During this episode of Why Change? Jeff shares some reflections about the resilience of the creative community in his home state of Maine in the wake of recent tragedy. He interviews longtime arts education leader and advocate, Argy Nestor, who shares reflections on changemaking at the local, state, and international levels. They reflect on working together, perseverance, and a commitment to investing in people and relationships.
In this episode you’ll learn:
How the arts are naturally integrated into our teaching, learning, and ways of life;
Ways to center relationships in cultivating the next generation of leaders and changemakers; and
Why committing to creative and education practices can make the difference in our work.
Check out some of the things mentioned during this podcast, including:
ABOUT ARGY NESTOR
Argy Nestor has been passionate about education for 40 years. She started her career as a visual arts teacher (30 years), served as the visual and performing arts specialist at the Maine Department of Education (7 years) and was the Director of Arts Education at the Maine Arts Commission since 2013. Argy serves on the Arts Education Advisory Council with the Americans for the Arts. Argy received her master’s degree in education from the University of Maine, Orono and Bachelor of Arts in Arts Education from Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ.
Argy is most proud of the collaborative accomplishments of the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI). She is deeply committed to facilitating learning opportunities for educators knowing that it will impact the achievement of all students. The arts education community in Maine is strong and many teachers have been invited to the table at the local level due to their involvement in MALI. Argy has a popular blog at meartsed.wordpress.com/ where she makes daily posts with a plethora of information and the stories of educators, students, and arts organizations.
Argy is the 1995 Maine Teacher of the Year. In 2014 she was the recipient of the National Art Education Association Distinguished Service Award. She was named the 2013 Maine Art Educator Advocate of the Year and the 2012 Art in the Heart Advocate. Argy was presented the Maine Middle Level Association Outstanding Middle Level Educator of the Year Award in 2005. She traveled with the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teachers program to Japan in 2000.
During Argy’s career she has presented at the regional, state, and national level on curriculum integration, literacy, assessment, gifted and talented, advocacy, and the value of arts education at the heart of all curriculum. In July 2016 Argy had an amazing opportunity to travel to Malawi, Africa where she worked with teachers providing a 10 - day arts integration workshop. In 2023, Argy co-authored “Catching Firelies” with poet Jean Feldeisen.
This episode was produced by Jeff M. Poulin. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. The audio is edited by Katie Rainey. This podcasts’ theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit the episode’s webpage and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC