This year, the International School of Florence has been selected to host the Global Art Teachers Exchange, a three-day conference for visual arts educators.
Teachers from all over the world are invited to attend, with educators from 20 different countries (Cyprus, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Kenya, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the US) traveling to Florence for art excursions and workshops.
Spearheaded by Tess Hitchcock, the ISF Creative Arts Department will host a conference that focuses on the practice of making and teaching visual arts. The
workshops are led by art teachers for art teachers and designed to be hands-on and directly applicable to all classrooms.
On the Friday, groups will go on art excursions around the city center. These sessions will be structured like field trips, so teachers can see how they might bring these lessons back to their own cities and take their own students. Excursions include (but are not limited) to a historical tour of Florence given by ISF’s Tanya Bruckner, visits to Palazzo Strozzi and the Uffizi Galleries, and urban sketching in the Florentine streets.
The GATE ethos is all about learning through collaboration. The success of the Exchange depends on 100% participation of the attendees, which means that on the Saturday all teachers are asked to bring art samples, lesson plans, resources and creative ideas to share with other art teachers. Sunday makes room for teachers as practicing artists. Two sessions will be offered that provide time and opportunities to create, find inspiration, and perhaps try a new material or technique.
For more information, visit www.isfgate.org or email gate@isfitaly.org.
