Doing the (Art)Work: Building an Anti-Racist Curriculum Using the Arts

Teachers at every grade level are being confronted with the realities of racism and asking difficult questions about how to tackle these conversations in their classrooms. In recognition that it is not enough simply to have a multicultural or tolerant classroom, but necessary to have an actively anti-racist one, the CMA brings together a panel of experts and educators with years of experience doing this work to discuss what anti-racism work looks like in the classroom at any grade level. Open to all educators.

Sponsored by Colonial Life

Speakers
•    Vanessa Smart started her career in K-12 art education and became interested in community connections and issues of diversity through her work with the North Carolina Museum of Art and nonprofit organizations. During her 20 years as a classroom teacher, she continued her studies and research with a specific interest in representation and imagery in publicly funded spaces. Smart has worked with Duke University’s Literacy Through Photography program, Chatham County government, and many museums. She is an active member of the National Art Education Association, having served on its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion task force.

•    Dr. Wynita Harmon has been an art educator for the past 13 years and currently serves as an associate professor and instructional coach at the Art of Education University. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership as well as a master’s degree in human relations with an emphasis in organizational leadership. Harmon has worked at Title I schools throughout her career, and in her classroom she has strived to provide authentic, meaningful experiences for students that promote innovation, creativity, and collaboration. Most recently she was featured on Art Ed Radio where she spoke about addressing race in the art room.

•    Krissy Ponden has been teaching art to elementary and middle school children for the past 15 years in addition to serving as the department chair. She is the co-coordinator of her school’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and currently serves on the National Art Education Association Commission for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion  as the middle division commissioner. Ponden is dedicated to embedding social justice principles into her curricula and engaging students in critical conversations though an ED&I lens. Her master’s thesis focused on social justice art education and included many examples from her own classroom.

•    Dr. Browning Neddeau is enrolled  in the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. He joined the California State University, Chico faculty in 2019, jointly appointed in the School of Education and Department of Multicultural and Gender Studies. Prior to becoming a tenure-track faculty member in the CSU system, Neddeau was a California public elementary school teacher and adjunct faculty member at public and private universities. Neddeau has three lines of research under the larger umbrella of student engagement: Native American culturally appropriate representation in schools, agricultural education, and arts education.