author; and Vidya Shivadas – Director, Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art among others.
Sara Vetteth, Founder – IADEA said, “Our goal is to create a vibrant professional community of Art teachers through networking, collaboration and sharing resources. Our Knowledge partners have generously come together to share their experiences, best practices and insights on art education.”
Sara Vetteth is the founder of IADEA. She earned her Masters degree in Design and Technology from Parsons school of design New York, has been an artist in residence at the Bauhaus in Germany and has authored several books as part of the Art for Kids series. She is the CEO of RainbowFish Studio program for Visual Arts Education in schools across the country.
Art Teacher Excellence Awards
In recognition of the extraordinary work that Art Educators are doing across India, IADEA presented “The Art Teacher Excellence Awards” to twelve Art Teachers. These awards recognized – Effective Art Teaching Techniques, Innovation in the Art Room, Instilling Creative Confidence in Students, Best Use of Elements of Art, Promoting Artistic Process in the Classroom and Collaborative Student Art Projects.
Critically acclaimed artist Riyas Komu was the Chief Guest for the Awards Ceremony. Riyas Komu is invested in reviving Art Education and developing Art Infrastructure in India. He is the Co-founder of the Kochi Biennale and currently working as Director of Programmes for the Kochi Biennale Foundation, developing projects focusing on Arts Education in India. In this capacity, he has also initiated the Children’s Biennale and Students Biennale.
Close to 60 submissions from ICSC, CBSE and International boards including IGCSC and IB as well as independent Art schools were been received. Each Teacher’s submission included teaching methods, lesson learning objectives, grade level of the students who did the work, medium used, time taken to complete the project and a minimum of 6 images of students art works.
Reputed judges RM Palaniappan (retired director of Lalith Kala Chennai) and Harry Hancock (Artist and Educator from Barcelona) ranked the art projects under a rigorous selection process.
