TEACH • LEARN • ADVOCATE • CONNECT

State Directors of VASE

The Directors of VASE work together in conjunction with the TAEA Executive Board to facilitate the TAEA VASE program.

TEAM State Director — Tracey Hall

Responsibilities: TEAM Regional Directors, Student Gallery for TEAM, Finance and Budget, Oversees TEAM Regional Events.

What I Love About TAEA: I love being part of a supportive passionate group of people who do what we do for the students! A group who promotes the arts where every student can be successful. A group that is full of new ideas, encourages, and supports every member!

Junior VASE State Director — Amy Semifero

Responsibilities: JRVASE Regional Directors, Student Gallery for JRVASE, Finance and Budget, Oversees JRVASE Regional Events.

What I Love About TAEA: I love how being a member of TAEA allows me to continue to hone my craft as an art educator and leader. Participation in this organization has given me the knowledge necessary to give my students the most relevant art experiences possible. By encouraging my students to participate in VASE, their artistic efforts and creative solutions are recognized on both the regional and state level which also builds their confidence and love for the visual arts.

High School VASE State Director — Chris Cooper

Responsibilities: High School VASE Regional Directors, Student Gallery for High School VASE, Finance and Budget, Oversees High School VASE Regional Events.

What I Love About TAEA: I love being a part of the TAEA family. No place else can I find such a positive, supportive group of creatives who never fail to inspire me, and who all share a mission: tirelessly sharing and advocating for Visual Arts across our state, and faithfully inspiring the creative potential of our next generation.

High School State Event Director — Mikaela Bachmann, Ph.D.

Responsibilities: State Event Coordination, Oversees State Event Leads and Directors

What I Love About TAEA: I love that VASE gives students a chance to show their hard work to the community and their peers. With any other extracurricular activity there is typically a show, performance, or game, and with visual art, sometimes these students have to wait until the end of the year to showcase what they've done; and even then it can be a small audience. With VASE, a huge number of artists — from students to teachers to judges and community members — come out and give these students the recognition they deserve. VASE really helps grow visual arts programs through these interactions.

State Jury Lead — Matthew Wright

Responsibilities: Oversees Regional and State Event Jury Leads.

What I Love About TAEA: I love how the heart of TAEA is the network of educators that come together for the furthering of visual art; this is what makes TAEA. With the many student and teacher art show possibilities, TAEA helps facilitate the showing of student work, through VASE and many other show opportunities. VASE serves to remind us that making the work is just part of the artistic process, and that analysis and displaying art are also parts of learning the art process.