On Friday, September 25, The Episcopal School of Dallas will host the annual Artist as Teacher/Teacher as Artist exhibit, featuring work from more than 50 teaching artists from 20 private schools across the DFW metroplex. The exhibit is an innovative way to showcase the talents of local artists who have chosen to share their artistic expertise and experiences with students through the joy of teaching.

“We wanted to showcase educators who not only teach art, but seriously ‘create art,’” Vikki Martin, an art teacher at The Episcopal School of Dallas and the event’s coordinator, said. “We believe that this event makes the relationship between the student and teacher even more valuable, as it shows the opportunity students have to work alongside practicing and professional artists.” 

This major collaborative art venture works to encourage patrons to consider “how art relates to a school’s curriculum, how art influences culture, and how culture influences what artists create.” It also provides the public with a unique opportunity to see a wide variety of works from all mediums in conversation with one another. 

“This exhibition reflects our passion for the visual arts,” Martin explained. “By collaborating with our peer schools and colleagues, we are not only demonstrating a wide variety of diverse styles, but we are utilizing the event as a learning tool to explore poetry, literature, history, social studies, studio art, and art history.”

With so many different mediums and schools featured, the Artist as Teacher/Teacher as Artist exhibit reflects the commitment on behalf of the Dallas-area independent schools to integrate a faculty of professional artists into their teaching staffs. Participating schools include: Alcuin School, All Saints’ Episcopal School, The Cambridge School of Dallas, Cistercian Preparatory School, Covenant Classical School, The Covenant School, Fort Worth Academy, Fort Worth Country Day, Greenhill School, The Hockaday School, Jesuit College Preparatory School, The Lamplighter School, Parish Episcopal School, Shelton School, St. John’s Episcopal School, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Trinity Christian Academy, Ursuline Academy, and The Winston School.

The opening reception will be on Friday, September 25 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Susan M. Frank Center for Arts & Humanities on the Merrell Road Campus of The Episcopal School of Dallas. For more information, please visit www.esdallas.org/facultyart. The exhibit runs through Friday, December 4.