Art Gives Purpose to Life

It’s 4pm, you’ve just had a full on day, you’ve worked with one group of students or maybe a few.

After cleaning up the last little bits in the art room, you look around for someone to share your successes with; someone who will appreciate the energy and effort you’ve put in. You’re looking for someone you can throw ideas around with and get more inspired, you may even be hoping to find someone who would be able to show you something new. Without knowing it, you’ve just stumbled on to why Art Education Victoria exists, empowerment, whether you are achieving great success or looking for help to grow in the face of challenge.

If you’re not familiar with us, Art Education Victoria (AEV) is the professional association for art educators in the state of Victoria. Most professions have associations, which sounds a little daunting at first, but in reality it’s a just a group of passionate educators that meet to drive excellence in the visual arts. This can be as simple as exchanging stories and ideas through formal and informal meet ups or sharing resources.

Our formal programs address the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Standards to support you in reaching your professional goals. As educators ourselves, we are well aware of the challenges of getting time off school for professional development (PD) so we also provide live online PD that is supported by an ongoing digital community. Regardless of your teaching experience, AEV has a place for you in the conversation, and opportunities to extend your knowledge and skill level.

We are always seeking to expand our offerings, however currently our strongest areas are educators in F-10 and VCE. While our primary focus is the Visual Arts curriculum, we are passionate about STEAM learning and provide information and resources to help in Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Capability, and Personal and Social Capability.

Historically, AEV has been a key advocate for educators on curriculum and policy with the government and has overseen many projects in partnership with the Department of Education, to drive excellence in schools. Our members enjoy discounts on resources and PD, including our annual conference, a subscription to our online Journal ARTicle and access to a range of free resources through the website.

In the last year, we have undertaken a massive transformation since the retirement of our long serving Executive Officer Marian Strong and moving out of the Statewide Resource Centre. With these massive changes behind us and a world of opportunity ahead, we’d love to continue the journey with you. If you know someone who also would benefit from joining our vibrant association, please encourage them to find out more information on our brand new website, https://aev.vic.edu.au.

Steve Marks
President
Arts Edcuation Victoria (AEV)