Kit Grauer – President InSEA- 1996-1999

My involvement with InSEA began long before my Presidency. I was extremely fortunate to have three mentors that ensured I would understand and actively participated in International Art Education. Sam Black, a founding member of InSEA, had emigrated to Canada to teach art education at UBC. During my undergraduate degree, I was taught by Sam and accompany him and a dozen other colleagues to California to meet his InSEA colleagues there and to do our final practicum. It was an even greater honour to be able to give Sam an Honorary Life Membership in InSEA when I was President. Graeme Chalmers was Vice President of InSEA when I went back to do my Masters of Art Education. We later co chaired an InSEA, USSEA and CSEA conference in Vancouver in 1986. At Stanford I started my doctorate with Elliot Eisner. When I was elected on to the World Council for North America and Elliot was elected President of InSEA, he contacted me and asked if I would join the Executive as Membership and Treasurer. That began a twenty-year commitment to the World Council and Executive. I held all positions elected and appointed, except Secretary. During that time, we were able to bring InSEA out of debt, re establish liaison with UNESCO, increase our publications, get a much more accurate membership list and really grow membership across most areas of the World. One year my husband produced a poster of all the stamps that came through my office (I was on Faculty at UBC) as members from across the globe mailed in their memberships. It had every region of the World represented and over 80 countries. I was elected Vice President under Ana Mae Barbosa and then ran for President. During my Presidency, the Internet was becoming more accessible and we could start using e-mail rather than post to carry out business and promote our organization. We negotiated a contract with UNESCO to put up Children’s Art on their web site. Many of the colleagues I met through the many InSEA Congress I attended around the World are still close friends. My favourite tribute came from former Finnish World Councillor and Colleague, Riitta Heikkinen, "Kit, your gift was to make all the World Councillors feel welcome and that they had something to contribute.” Often we can loose sight of the fact that in a volunteer association, people do matter. For me, InSEA was much more than a social club, it really was about putting the goals established by UNESCO in the 1950’s into an organization with the support of people that could make a difference. After retirement, it is a great honour to be asked to Co Chair INSEA2019 with another former InSEA President and colleague, Rita Irwin. I feel that I have come full circle to fulfilling my legacy to Sam Black, F,Graeme Chalmers, Elliot Eisner and my treasured InSEA friends.

Kit Grauer was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in InSEA; Honorary Life Membership the Canadian Society for Education through Art for lifetime achievement in Canadian Art Education; National Art Education Association (NAEA)/BC Art Educator Award; the NAEA Pacific Region Art Education Award; Killam Teaching Excellence Award; the Alma Mater Society “Just Desserts” Service Award; the CSEA Gaitskell Award; Sam Black Award for Education and Development in the Arts; USSEA Ziegfeld International Art Educator Award; Elected Council for Policy Studies in Art Education; AERA Award for Best Publication in an Electronic Journal; George Cedric Metcalf Foundation Award for Excellence in Research; Murray Elliot Award for Teacher Education; MICA Master Teacher Award; BCATA Higher Education Teacher of the Year; Distinguished Fellow of the NAEA; June King Fee Award for lifetime achievement from the NAEA Women’s Caucus; The NAEA Higher Educator of the Year and the Canadian Art Educator of the Year. Kit has served on the Executive of the BC Art Teachers Association; Canadian Society for Education through Art; BC Museums Association and the International Society for Education through Art.

Images: 1) Kit Grauer 2) Kit Grauer with  Graeme Chalmers, Jack Condous (Australia) in 1986; 3) InSEA Japan in 1997 with world council   4) Robyn Stewart, Kit Grauer and Peter Hermans in Japan  5) InSEA Japan in 1997  6) Kit Grauer with Elliot Eisner  7)  Kit Grauer with  Graeme Chalmers  8) Kit Grauer with Sam Black   9)  Kit Grauer with The Planning Committee of the 2019 InSEA world congress 10)John Steers, Irene Wojnar, Elliot Eisner, Kit Grauer, Marie-Françoise Chavanne, Larry Kantner