Another fantastic year for the Art Educators of the NT attending the Zart Conference, this year the theme of ‘Women in Art’. Julie Rapp opened the first day of the conference as the keynote speaker, sharing insights and motivations about her at-making career. Part of her sharing that I found inspiring was around how her work is a personal response to the world around her. That as an artist she is not trying to summarise or categorise a response but rather it is a very human and personal reply. Similarly, the panel discussion on day two wove together female voices gently articulating their motivations as artists. Many of the voices sharing cyclical, family-oriented, and gentle touches to political, cultural, and global issues. Both sessions were very intimate and stirring for me as both artist and art teacher, the theme of Women in Art was very much held in strong foundations.
The hands-on sessions were also excellent, I participated in Dawn Tan’s Creative Water colouring – Snack time Party! workshop and Natalie Ryan’s Sculpting Stingrays workshop, both of which were a lot of fun and practical tasks I can take directly into the classroom. The Zart materials were of course another highlight of the conference!