Improvisation: Experimentation and Creativity in Practice

Conference Postcard

The Department of Art Education and Crafts announces Improvisation and Creativity as the theme for its 79th annual conference to be held on the Kutztown University campus November 17, 2017.  Headlining the conference will be educators from the Upright Citizens Brigade, one of the premier improvisation and sketch comedy groups in the nation and the springboard for such improv greats as Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Horatio Sanz. The UCB team will introduce improvisation and its potential for the classroom during the morning keynote session. Later in the day, conference participants will have the opportunity to attend a two-hour workshop exploration with the team.  In addition, several concurrent sessions featuring related topics and workshops will be offered in the afternoon. Educators in attendance will be prepared to return to their K-12 classrooms with innovative ideas about motivation, inspiration and creativity.

Such innovation is the hallmark of the Kutztown annual art education conference.  For 79 years, the conference has upheld a tradition of providing cutting-edge professional development for hundreds of art teachers and others in the region, typically drawing from southeastern Pennsylvania and all parts of New Jersey. The Department of Art Education and Crafts takes seriously its role in providing such opportunities for art educators, the majority of whom are graduates of its undergraduate and graduate programs in art education. In addition to its annual conference, the Department offers an array of summer study institutes, some of which are in collaboration with artists, museums, arts organizations and other entities.

There will be two sets of 2 hr individual sessions; one before lunch and one after. All attendees will have one small group class with Upright Citizen's Brigade- 20 people class and for their second session will choose from a variety of offerings:

The Jazz of Making: Improv Printmaking - Amy Migliore
The ebb and flow of improv in jazz allows artists to create new and original work in an atmosphere of freedom. In this session come experience how improv in printmaking can provide a space for artists to play, create and learn free from judgment. Choose from a panacea of tools, supplies and papers, as you freely compose an array of prints using gelli art mono-printing plates. 

Teaching as Improv:Toolbox of Joy - Carla Majczan
In this session participants will engage in fun and interactive strategies so they can return home with a "toolbox" bursting at the seams with hooks and energizers that add joy to learning. 

Perfect if Boring - Beverly Houck 
Improv Educator and Artistic Director, Beverly Houck, of the Yocum Arts Institute will lead an interactive session that helps teachers consider how improv can be used in the classroom to engage and activate learning in new ways. 

Student Lesson and Strategy Share: Improv in the Classroom
Students submit lessons related to the theme for juried review- those selected have an opportunity to share & teach a portion of their lesson to attendees. 

Conference poster and schedule