The Organizational Records of MAEA document the entire history of the organization, 1949-present. The collection has been organized alphabetically by topic. Within each topic, materials are filed chronologically. Particularly well documented aspects of MAEA are its Awards, the Executive Council, Conferences, the President’s Correspondence, and the [Michigan] Youth Arts Festival.
There is a complete run of Conference Materials, 1949-2006 (approximately 1 cubic foot). The general Conference Materials folders may include: conference agendas, invitations, public relations materials, correspondence, hotel contracts, notes, suggestions, proposals, statistics, reports of committees and individuals, and the general conference report, budgets, and meeting minutes. For later years there are also Conference Bags, Photographs, Negatives, and a Guest Book for the 50th Anniversary Conference in 1999. Conference programs are cataloged separately.
MAEA’s Art Educator of the Year Award and Public Service Award, and other awards processes, nominees, and recipients are well documented with various materials, including photographs, newspaper clippings, dossiers, letters of recommendation, and announcements of award winners (12 folders).
Originally called the Executive Board, the current Executive Council is documented mostly by Meeting Minutes with Attachments, which may include agendas, proposed and accepted budgets, statistics, reports from committees, officers, and conferences, notes, and correspondence, 1949-2003, 2006-2007. There are also unpublished Executive Council Directories/Lists, 1990-1994, and Executive Council and Liaison Workshops/Retreats Materials. (approximately 1 cubic foot).
The President’s Correspondence, 1950-1960, 1962-1983, 1988-1995 (approximately .5 cubic feet) documents each President’s interactions with MAEA officers and members, legislators, and members of other organizations interested in the arts and/or education, issues of interest to MAEA, conference planning, and related arts and education events.
The [Michigan] Youth Arts Festival, Materials, 1963-1995 (Scattered) and undated, include papers, photographs, newspaper clippings, a constitution and bylaws, publicity materials, planning materials, and information about student artists. Slides in Box 5 also document the Youth Arts Festival. (Youth Arts Festival materials total approximately .75 cubic ft.) Youth Arts Festival publications are cataloged separately.
Also documented are various drafts of the MAEA Constitutions and Bylaws, materials of various committees and officers, including the Presidents, Membership Lists/Directories, 1949-1970 (Scattered), Organizational Histories, 1969-1989 (Scattered), Photographs, Policies, Publicity Materials, and various Reports, as well as more miscellaneous materials. The collection is ongoing.
Processing Notes: MAEA publications, including the newsletters, ARTeacher, convention programs, Youth Arts Festival and Art Exhibit materials, brochures, directories, and other publications, as well as publications of other Michigan organizations that were originally part of this collection are separately cataloged. The collection is ongoing.
Newspaper clippings and other extremely fragile, acidic materials were photocopied. The photocopies are in the collection and the originals were returned to MAEA.
All duplicate materials, fragile materials, non-MAEA or non-Michigan publications, miscellaneous notes, (canceled) checks and checkbooks, receipts, and other materials of peripheral value to the collection were removed from the collection.
Organizational History:
In the spring of 1949, approximately 100 Michigan art people met at Michigan State College, later Michigan State University, to organize the Michigan Art Education Association (MAEA). The first state conference was held in November of 1949. At that time, dues were $2.00 and conferences lasted one day and were held twice annually. Beginning in 1957, conferences lasted for two days and commercial exhibitors were invited to attend.
The goals and purpose of the MAEA are "to define and establish the role of art education, to give support to creative teaching, and to foster study and research in art education.” MAEA is one of 50 state organizations allied with the National Art Education Association (NAEA).
MAEA’s first constitution was officially adopted in April 1950 and has been revised several times since then. The Bylaws were revised and adapted in April 1956.
The MAEA’s newsletter, Michigan Art Education News, first appeared in September 1949 as a one page event update. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the newsletter was printed as a poster. Later, the newsletter morphed into a booklet format. The name of the newsletter has changed twice, in 1980-1981 to Art Rag, and in 1982 to ARTeacher.
MAEA honors its outstanding members with a number of awards. The Art Educator of the Year Award was bestowed from 1964 until 1970. Then, the award was divided into several awards, including: Art Educator of the Year; Elementary Art Teacher; Middle School Art Teacher; High School Art Teacher; Supervisor of the Year; and High[er] Education. Beginning in 1984, the Art Teacher of the Year returned to being a single award.
MAEA has conducted a number of activities for its members, including (mini) workshops, tours, meetings, presentations, visits to exhibits, etc. Beginning in 1963 MAEA held its first exhibit called the Michigan Youth Art Exhibit. This has evolved into the Michigan Youth Arts Festival (YAF), an annual traveling show of top high school art work from around Michigan.
In 1963, MEA Board of Directors, later called the Executive Council, began to acquire art for the newly built MEA Headquarters Building. During Governor Milliken’s tenure, some of the art decorated the Governor’s house.
(This information is mostly from the MAEA Celebrates 40 years of Excellence in Art Education, compiled by Cyndi Madry, MAEA Historian, 1989, a copy of which is in the collection, and the collection itself.)