October 23-25 • AUSTIN, TEXAS

HOSTED BY Austin Community College, Highland Campus
CONFERENCE CHAIR Yousif Del Valle

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Austin Community College - Highland Campus
6101 Highland Campus Dr, Austin, TX 78752

Thursday, October 23

1:00 - 3:00 PM Pre-Conference Board Meeting • HLC 3000, 3.2152
4:00 - 6:00 PM Check-In / Registration Registration • HLC 4000, 4.1000
6:00 - 8:00 PM Meet & Greet • OFFSITE, The Brewtorium, 6015 Dillard Cir A, Austin, TX 78752 MAP

Friday, October 24

9:00 - 9:30 AM Check-In / Registration Registration • HLC 4000, 4.2000.09
8:00 - 9:00 AM Breakfast • HLC 4000, 4.2000.09
9:30 - 11:00 AM Breakout Sessions

DM Wittman: Sustainable Practices in Photography: Anthotypes • DEMO, HLC 4000, 4.1410.50
This workshop explores anthotypes, a sustainable photography technique using plant-based materials that was pioneered by early innovators like Sir John Hershel but abandoned due to image impermanence, and has recently been revived during the COVID pandemic. Participants will learn the history and best practices of this eco-friendly alternative to darkroom photography, watch a live demonstration, and create their own plant-based photograph to take home.

Leila Hernandez: Student Graphic Design Projects inspired on Tarot Cards & Popular Culture • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.1234
This breakout session presents a case study of students' creative tarot deck project inspired by The Magnus Archives, a horror podcast that evolves from anthology-style supernatural witness statements into an overarching narrative about fear, free will, and humanity. The instructor will analyze the student's design process, demonstrating how multimedia storytelling can inform visual design and how students can build upon previous creative work to develop more sophisticated artistic projects.

Liz Kim: Visualizing Life in the Borderlands - Santa Barraza in Gloria Andazula's Nepantla Workshop • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.2226
This lecture examines the work of nationally renowned South Texas artist Santa Barraza, focusing on her pivotal 1995 Nepantla Workshop collaboration with Gloria Anzaldúa and how it shaped her exploration of borderlands themes using Mesoamerican and regional folk cultural languages. Barraza's art visualizes South Texas dreams, folklore, and mythology while embodying the concept of nepantla—the state of being culturally and geographically in-between—significantly expanding the visual vocabulary of Chicana/o art and contributing essential but under-studied perspectives to American art narratives.

ART BREAK Self-Guided Tour • TAG Gallery 2000, 2.2450

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM All Member Business Meeting Meeting / Meal • Next to Presentation Hall, HLC 2000, 2.C1401
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Excellent in Field Lecture • Presentation Hall, HLC 2000, 2.1550
Ann Johnson - When Art Teachers Became History Teachers

I have been teaching now for over 25 years at Prairie View A&M University. A university that was built on a plantation. The Alta Vista Plantation in Waller County. My class is a history lesson before I even open the book. Unfortunately, with the current political climate, this history is meticulously being erased. I teach studio classes; however, my favorite class to teach is African American Art History. I find that teaching this class, I have also become a history, social studies, and political science teacher. I used to be upset and annoyed that so many students, particularly black students, don’t know about their own history. But it’s not their fault. They are not receiving the complete and truthful education in American history that they should be receiving. They know Ruby Bridges and Martin Luther King. Everything else is a struggle. I share my work as an artist throughout the class. I am an experimental printmaker, and I often print on raw cotton. Printing on cotton speaks for itself and undoubtedly analyzes the ills of slavery in this country. Again, something that is increasingly being dismissed from the history books due to the current political climate. I have come to realize that artists and art teachers are the new history teachers and are the last hope to accurately portray and discuss history, as culture is being erased. Toni Morrison boldly proclaimed, “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal." I proudly put my work on the front lines of injustice. If selected to present, I will share my approach and process to teaching my African American Art History course. I will include innovative projects that students have come to embrace. Projects such as Slavery in 5 words or less, integrating AI into projects such as creating a Freedom Quilt, and many more. I find that students are much more engaged in the class with the addition of projects, particularly photographic projects. They are learning about history, learning about artists, and most importantly, learning about themselves.

