In 1980, Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) members began to investigate the value of University Interscholastic League (UIL) participation for the visual arts. Since UIL was so prevalent in other academic areas such as theater, debate, band, orchestra, and sports, members felt that perhaps visual arts could also benefit.

A committee was formed, and Dr. Jim Henderson was appointed as chairman. For several years, the merits of such a program were discussed and debated. It was decided that to really have a true picture of how such a program would work in art, a pilot should be developed. Houston area art supervisors were asked to conduct this pilot.

In the fall of 1990, with input from art educators across the state, music directors who had conducted UIL events, and UIL representatives, policies and procedures were developed. The chief criterion for this pilot was that it would be good for students, teachers, and art programs in Texas. These objectives were of primary importance, and greatly influenced how the UIL pilot was developed for art.

Jurors were critical to the success of this program. They were selected for their expertise in one of ten entry categories, as well as their sensitivity to students. Jurors were trained with emphasis on making students feel good about themselves and their art while helping them grow and expand their skills. Training took place several weeks prior to the district event.

On the day of the event, each school was assigned a time slot, and each student assigned eight minutes with a juror. The interview was private, except for ESL students, who were allowed to bring an interpreter. The juror completed a Juror Rating Form for each student with one-third weighted on the student's interview, and two-thirds weighted on the work of art. The components on the form were based on the Texas Visual Art Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

After the interview, each student rejoined classmates until all interviews for their school were completed. Students were not competing against each other at this level — as many top ratings of I (one) were awarded as were earned. Every student receiving a I (one) received a medal. All students were given copies of their Juror Rating Forms with suggestions and positive feedback included. All artwork remained at the meet site after students and teachers left, along with evaluation sheets and medals. All student artworks that received a I (one) Rating were placed in the correct class, and the top 50 in each class were selected to advance to the State VASE Event.

The state event included a week-long exhibit at the University of St. Thomas, an awards night with students, parents, and teachers invited, with medals and ribbons for all participants as well as plaques for top state winners awarded. All teachers who participated in the event were asked to complete a survey. This information helped to modify and adjust the second-year pilot that was held in February of 1992.

After the second-year pilot was successfully completed, the survey results and comments showed a strong desire on the part of the teachers to see this become an official UIL event. The results of these pilots were presented to the TAEA Council at Large on Thursday, November 8, 1992, and it was decided to have UIL include visual arts. This would be a three-year pilot under UIL, with TAEA receiving the results at the end of that time.

Unfortunately for TAEA, the timing couldn't have been worse for the UIL State Board, as many new events added to the UIL official docket would not only have to be approved by the UIL board, but also by the State Board of Education. With state funding for schools being in such an ambiguous state, it was felt by those officials that the Visual Arts would have a better chance of being approved if it waited until the state financial issues with school funding were resolved.

The UIL and TAEA also had several points in which agreement could not be made. Therefore, the VASE event is under the sole direction of TAEA.

1. The UIL separates "competition" for high schools according to the size of the school. For example: 2A schools would only enter VASE with 2A schools, 5A with 5A, etc. TAEA believes the art departments of all schools can be equally as strong with no regard to size.
2. UIL would require Art I (beginning) students to enter the event alongside Advanced students with no regard to ability, art level, or training. TAEA believes that beginning, middle, and advanced level students should enter the event with students of similar art development and skills.

The UIL Visual Arts committee decided that TAEA should establish its own Visual Arts Event for Texas students. This event would be the outgrowth of the successful pilot that was conducted for two years in the Houston area. So, the name TAEA Visual Art Scholastic Event was chosen to replace the UIL Pilot title, but the basic structure of the competition has remained the same.

In 1994, the Juror Rating Form was altered to represent a truer authentic assessment rubric and to align with the AP Art rubric. A new rating scale was created and established a IV (four) Rating as being Superior. The State VASE Event was moved to the University of Texas at Arlington.

The 1996 State Event saw the addition of cash scholarships awarded to students. $2000 in scholarships was awarded to art students in each division at the state event that year. By 2026, that amount has grown to over $20,000.

The "VASE Needs a Face" campaign was established in 1998 encouraging student artists to submit logo designs to represent the VASE program. The first VASE logo was chosen; it now represents High School VASE, while Junior VASE and TEAM have their own logos, also designed by students. In 2018, VASE was restructured to give all four parts of VASE (TEAM, Junior VASE, High School VASE, and the State VASE Event) equal status under TAEA, and the current overall VASE Logo was developed. It now represents over 55,000 student entries, serving pre-K through grade 12 students across Texas.

In 2019-2020, the State Directors of VASE began work with the TAEA webmaster on the first ideas leading to the development of the Teacher Dashboard, where teachers could upload artwork photos, references, and fill out Online Intent Forms. This was initially intended to streamline in-person events.

In 2020, in-person High School VASE Events piloted these new changes, finishing all events before school was cancelled statewide due to COVID. Unfortunately, Junior VASE and TEAM events scheduled after mid-March were cancelled, as well as the in-person State High School VASE Event.

Despite these challenges, Regional High School Directors pitched in and photographed all their State Qualifying Artworks, uploaded them, and the first Virtual Event was held, with State Jurors giving ratings and choosing Gold Seal artworks online. By 2021, all Regional VASE Program events had uploads in place so that no event would have to be cancelled again.

TEAM State & Regional Directors and Teachers made the decision in 2021 to move to Virtual-Only events. Only jurors and a few event workers were coming together to adjudicate artwork at TEAM events; no students were ever present. TEAM events remain Virtual today.

State Director Emeriti

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