2026 NCAEA Professional Development Conference

Art Comes Together Here

October 22 - 25, 2026  ·  Riverfront Convention Center

Come together to collaborate, create community, and advance connections and ideas through interactions with fellow art educators and exhibitors. This is our time of growth and community building.

Agenda

Thursday, October 22
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Join me as if we dive into a world of fabric, exploring the technique of kinusaiga.
10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
An all day hands-on workshop for Preservice teachers to those with fewer than 5 years of experience.
12:30 PM - 3:30 PM
12:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Join us for a tour of A+ School JT Barber Elementary led by Principal Dr. Wallace. Bus will depart from the Convention Center at 12:30pm.
Friday, October 23
8:15 AM - 5:00 PM
8:15 AM - 5:00 PM
9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
Learn through fiber arts while creating a culturally appropriate and relevant art for 2nd through 5th grades.
Tips and tricks for managing little artists (and your sanity).
Examine how visual arts educators can use contemporary artworks to engage students in meaningful dialogue about migration and belonging.
9:00 AM - 10:50 AM
9:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Join us for a colorful journey that blends creativity with science!
A guided reset designed for art educators navigating burnout, overwhelm, and decision fatigue.
9:00 AM - 11:50 AM
9:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Transform meaningful artworks through assemblage. Part 2/2 continues Saturday, 10/24, from 8:00-10:50am.
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Access anytime throughout conference.
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Learn more about artist Danny Lyon through analyzing and interpreting his photographs and their role in US history.
Examine contemporary research in art education to develop adaptable frameworks that effectively address the diverse needs of students, cultivate critical thinking, and establish safe learning environments for K-12 learners.
Explore budget friendly ways to organize your classroom supplies, develop a routine for lesson planning, and handle classroom management.
10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Educators will experience a classroom-ready “text → visual” book cover lesson, and create a collage-based cover concept.
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Make and take a recycled material sketchbook that you can easily create and use with your students.
Learn to manage painting with elementary students AND get a free lesson plan in this hands-on workshop.
Drawing from the Nasher Museum’s Teacher Workshops and successful Teacher Summer Institute, participants will explore a model of PD that restores rather than demands.
What happens when the freedom of museum camp meets the structure of the K–12 art room?
Learn how to develop lesson segments that are engaging, critical, and creative, ensuring alignment with the assessment criteria of the edTPA.
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
Play, process over product, and a little healthy detachment from the idea of the “perfect” final piece.
Attendees will engage with Lewis’s layered identities and the tactile nature of sculpture and learn about the museum’s free virtual field trip program, The Stories Art Can Tell, which explores the impact of Lewis and other women artists.
2:00 PM - 3:50 PM
2:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Clay curriculum for PrK-5th grade, from a veteran art teacher.
Come join Melissa Poppe and her science teacher pal, Carl Rush, for a lesson on navigating and perfecting gyotaku printing and science lessons.
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Learn to create your own animal tessellation
Join us, NCAEA's Distinguished Fellows, to look at scope and sequence from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Engage students with media using a critical lens and equip them to become active participants in a better, more thoughtful, tomorrow.
4:00 PM - 4:50 PM
4:00 PM - 4:50 PM
Introduce TAB with clarity, structure, and confidence.
Learn to incorporate literacy strategies in an authentic way so that your students (and admin) will see it too.
Learn to skillfully write proposals for grants and successfully obtain funds for your art program.
4:00 PM - 5:50 PM
Learn how literacy works in tandem with reading and writing skills to construct fluency, develop student voice, and create contexts for learning.
5:00 PM - 5:50 PM
5:00 PM - 5:50 PM
Part 2/2 Continues Saturday, 10/24 from 8:00-8:50am
Saturday, October 24
8:00 AM - 8:50 AM
8:00 AM - 8:50 AM
A continuation of Part 1/2 from Friday, 10/23, from 5:00-5:50pm
This is a general session for AP Art & Design teachers focused on classroom-tested strategies that lead to student success.
Unveil five art lessons aligned with Wit & Wisdom modules for grades K–6, plus a curated slideshow with museum links for high-quality viewing and deeper exploration.
The session emphasizes practical strategies educators can apply immediately in their classrooms to create learning environments where students feel seen, valued, and empowered through creative expression.
8:00 AM - 9:50 AM
8:00 AM - 9:50 AM
Join us in this workshop to explore 3-D based needle felting and walk away with a felted sculpture.
Learn how to make a sculptural book about North Carolina that integrates Social Studies for fourth and eighth grade.
8:00 AM - 10:50 AM
8:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Transform meaningful artworks through assemblage. Is a continuation of Part 1/2 from Friday, 10/23, from 9:00-11:50am.
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
*Please note that the Registration table closes at 3:00pm.
9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
This research-backed session explores the vital intersection where the art classroom meets the Science of Reading.
This presentation will outline key components of certification, share practical insights, and offer an open Q&A for teachers at any stage of the process.
Help students get over the classic ‘I don’t have any ideas.’ or wanting to copy TikTok trends and Pinterest-perfect images.
9:00 AM - 10:50 AM
9:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Come discover the art of self-expression and leave with a map that tells your story.
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Access anytime throughout conference.
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Come to an interactive Q&A presentation with tips & tricks to organize and manage your AP Art classes.
This presentation explores the foundational principles of Teaching for Artistic Behaviors (TAB).
Join us for this fun, informational session on our gallery and this amazing exhibit!
10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Go through the process and sequence for creating an armature utilizing cardboard, plastic bags, tape, and papier-mâché.
In this 2-hour, classroom-ready workshop, educators will experience a simple, repeatable process for transforming short texts.
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Learn and see examples of how to create a class exhibition of monochromatic 3-D paper collages.
This session will help new ceramic artists build confidence, protect their work, and develop good kiln habits from the start.
Inspired by interdisciplinary teaching and research on the art and math intersection, this presentation introduces a series of exemplary art and math lessons.
Participants will explore how high expectations, structured routines, and strong relationships are essential to a successful TAB classroom.
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
This hands-on workshop introduces educators to gelli-plate monoprinting as a low pressure printmaking process that emphasizes experimentation, layering, texture, and color.
Come discuss how to stay visible and market your program.
This session is designed for preservice, beginning, and early-career elementary art teachers seeking honest advice, encouragement, and strategies that actually work in real classrooms.
2:00 PM - 3:50 PM
2:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Join us for a guided planning lab where educators apply the TAB framework directly to their own classrooms.
Combine SEL and journaling practices to connect with your students and help them find inspiration for their art from the world around them.
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
This discussion-based session introduces the work and artistic practice of North Carolina–born painter Damian Stamer.
If you are looking for new ways to integrate social studies and cultures in your K-8 lessons come explore with us.
4:00 PM - 4:50 PM
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
This event is included in registration.
Sunday, October 25
8:00 AM - 9:50 AM
8:00 AM - 9:50 AM
This event is included in registration.
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
*Required event
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
*Required event
*Required event
*Required event
*Required event
12:00 PM
12:00 PM

Location

Location: Riverfront Convention Center, 203 Front Street, New Bern, NC 28560