SIGD Faculty to Host 2024 MACAA Virtual Conference

The conference will take place March 21–23, 2024, and the theme is “Satellite: The Artist and Educator as Orbital Connectors.”

Established in the 1930s, MACAA is a professional society of college and university artists/faculty. The organization aims to promote excellence in art and design education by fostering creative and scholarly research, organizing conferences for professional development and interdisciplinary dialogue, supporting the development of art and design education and more. Membership is open to all art and design faculty at institutions in the U.S. or Canada.

The conference’s virtual format offers versatility beyond traditional academic presentations as well as enhanced accessibility, allowing for broader participation and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Assistant Professor Devon Ward, Vice President of Communications for MACAA, serves as the host institution organizer and graphic designer for the event’s visual identity.

Ward is supported by Assistant Professor Mario Bocanegra and Associate Professors Courtney Windham, Robert Finkel, David Smith and Samantha Herbert, all of whom will chair sessions containing presentations that cover a wide array of themes. Sessions will range from the creative process and design’s role in history to contemporary approaches to graphic design education.

The conference will showcase cutting-edge research and expertise within the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) and beyond. Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Isaac Cohen and Master of Landscape Architecture student Helena Starnes will represent CADC’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, while Andy Holliday, Lijun Chao, Millian Giang Pham and Sara Gevurtz will present research on behalf of Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts.

Conference sessions include:

• Creative Encounters: Exploring the Art of “Thinking Through Making” (Chair: Courtney Windham and Mario Bocanegra)
• What am I teaching? (Chair: Samantha Herbert)
• Interactive Media for Conviviality (Chair: Devon Ward)
• Information and Emotion: Visual Communication for Social Histories (Chairs: Robert Finkel and David Smith)
• Postcards of Public Space by Isaac Cohen and Helena Starnes
• Interactive Media for Social Flourishing by Devon Ward
• Honoring the Selma Bloody Sunday Foot Soldiers by Robert Finkel

“SIGD looks forward to hosting the 2024 MACAA Virtual Conference on behalf of Auburn University,” Ward shared. “The conference serves as an excellent platform to showcase Auburn’s design prowess and cultivate connections with researchers from other institutions.”