Co-Editor's Letter: Media Arts

The National Art Education Association (NAEA) defines media arts as “an expanding field that currently includes, but is not limited to: the design of mediated images, objects, spaces, and experiences; film; video; computer programming; interactive animation; digital fabrication; games; and virtual and augmented reality” (see References).

Media arts is an ever-growing subject area in art education that many educators across the country are introducing to their students. Media projects—ranging from animation to digital illustration—engage and inspire students to develop their creative potential in the art classroom. These new forms of artistic expression allow students to combine technology with imagination, bridging traditional art-making with digital innovation.

Skills for Today
Media arts education expands creative opportunities while it nurtures twenty-first-century skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. Students learn to think critically about the digital images and media they encounter daily, understanding how meaning is constructed and shared in our visually driven world. As technology continues to evolve, so does the language of art. Educators are finding that media arts offer a natural platform for integrating art, design, and technology in ways that feel relevant and exciting to today’s learners. From coding interactive experiences to creating short films or experimenting with augmented reality, students explore the power of visual storytelling and design thinking through media arts.

Looking to the Future
As Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross write, “The arts reflect and inform the time in which they are created; they take the pulse of their time, but the artists have also been essential for forecasting the future and serving as an early-warning system for society” (p. 230). Nowhere is this more apparent than in the realm of media arts, where artists use digital tools to examine social issues, challenge perspectives, and imagine new realities.
Recent international art exhibits, such as in situ: Refik Anadol at the Guggenheim Bilbao, exemplify this forward-looking spirit. The installation provided a viewing experience that was more than just looking at art—it was a multisensory encounter merging reimagined images of Frank Gehry’s architectural masterpieces with an immersive soundscape blending AI-generated audio and recorded material. The gallery was alive with color, sound, and movement, and the audience (myself included) was enveloped in a world where technology and emotion coexisted seamlessly.

In This Issue
This SchoolArts issue features a wide variety of media arts projects representing early childhood through high school. Each author brings something new to the media arts equation, offering practical classroom ideas adaptable for different grade levels and settings. Whether students are designing digital characters, exploring stop-motion animation, or experimenting with AI-generated imagery, these projects encourage creativity and critical inquiry.

The beauty of media arts is that what defines it is wide open and continuously evolving. Its flexibility invites educators and students to take creative risks, experiment with new tools, and see the artistic process as discovery. Media arts remind us that art education is not static—it grows alongside the world around it, reflecting how imagination and technology can work together to shape the future of human expression.