2:30 - 4:00 PM Breakout Sessions

Dan Sorensen: Portrait Drawing from Life • DEMO, HLC 4000, 4.1410.50
This workshop will focus on portrait drawing from a live model using vine charcoal. Participants will learn proportions and strategies for drawing the head. All supplies will be provided. Open to all skill and experience levels.

Clara Hoag: Distill the Bills: A Review of New Legislation from the Texas Senate • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.1234
In this presentation, Clara Hoag will explain recent legislation out of the Texas House and Senate and how this new legislation may impact (or already is impacting) your studio art classes. This lecture will cover SB37, SB13, SB2615, SB412, and HB8

Hamed Edatali Tabrizi: Redefining the Role of Graphic Design • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.2226
This presentation explores how graphic design can move beyond traditional visual communication to become a participatory and reflective medium. Drawing from his solo exhibition Interweaving , Hamed Edalati Tabrizi examines how light, mirrors, and bilingual typography transform design into an interactive experience. Grounded in his professional and cross-cultural background, the talk redefines graphic design as an evolving practice that moves from communication to dialogue, using design as a bridge for empathy and cultural understanding.

ART BREAK Self-Guided Tour • TAG Gallery 2000, 2.2450

4:00 - 4:30 PM Afternoon Snack • HLC 2000, 2.C1401
4:30 - 6:00 PM Keynote Speaker Lecture • Tammie Rubin •  Presentation Hall HLC 2000, 2.1550

6:30 - 8:00 PM Meet & Greet, One Foot Exhibition • Elevator Corridor Upstairs HLC 4000, 4.2000.09
6:30 - 7:30 PM Portfolio Review One-On-One • Upstairs Mezzanine/Upper Atrium HLC 4000

Saturday, October 25

8:00 - 9:30 AM Breakfast • HLC 4000, 4.1000
9:30 - 11:00 AM Breakout Sessions

Jill Honeycutt: Color and Texture, Exploring the Art of Risograph Printing • DEMO, HLC 4000, 4.1410.50
This hands-on workshop introduces participants to Risograph printing, a distinctive technique that combines digital printing speed with screen printing's rich, layered aesthetic, known for vivid spot colors and tactile textures that make it popular for zines, posters, and short-run projects. After a brief lecture and warm-up exercises using collage materials like crayons, markers, and stickers, participants will create a larger personal artwork that combines hand-drawn elements, collage, and typography to explore this affordable, environmentally friendly printing method.

Baotran Vo, Diamond Nguyen, Kristen Duong, and Vajihe Zamaniderkani: Poetry in New Media: Women Artists Exploring Art, Technology and Memory • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.1234
This panel features four women artists who use new media technologies, including interactive installations, brainwave data visualization, kinetic sculpture, and multimedia projects to explore themes of memory, resilience, and cultural identity. The discussion will examine how these artists leverage digital media, painting, and immersive technologies as forms of poetry to convey personal and collective experiences, particularly focusing on cultural narratives, displacement, emotional recall, and the immigrant journey.

Luis Corpus: The Carbonic Drawing Process • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.2226
This session introduces the carbonic drawing process, a hybrid technique that merges traditional drawing with carbon printing to create archival transfers of drawings onto glass or other permanent supports. Participants will learn about key aspects of the process, including how to make charcoal, how to prepare digital negatives, formulas for light-sensitive emulsions, and the fundamentals of contact print exposure. The presentation will also highlight the presenter’s use of materials sourced from the Rio Grande, the river that divides the United States and Mexico, as both a physical medium and a conceptual framework for representing the people of the region. Please note: this session is informational. Because the process requires a darkroom, hands-on participation will not be included.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Banquet Luncheon / Awards Meal • Next to Presentation Hall, HLC 2000, 2.C1401
12:30 - 2:00 PM Breakout Sessions

Kristy Masten, Justin Boyd, Marc McCoin: Art- Art History Partnerships: Reflecting on Interdisciplinary Approaches with Students • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.1234
This presentation explores the University of Texas at San Antonio's innovative approach of co-listing thematically paired studio art and art history courses, using their Spring 2025 "Soundscapes" collaboration as a case study where students explored topics like nature, music, and spatial activation through both historical research and hands-on creative work across multiple media. Art historian Kristy Masten and artists Justin Boyd and Mark McCoin will discuss their interdisciplinary teaching collaboration, share student work examples, and reflect on how this approach deepens student engagement and improves learning outcomes in both art-making and art historical understanding.

