Amarillo College and the Texas Panhandle Art Education Association proudly present IGNITE: High School Creative Arts Conference, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 12 on the AC’s Washington Street Campus.
The event kicks off with Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson’s opening keynote address at 9 a.m. in Ordway Hall.
This inaugural conference is offering 50 workshops from the area’s best resources including professional artists, business owners, educators and civic leaders from across the Panhandle.
IGNITE will provide attendees and presenters powerful connectivity and scaffolding to help develop the cultural ecology of our community by investing in the assets of our high school students and create future leaders.
General session workshops being offered include fine art, photography, graphic design, web development, advertising, marketing, audio/video production, performance art, college preparation, public murals, art history and even yoga classes.
Workshops will be conducted in Ordway, Russell, Byrd and Parcells halls.
Daniel Davis, Hope Stokes, Bahareh Ritter and Wilson Lemieux will participate in a lunch panel discussion entitled, Four Creatives on Creating Your Own Career. The closing keynote address will be delivered by author and podcaster Jason Boyett entitled, College is Vital, but Not for the Reasons You Think.
“This conference offers a great way for high school students to explore careers in the creative arts,” Jill Gibson, AC’s Matney Mass Media program chair, said. “The collaboration between the AC Creative Arts Community, the Texas Panhandle Art Education Association (TPAEA) and area artists and business people will provide high school students from across the Panhandle with insight, inspiration and hands-on learning opportunities.”
TPAEA President Shawn Kennedy stated: “AC drawing instructor Stephanie Jung and Caprock High School have been experimenting with a workshop-based model for high school students the past few years. Collectively our two groups saw a need to deliver ‘real world’ networks and experiences to our creative community at large in effort to cultivate the vibrant talent that exists in the Texas Panhandle.”
-Amarillo College
