Mission Statement

To further Art education through professional development, service, advancement of knowledge, advocacy and leadership and to increase creative connections to human experiences.

Our Mission

To develop and promote standards of instruction in art and to make recommendations for the provision of adequate instructional materials, equipment, and school plant facilities which will create and maintain optimum learning conditions in art.

To develop and promote standards of preparation for teachers of art in the state of Arizona in the several levels of education.

To cooperate with professional education associations, such as the National Art Education Association, and the Arizona Education Association, and to strengthen the teaching profession by such actions as desirable.

To enable members to speak with a common voice on matters pertaining to the profession and to present their individual and common interests before appropriate individuals and education in general.

To encourage and promote research and publications significant to art education in particular and education in general.

Katie Bechtel
AzAEA is an organization run by and for art educators who want to expand and improve their art education skills and knowledge by associating with the top art educators in the state and nation. A group of intelligent and well educated people who are passionate about providing our students and children with an appreciation of art and the skills and abilities to make their own art thus providing them with a quality of life that will last forever.

Dr. Laurie Eldridge
Arizona Art Education Association is a professional organization for visual art educators, teaching artists, arts administrators, art education researchers, and others who support art education in schools.

Barbara Perez
We are a community of educational institutions, and individuals who believe that the arts are at the heart and core of academic development. My first priority when arriving in Arizona to teach at Tesseract was to seek out the AAEA. As a new Arizona resident and art teacher I knew I would need the help and enthusiasm of those who believe that the arts are at the core of human development.

Becki Stallings
A collection of dedicated art teachers

Pat Burdette
Arizona Art Education Association is a collection of art education professionals, ranging from the classroom teacher to the museum educator. We all are passionate about the importance of art in our world and in the education of our future generation.

Bonnie Perkins
We are a group of teachers and art education supporters who help each other to grow as artists and art educators.

Katie Bechtel
We provide:
The latest knowledge gained from leading art educators.
Support from colleagues who help each other solve problems unique to our field (setting up classrooms, handling supplies and budgets, sharing lesson plans, lending equipment, knowledge and time). Fun, fun, fun with some of the most dynamic personalities in our industry

Dr. Laurie Eldridge
Arizona Art Education Association provides a voice for art teachers in the state of Arizona through networking, advocacy, and communication between others and ourselves. We provide continuing education opportunities, display of student work, and a chance to grow professionally and also personally as we make professional connections and personal connections through friendships and volunteer activities.

Barbara Perez
We invite communication, networking, and advocacy in an atmosphere of respect for the educational community. As a large bodied voice, together we can help make the arts stronger in our schools and more visible in our communities. We can work on the local, state and national levels together to keep the arts in our schools and an integral part of society.

Becki Stallings
Collaborate for the enrichment of our art programs and ourselves

Pat Burdette
Our organization is committed to bringing together professionals, offering professional development, supporting the teachers in the field, celebrating art done by students across our state….

Bonnie Perkins
We support each other through training and exchange of information.

Katie Bechtel
To share your knowledge and gain from others.
It’s like coming home when you can share with others who have the same passions, appreciation’s, and challenges and want to share. To laugh, laugh, laugh.

Dr. Laurie Eldridge
Arizona Art Education Association is a wonderful way to keep fresh. I love to attend conferences to bring new ideas to my classroom, and to meet new friends, and talk with other teachers who are just as interested in teaching art as I am.

Barbara Perez
To get support in methods, practice and professional development which is a major component of any successful art education program. By being a member of the AAEA one has available vast resources and experience waiting to help answer questions, lead the way and help the teacher network all the possibilities that the arts envision.

Becki Stallings
Networking is great. You don’t have to be an island alone in a sea of students. Your peers can send you a lifeline when you fell you are going under. My contacts with other AzAEA members has given me many resources and a bundle of laughs.

Pat Burdette
Join because it is your professional organization. Aren’t you a professional? Don’t you want to know what’s going on in your profession?
Don’t you want to benefit from all the resources, real and brain, that exists in our organization?

Bonnie Perkins
Because we love to meet new people and have fun!