NAEA Chicago – Another Amazing Conference

This year’s conference in Chicago was another great event – the attendance of over 5,000 was impressive and so was the location (on Lake Michigan with an amazing view of the Chicago skyline). And Chicago definitely lived up to its nickname of the Windy City (we all sported windblown hair for a few days).

But the most impressive thing that we experienced, and that we kept hearing over and over again, was how positive and uplifting the conference was for everyone. Everywhere you looked, you could see people smiling, hugging, sharing and having great conversations. It speaks volumes for the level of professionalism amongst the art education community and the NAEA organization that everyone in attendance was focused on the greater good of not only supporting and promoting art education, but supporting each other as well.

In the Art to Remember booth, we had a blast getting to meet teachers that have worked with us for many years and hearing about how partnering with Art to Remember has transformed and funded their art room. We also loved getting to introduce ourselves to new faces and talk about ways that we can work together in the future. And we were in awe of the artwork that you were able to create in minutes on paper and transformed into one of our new pocket mirrors.

Of course, we loved getting to meet with Nic of Mini Matisse, our friends at the Art of Education and Education Closet (check out all of these for great resources) and other great vendors that we see year after year.

If you’d like to see more about what happened at NAEA, search #NAEA16 or download the app to see the live feed from the conference.

We are already looking forward to the 2017 conference in NYC – if you are interested in attending, now is a great time to start talking to your school district to see if they’ll cover the cost. The NAEA has great tools that will help you out including how to Make Your Case. If you are still short on funds, you can always partner with us and run a fundraiser. We hope to see you in NYC!

If you registered to win one of the AOE gift cards – we will announce the winners within the next few weeks.