welcome to the site of
George Szekely
"Art teaching, at its best, welcomes diverse practitioners and views: TAB, S.T.E.A.M., Reggio Emilia, an emphasis on creativity, design, or play, using standards, or believing that there are no standards is Okay. Art teachers are artists, and have a myriad of original ideas about teaching, that also need to be embraced."
"Art is a core subject; it’s the core of an individual’s education."
A collection of Dr. Székely sayings and quotes.
"The futurists in an art class see far into the future."
"To create an unforgettable art class, don’t give a speech, put on a show!"
"Art teachers and students welcome silly ideas."
"An art class should leave students feeling that the art world is wide open and awaiting their ideas!"
"Students in an art class pose their own problems."
sZéKELY SAYINGS
portfolio: art education
Below you will find some of George Szekely's latest Art Education publications.
ART ED CONSULTANT
SPEAKER
AUTHOR
collector
INNOVATOR
artist
services
Dr. Székely is available upon request for speaking events, conventions, and other forms of engaging presentations.
about George
University of Kentucky
Art Education Department
+ my story
Dr. Székely is a frequently invited guest speaker at national/state/province-level art education meetings in the United Stated and Canada. A prolific painter, he has had twenty-six one-person shows in New York and throughout the United States and Europe. His work has been reviewed in Art News, Arts, The New Yorker, The Staten Island Advance, and The Eastside Weekly. A graduate of the High School of Music and Art in New York City, The Cooper Union, Pratt Institute, and Columbia University, he has taught in the New York City public schools and at the City University of New York. Since 1978, he has been Senior Professor of Art Education at the University of Kentucky and has served as Area Head and Director of Graduate Studies.
+ honors
In 2015 he was voted President-elect of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and is also recognized as a National Treasure by student chapters of the NAEA. He has published over a hundred-fifty article in major journals of education, and has been a contributor to art education programs on public television. He has worked on a Public Television Program called "Art to Heart" in a series about Early Childhood Art Education by Kentucky Educational Television (KET).
He was named the recipient of the 2007 NAEA's Marion Quinn Dix award and the Commonwealth’s first Distinguished Fellow Prize presented by KyAEA in 2009.
+ Publications
He has published fifteen books, among the most recent From Home Art to School Art, Video Art for the Classroom, A Retrospective 1973-2003: Essays for Art Teachers, From Play to Art, The Art of Teaching Art (also published in a Chinese edition), and Encouraging Creativity in Art Lessons. Dr. Székely ’s latest art education book is called, Art Teaching, published by Rutledge International. He has released a series of his art work collections in print that can be found by visiting his Blurb bookstore.
+ innovation
National Art Educators Association President-Elect 2015
For thirty-five years, George Székely has been a pioneer in developing creative changes and methodologies for art teaching. His work has been formulated in books, journals, unique performance-style keynote presentations, and teaching demonstrations through his nationally initiated Adopt-a-School projects. He was among the first art educators to emphasize the importance of children’s play in art making and to advocate the study of children’s home art as the foundation for school art practice.
video AND PODCAST
A small glimpse into a few of George's speaking engagements, presentations, keynotes, and guest interviews.
2019 Baker Hunt Talk
Covington, KY
The Act Class Curator Podcast Episode #15
2018
Columbus Museum of Art's Creativity Summit, 2010
UCLA May 2016 Lecture
The Artrepreneur Now Show 37
Dr. George Szekely: The Importance of Children's Play in Developing Creativity
Keynote for the 2015 Arkansas National Art Educators Association Conference
Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) Colorado Keynote 2016
Victor Lowenfeld Award Speech, 2004
National Art Educators Association
get in touch
Contact George for speaking events, materials, or questions using the form below.
TOP TEN REASONS WHY THE
ART ROOM IS THE CENTER FOR INNOVATION
FOR THE HOME OR CLASSROOM STUDIO
SUPER HIGH RESOLUTION FILE FOR YOUR CHOICE OF PRINTING OR DIGITAL USE
The Art Room is...
1. a discovery place, to try the unusual, what has not been done or seen before.
2. a tinkering place with tools, for inventors to take apart, & build with everything.
3. a shopping place for finding multiple possibilities in the simplest forms.
4. a stage for animation and improvised performances with objects and figures.
5. a podium for student to share their collections, ideas, and plans.
6. a playhouse to invent shelters, and furnish play spaces.
7. a playground set up with art room furnishings to be explored in a thousand ways.
8. a laboratory for unique adaptations of what exists.
9. for imagining and constructing the future.
10. a place to go out of the lines, out of the box, and out of space.