2009 was a great year that I will look back on fondly and be thankful for. Many marvelous events happened and in this blog post I will take a moment to remember.
The National Art Education Association national convention, Minneapolis, April 2009.
1. Every few years or so you may attend an event, party, or conference which will introduce new people and ways of thinking that transforms your life. The NAEA 2009 National Convention in Minneapolis was a truly life changing event that altered my perceptions of art education and the direction of my career. I will forever be grateful to Ann Kuo for sharing this experience with me. At NAEA I met Karen Keifer-Boyd and became involved with the Women’s Caucus advocacy group.
Karen Keifer-Boyd performing Wrinkles in Visual Culture and Gender at NAEA Minneapolis, April 2009.
2. Women’s Caucus and the Enacting Change project. This project is a result of the NAEA Women’s Caucus 2009 Enacting Change lobby session lead by Keifer-Boyd. From there I initiated the Enacting Change activism project where members of NAEA Women’s Caucus were interviewed to create a record of their leadership, research, and pedagogy for an article currently under review at the journal of Visual Culture & Gender (VCG).
Spike Rees was very glad to have Ranjit home, July 2009.
3. After being separated for almost a year, my husband Ranjit returned to Taiwan from Quebec City, Canada. It meant the world to me and it feels so good to have him back home.
Good times in Taipei, April 2009.
4. Did I mention how much I appreciate my job at Huafan University and life in Taipei? Huafan U. is where the heart is and I feel so lucky to have my new office and connection with students.
At Ann Kuo’s retirement party, June 2009
5. The M.I.C.Y. colloquium in Ljubljana Slovenia. A wonderful experience that was culturally, intellectually, and artistically transformative.
Dinner with Ann in Ljubljana, Slovenia, October 2009
6. Letting go of the negative. In 2009 I decided to let go of some personal relationships there were more negative than positive. This was hard to do at first but I’m much happier now.
The Franciscan Church, Ljubljana, Slovenia, October 2009.
7. Getting published. After almost two years my article on research trends in Canadian art education will be published in the upcoming issue of the International Journal of Education through Art. Last fall the 2008 World Creativity Summit proceedings were published, on which I served as associate editor with editors Ann Kuo and Michael Day.
Image from the wet drapery photo series, May 2009.
8. My photography became more fine art focused. This is a wonderful development that was inspired by the wet drapery series for Jo Chen’s Women Art and Society PhD course. Although I am continuing to freelance with Verve, Eva Air’s in-flight magazine my focus is shifting to the fine arts. Upcoming projects include a feminist art photo series called “Womb” for Linda Hoeptner Poling ‘s alphabet project and the 2010 NAEA Women’s Caucus juried slide show on the theme of social justice.
Alice Arnold receives a service award at at NAEA Minneapolis, April 2009.
9. Future project and plans. I am looking to 2010 for big changes and progress. Alice Arnold and I are still working on our book project Children’s Art from Around the World. There is also the 2010 NAEA Baltimore Women’s Caucus lobby session with Keifer-Boyd and Read Dicket; in addition to developing our collaborative research project questioning the definition of feminism in art education.
Images from the Lin family mansion and garden as seen in Verve magazine, February 2009.
