Art Education Magazine

Latest Issues

The Contemporary Art Issue, March 2026

Art teachers integrate contemporary artists and themes into their curriculum, fostering collaboration, play, and imagination. Young students create a large-scale painting inspired by Mickalene Thomas, elementary students upcycle materials to build unique mini worlds in glass jars, middle-school students draw from personal experiences to create relief-printed interpretations of monsters, and high-school students transform traditional portraits into deconstructed compositions.

Media Arts

The Media Arts Issue, January/February 2026

Art teachers integrate media arts to amplify student voice and foster connection. Young students build emotional literacy through stop-motion animations, elementary students use Adobe Express to create narrated stories expressing their perspectives on winter, middle-school art and STEM students collaborate on animated public service announcements, high-school Digital Design and Illustration students partner with Fashion Design students to develop custom garments, and more.

Mindfulness

The Mindfulness Issue, December 2025

Art teachers support students in slowing down, enjoying the creative process, and grounding themselves in the present. Young learners apply self- and social-awareness skills as they depict emotions through portraiture, elementary students explore watercolor techniques without the pressure of perfection, middle-school students create mixed-media landscapes that connect art with Indigenous botany, high-school students engage in the meditative practice of knitting, and more.

Interdisciplinary Connections

The Connections Issue, September 2025

While teaching students about new artists, processes, and techniques, art teachers also prioritize building relationships and strong foundations. Young students transform the hallway bulletin board into a giant sheet music mural promoting kindness, elementary students develop fantastical illustrations, middle-school students embrace imperfections while making stained glass jewelry, high-school students work with limited materials to create balanced compositions, and more.

Transformation

The Transformation Issue, November 2025

Art teachers explore the theme of transformation, guiding students to shift perspectives and reimagine materials as new works of art. Young students collaborate on a school-wide clay mosaic inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar, elementary students breathe new life into cardboard with landscape-inspired low-reliefs, middle-schoolers transform recycled materials into wearable art, high-school students turn disassembled machine parts into futuristic inventions, and more.

Choice-Based

The Student Voice and Choice Issue, October 2025

Art teachers foster student voice and choice, guiding them to be thoughtful artists and critical thinkers. Young students engage in a three-part insect-drawing unit that blends science and imagination. Elementary students design 3D miniature studios inspired by artist research. Middle-schoolers use mapping to craft conceptual self-portraits reflecting identity. High-schoolers study Naum Gabo’s Constructivist sculptures, then build original works tied to personal interests.

Classroom Practice

The Innovation Issue, Summer 2025

Art teachers share new and exciting art-making experiences in and outside the art room. Young students collaborate to paint a hanging cardboard butterfly installation, elementary students use everyday objects to create illuminating bookshelf dioramas, middle-school students use 3D-scanning technology to print lifelike portraits, high-school students address contemporary issues while creating in an outdoor classroom, and more.

Classroom Practice

The Process Issue, May 2025

Art teachers use a process-based approach to engage students in art-making. Young students apply color-mixing to create vibrant watercolor paintings, elementary students are introduced to the unique process of paper quilling, middle-school students use critical thinking and ideation skills while drawing meaningful self-portraits, high-school students use fused glass techniques to create functional works of art, and more.

Contemporary Art

The Contemporary Art Issue, April 2025

This issue focuses on various interpretations of contemporary art and what art means for students today. Young students connect to the natural world and print with leaves, elementary students combine elements from historical and contemporary artworks to create a new work of art, middle-school students explore the large-scale sculptures of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, high-school students channel contemporary themes into a self-portrait photo composite, and more.

Highlights

What Is a Monster? Interpreting, Perceiving, & Making Meaning

Middle-school students use storytelling to connect personal experiences and create symbolic, relief-printed interpretations of monsters.

1 March 2026

Even Bigger Than Us: Imaginary Portraiture Inspired by Mickalene Thomas

Young students collaborate on a large-scale painting of an imaginary heroine, adding nontraditional materials to bring their ideas to life.

1 March 2026

Editor's Letter: Contemporary Art

Frank Juárez, SchoolArts editor-in-chief, reflects on how contemporary art informs teaching and curriculum while deepening student engagement.

1 March 2026

Damon Lamar Reed: Inspiring Hope through Art

Frank Juárez, SchoolArts editor-in-chief, talks murals and more with one of NAEA26’s Artist Series speakers.

1 March 2026

Contemporary Art in Context: Jeffrey Gibson

Interdisciplinary artist Jeffrey Gibson creates vibrant works that fuse Indigenous cultural traditions with contemporary global practices.

1 March 2026

Meeting Individual Needs: Buddy Crafts: Making Inclusion the Focus

An art educator designs an inclusive curriculum where students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers collaborate as equals.

1 March 2026

Media Arts

Media Arts Essentials from Davis

The new Media Arts Essentials program bundles Davis’s media arts resources with resources on how to facilitate successful implementation. Get sixteen hours of professional development with a wealth of lessons and support for educators across grades K–12.

Media Arts, 1 March 2026