Cory Bucknam reflects on the 2025 event in louisville, KY

Looavul. Luhvul. Loueville. Looaville. Looeyville. No matter how you pronounce it, the NAEA Convention in Louisville, KY was FANTASTIC! We had a solid crew from Maine in attendance (17 of us!), which made it easy to find a group to have dinner with, explore a museum with, dance with at the Disco Derby, and pose with in the photo booth at the opening night party hosted by Artsonia (did you know you can use your Artsonia funds to help pay for your NAEA/MAEA membership?). But NAEA conventions aren’t only about having fun with colleagues — they are also incredible opportunities for learning and leadership. 

Things began with Delegates Assembly on Wednesday. Delegates Assembly is when leaders from state and province associations, along with interest group leaders and Regional VPs, meet to conduct the business of governing the national organization and ensuring a democratic process that allows all voices to be heard. We reviewed past position statements, approved new ones (such as “Supporting and Uplifting LGBTQIA2S+ Communities in Art Education”), and archived outdated ones. New interest groups were approved, including one for Fiber Arts Makers (stay tuned for announcements on how to join!). Reports from the Advocacy Committee were shared (I’ll be sharing what I learned during my session at the Spring Conference). And state/province association awards were recognized, including one honoring our very own Mixed Media! We were delighted that Megan McConagha was able to join us for this special and well-deserved honor.

Wednesday evening also had a one-of-a-kind pre-convention workshop: Kentucky Derby Hat Design with Jenny Pfanensteil, official milliner of the Kentucky Derby Museum. Despite the age-old challenge of not having enough glue guns to go around, many incredible hats were made and subsequently flaunted on the dance floor at the Disco Derby!

From Thursday to Saturday, the schedule was packed from 8:00am to 6:00pm with sessions focused on every topic imaginable and for every stage of life and learning, from Early Childhood through Preservice to Retired. And the vendor exhibit hall and digital playground were additional places to learn about the latest in technology and hands-on materials (including a new adaptive art tool company that I’m really excited about, The Kind Mind Co.). But for many of us, the highlight of the convention was the daily General Session. At each of these three sessions, a variety of NAEA members were recognized for their accomplishments (including MAEA President-Elect Matt Johnson, Maine’s latest graduate from the School for Art Leaders!). And each General Session featured an incredible keynote speaker: Nate Powell, comic book artist/author of the March series, a graphic novel memoir of US Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis; the Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of feminist, female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism in the art world through art activism; and Roberto Lugo, potter, poet, and social activist reimagining classical ceramics to reflect on themes of poverty, inequality, and racial injustice. These speakers were each inspiring beyond words, and were worth attending the convention in and of themselves.