Tracy Bonfitto: My Travels with Frida: Curating and Couriering an Iconic Kahlo Self-Portrait • LECTURE, HLC 2000, 2.2226
The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas is home to one of Frida Kahlo’s most celebrated works, Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940). Stewardship of the painting, which is frequently requested for loan and equally important to local audiences, requires strategic thinking to balance conflicting priorities. HRC Curator of Art Tracy Bonfitto provides insight into the loan and courier process—which has taken Bonfitto and the painting from Italy to South Africa to Australia—and into interpreting the painting within its larger context at the HRC: the Nickolas Muray Collection of Mexican Art. 

Tetra Collective Panel: The Impact of Community on Teaching and Studio • LECTURE/DEMO, HLC 4000, 4.1410.50
The TETRA Collective comprises four artist-educators from Texas A&M University system campuses across the state who have partnered to promote contemporary ceramics through traveling exhibitions, discussions, and workshops that celebrate both their regional diversity and shared commitment to the clay arts. Their proposed TASA 2025 workshop will demonstrate various ceramic techniques while discussing how community networking and collective collaboration enhance both individual studio research and teaching practices, drawing on their experience with live workshops and exhibitions, such as "Oh, So Ceramic" at the 2024 OSO Bay Biennial.

2:15 - 3:15 PM Paul Hanna Speaker Lecture • HLC 2000, 2.1550
Steve Hilton – Clay, Connection, and Common Ground

Steve Hilton’s work brings together science, art, and community in surprising and meaningful ways. Drawing on geology, math, and the hands-on experience of working with clay, he creates large-scale installations that turn ordinary spaces into immersive environments where people can connect with each other and with the material. At the heart of Hilton’s practice is a belief in the power of collaboration. His projects often involve groups of all sizes—sometimes hundreds of participants—coming together to shape something bigger than themselves. In a time when our world can feel deeply divided, Hilton uses clay as a way to start conversations, build relationships, and find common ground. In this talk, Hilton will share stories from his creative journey and offer ideas for how participatory art can support connection, empathy, and dialogue. Whether you’re an artist, educator, or simply curious about the role of creativity in community building, this lecture will offer inspiration and practical insights for bringing people together through art.

3:15 - 4:00 PM Farewell Snack / Art Pick Up • HLC 4000, 4.2000.09
4:00 - 6:00 PM Incoming TASA Board Meeting • OFFSITE-TBD

Call for Art: Faculty & Professionals Exhibition

ONE FOOT EXHIBITION - Every year at the TASA Annual Conference, conference faculty and professional attendees are invited to participate in the TASA One Foot Exhibition. As TASA’s One Foot Exhibition title indicates, submissions for this show must be limited to one square foot for 2D work or one cubic foot for 3D pieces.

Show Jurors: Student Committee

Works accepted will be displayed for the duration of the conference in ArtLAB, located on ACC’s Highland Campus.

DATES:
Deadline to Apply: Friday, October 10th at 5:00pm, Apply by completing the form below.
Acceptance Emails: Friday, October 17th
Artwork Drop-Off: Thursday, October 23rd - 3:00 to 6:00pm and Friday, October 24th - 8:00am to 10:00am
Exhibition Display Dates: Thursday, October 23r,d through Saturday, October 25th
Reception: Friday, October 24th, from 6:30 to 8:30pm
Artwork Pick-Up: Saturday, October 25th, from 3:15pm to 4:00pm

ARTWORK REQUIREMENTS: 
—All mediums accepted, including 3D works
—2D Artworks may not exceed 12 x 12 inches in measurement, including the frame. 
—Artwork for consideration should be created within the last 5 years
—2D Artworks must be framed or on a hangable surface
—All works must be ready to hang at drop-off  (Hanging Hardware Tutorial Link Here) 

Awards will be chosen based on the digital images received through the application form.

Questions? Contact us at: theartgalleries@austincc.edu