CO-EDITOR’S LETTER: APRIL 2026

Once upon a time, I entered my classroom, opened a small decorative suitcase near my desk and set up a set of index cards and a sign instructing students to take a card and write why art matters to them personally. What began as a warm-up activity during Arts in Education Week soon turned into a pivotal moment for me as a teacher.

As I read their responses, I realized that by showing up each day and helping students make a connection to art, I was providing a lifeline for them in an unpredictable world. One student wrote:

Art matters to me because without art, there would be no way to express myself, no way of communication. It would be like stitching my mouth together, forcing me to stay trapped in my own body, screaming out for someone to let me out. Because with art I am free, I am safe, and I don’t have to feel the weight of the world alone.
—Olivia, grade eight (“Why Art Matters to Me,” SchoolArts magazine, September 2019)

In This Issue (Links to come)
Art advocacy begins with a vision, but it doesn’t end there. It is our privilege to turn that vision into action.

In this issue, you will see how superhero art educators throughout the nation and across various educational levels are raising awareness of the importance of the arts. Whether by including an advocacy component in the training of future art educators, as Dr. Amanda Galbraith shares in “Policies Matter: Shaping the Future of Art Education,” or by creating opportunities within the community to showcase student art in public places, as revealed in Jane Montero’s article, “Small-Town Advocacy.”

You will be inspired to read, “Advocacy in Focus: Picturing the Impact on Student Engagement,” and learn what prompted high-school art teacher and former state advocacy chair, Amanda Tutor, to offer a photography club to students. (A hundred students showed up on the first day!) In Holly Bess Kincaid’s article, “Art Read Think Day: Illustrated Dictionary Pages as Visual Voice,” you will learn how a simple project combining literacy and art had an emotional impact on her community. And these are just some of the highlights in this issue.

Some of you may not realize the impact you are making on your communities and on the future of art education by donning your superhero cape, showing up, making your students’ art learning visible, and speaking up in favor of legislation that supports our field. We hope that the articles in this issue will inspire you to have meaningful conversations, create opportunities, and help raise awareness of Why Art Matters.

I would like to thank Frank Juárez and SchoolArts magazine for inviting me to co-edit this 2026 Advocacy issue.

Melody Weintraub has written over thirty articles for SchoolArts. She retired from the classroom in 2020 with more than twenty-five years of experience teaching art. She keeps her superhero art cape ready as she speaks and presents workshops across the Southeast. She currently serves as President-Elect of NAEA’s Retired Art Educators Alliance and supervises art education candidates for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.