The Massillon Museum will present the Art Educator of the Year Finalists exhibition in its Lower Level Lobby from March 15 through April 1, 2022.
All artworks were created by finalists or students of the finalists for the 2022 Art Educator of the Year Award presented by the Massillon Museum and Canton Museum of Art. The finalists are: Matthew J. Ferrell, career technical education instructor, media arts, and communication, Massillon Washington High School; Candice Greene, art teacher, North Canton Middle School and Hoover High School; Brian Poetter, art teacher, Jackson Memorial Middle School; Susan Rusu, visual art teacher, Perry High School; and Stephen Tornero, visual art teacher, Oakwood Middle School.
The winners of the Art Educator of the Year and the Music Educator of the Year awards will be presented on Saturday, March 5, during the Canton Symphony Orchestra concert at Zimmermann Symphony Center.
The Massillon Museum, Canton Museum of Art, and Canton Symphony have partnered to create these awards to promote a greater understanding of and appreciation for music and art education and to honor those individuals who are making a real difference in our community through their dedication to music and art education.
Nominees include arts educators who make a lasting difference in the lives of students from a variety of backgrounds and abilities, routinely extend efforts with students outside the classroom, make a significant impact on their community through music or art education, inspire students to reach appropriately high levels of musical or artistic understanding and ability, and instill a lifelong appreciation of music or art in their students.
Nominees are licensed arts educators in public, private, or parochial school classrooms in grades K–12 in the region served by the Stark County Educational Service Center. The finalists and award recipients are chosen by a panel of qualified judges from the community.
MassMu exhibitions can be viewed Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. They can also be seen during extended hours, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., on Saturday, March 27, as part of Massillon’s Last Saturday event.
The Massillon Museum receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council and ArtsinStark, as well as marketing support from Visit Canton. This project is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. For more information, call 330-833-4061 or explore massillonmuseum.org. A visit is always free.
Pictured above: “Happy Meadows,” silk painting, by Hunter Metzger (student of Susan Rusu at Perry High School)
