EDITOR'S LETTER: SPRING 2026

Frank in front of artist Tyree Guytonʼs mural (detail) outside of The Suburban art gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo by Pat Ryan.

Thank you for picking up this special convention issue! Since September 2025, SchoolArts magazine has gone fully digital, making our content readily accessible to current subscribers, providing the perfect platform for curating articles that meet your teaching and curriculum needs. I understand that we live in a technology-driven world, but between you and me, I sure miss picking up a printed issue of SchoolArts. Luckily, this issue is one of two issues that we have in print this volume year. Dare I say a collector’s item?

Experience Chicago
Chicago is a fascinating and fast-paced city that offers an abundance of cultural and art experiences that will leave us with an appetite for creativity, connection, and community.

Ginny B. Van Alyea, publisher of Chicago Gallery News, shares, “With such a rich cultural landscape, there is a lot to see in Chicago because of the vastness of the city as well as the range of its art offerings. Beyond the big museums, which are of course not to be missed, there are many smaller museums to explore, from the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago to the restored Gilded Age mansion that houses the Driehaus Museum in the middle of Michigan Ave. There are well over one hundred galleries and art spaces in the city, from established galleries offering the top working artists today—Theaster Gates, Alex Katz, and David Hockney—to small experimental spaces run by artists on the weekends—check out Sawhorse, Tala, and the new Elise Siegenthaler spread out on the West Side.”

In This Issue
Living life through a contemporary lens provides opportunities to be in the present moment. Through personal and professional observations, bringing our art experiences into the art room, and adjusting how and what we teach, we will open the eyes of our students to a world of creative possibilities.

In the early childhood lesson “Reading Faces,” Kimberly Olson introduces her students to mindfulness through connection and emotional awareness, embracing joy through the Zones of Regulation curriculum. Students identify, depict, and respond to emotions observed on their classmatesʼ faces.

Tim Needles’s lesson “Animating the Seasons” delves into the use of Adobe Express as an accessible tool for storytelling, allowing elementary students to see themselves reflected in their animations for the Smithtown Elementary School Winter Art Show. Through this process, students learn to tell visual stories while expressing their unique perspectives on winter.

At the high-school level, Kasmira Mohanty’s “Design and Stitch” fosters a cross-disciplinary creative exchange between her Advanced Digital Design and Illustration class and the Advanced Fashion Design students. Paired together, students brainstorm and co-create fabric designs that are then used to construct one-of-a-kind garments. The final pieces are exhibited and modeled during a runway performance at a district art show.

I would love to hear your thoughts about SchoolArts magazine and your experience with our online platform, schoolarts.com. I hope you leave the convention with a newfound energy, excitement, and a craving for continued engagement with your peers, both near and far.