ARTS LAB: Educator Workshops
Sept. 10 | 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center | $15 registration fee
Recharge your creativity, connect with fellow educators and explore how the arts can support student success across career pathways. This full-day professional development event is designed with K–12 visual art educators in mind, but educators of all disciplines are welcome and will find valuable tools for creativity, engagement and student success.
Participants will choose between two dynamic morning workshops, enjoy lunch provided by Oklahoma Contemporary, explore the latest exhibition ArtNow 2025: Materials and Boundaries and collaborate with peers during afternoon breakout sessions.
Event Agenda
8:30–9 a.m. | Coffee and Registration
Main Lobby | First Floor
9–11:45 a.m. | Morning Workshops
Studios 1 and 2 | First Floor
- Reclaim Your Creativity with Isa Rodriguez
- Career-Based Graduation Roadmaps: Navigating a New Path in the Arts through ICAP with Leslie Glenn
12–12:20 p.m. | Welcome and Announcements
Dance Hall | Third Floor
12:20–12:45 p.m. | Lunch (provided by Oklahoma Contemporary)
Dance Hall | Third Floor
1–2 p.m. | Inside the Exhibition: Curator Talk and Guided Tours of ArtNow 2025: Materials and Boundaries
Main Gallery | Second Floor
2–3 p.m. | Creative Classroom Exchange
Studios 1 & 2 | First Floor
Breakout sessions for elementary and secondary educators focused on collaboration and classroom applications.
Morning Workshop Options
Participants will select one of the following sessions:
Reclaim Your Creativity: Tools for Renewing Energy and Creative Practice
Led by Isa Rodriguez
Designed for educators balancing the demands of the classroom with their own creative lives, this session offers space to reconnect with your artistic voice. Led by artist Isa Rodriguez — co-founder of the award-winning Practice Practice project — this workshop explores the natural cycles of creativity, providing tools to navigate burnout, restore energy, and sustain your creative momentum. Participants will identify common challenges, explore strategies for protecting their creative time, and leave with a personalized plan for reclaiming and maintaining their creative practice.
Career-Based Graduation Roadmaps: Navigating a New Path in the Arts through ICAP
Led by Leslie Glenn
This session will explore how fine arts educators can support students in meeting Oklahoma’s new career-based graduation requirements. Through discussion and shared strategies, participants will examine how to help students navigate these evolving expectations while maintaining strong engagement in the arts. Together, we’ll consider ways to position the arts as both a core part of the curriculum and a valuable lens through which to explore all career clusters. The workshop will also address how to adapt to the unknowns of implementation and ensure the arts remain a vital part of each student’s graduation journey.
Registration is $15 and includes all sessions, materials and lunch.
