
The Sir Herbert Read Award
The Sir Herbert Read Award is a lifetime achievement award to arts education in any context. It will be given at each of the World Congresses in which an individual can be selected who has made significant lifetime contributions to arts education in schools and society in their own country or throughout the World. The Sir Herbert Read Award aims to acknowledge life-long contributions that have extended over a substantial period of time as a part of the career contributions that an individual has made to education through art.
These contributions can take the form of continuous and/or outstanding practical or theoretical contributions. For example, in some countries individuals who have developed new and effective forms of education through the arts might be candidates for the Sir Herbert Read Award. In other places individuals whose scholarly work has influenced the thinking of art educators in their own country or throughout the world might be candidates for the Sir Herbert Read Award.
Recipients of the Sir Herbert Read Award include: Brian Allison (1981); Jack Condous (1993); Elliot Eisner (1997); Ana Mae Barbosa (1999); Maryl Fletcher de Jong (2002); John Steers (2011); Richard Hickman (2014); Saria Sidky (2017); Marjan Prevodnik (2019); Rita Irwin (2022); Marie-Francoise Chavanne (2023).
The Mahmoud El-Bassiouny Award
The El-Bassiouny Award acknowledges exceptional professional and/or community service contributions by a member of InSEA. These contributions can take the form of continuous and/or outstanding practical and/or pragmatic service to education through art. For example, individuals who have developed new and effective forms of international communication and/or mentoring, or international arts exchanges, or whose commitment to social justice in the arts has modified or changed cultures might be candidates for the Mahmoud El-Bassiouny Award.
Recipients of the Mahmoud El-Bassiouny Award include: Mahmoud El-Bassiouny (1994); Al Hurwitz (1997); Bill Barrett (1999); Ann Kuo (2002); Peter Hermans (2008); Angelika Plank (2011); Kinichi Fukomoto (2014); Mirjana Tomasevic Dancevic (2017 ); Graham Nash (2019); Nicholas Houghton (2022); Samia ElShaikh (2023).

The Edwin Ziegfeld Award
The Edwin Ziegfeld Award honors an arts education leader who, like InSEA’s first president, Edwin Ziegfeld, has forged new directions in art education. Income generated from the Edwin Ziegfield (1905-1986) bequest made to InSEA may be used to provide an honorarium that may assist with travel to the InSEA World Congress during which the recipient presents the Ziegfeld Lecture. “New directions in art education” may be defined to include innovations in pedagogy, international collaborations, or research techniques and/or focus.
Recipients of the Edwin Ziegfeld Award include: Ana Mae Barbosa (2006); Michael Day (2008); Rachel Mason (2011); Josip Roca (2014); Deborah Smith-Shank (2017 ); Timo Jokela (2019); Mohammed Al-Amri (2022).
Award for Excellence in Research in Education through Art
InSEA Award for Excellence in Research in Education through Art (AEREtA) The (Biannual [alternate years to Doctoral Awards]) AERAE award will recognise an outstanding contribution to research in art education with no restrictions on language. The field of research in art education is rich and diverse and so the term ‘Art Education’ should be interpreted broadly to include, for example, formal and informal sectors, but must be predominantly visual arts including multimedia and practice-based approaches to education through art. In addition, the research should foreground the potential of education through art, approaches and thinking to scholarly enquiry.
InSEA Award for Excellence in Research in Education through Art (AEREtA). Previous winners:
2018
Kim Snepvangers
2021
Flavia Bastos and James Rees
2023
Rebecca Heaton
Anniina Suominen
Award for Excellence in Praxis in Education through Art
This InSEA award is presented to an art educator or collaborative group who is/are active member(s) of InSEA who has/have demonstrated a commitment to multicultural and cross-cultural educational curricula in their schools and communities that are evident in their teaching strategies. This/these art educator(s) should actively implement pedagogical and curricular approaches that build respect for human dignity and diversity through art. This/these art educator(s) should demonstrate that their praxis is aligned with the mission of InSEA, of which the following is paraphrased from the InSEA manifesto - all learners regardless of age, nationality, or background should have entitlement and access to visual art education that deeply connects them to their world and to their cultural history that inspires knowledge, appreciation, and creation of new horizons that develop new ways of seeing, thinking, doing, and being. Artmaking in this educator’s classroom should encourage the development of transferable skills that enhance learning in other curricular areas to help students to build confidence, self-esteem, and self-understanding (InSEA Manifesto, InSEA Website).
InSEA Award for Excellence in Praxis in Education through Art (AEPEtA). Previous winners:
2021
Michelle Newby Armstrong
Rachel Ely Losch
Chia-Hung Kao
Hyun Jeong Kim
2023
Africa & Middle East award: Nevien Ahmed
Asia award: Minyoung Yang
Asia award: Min-Fang Chiu
North America award: Boyd Eric White
2024
Sun Chu-Chun
A4 Art Museum
Dr. Wilfried Swoboda
Dr. Kate Coleman
Sara Braid
Dr. Abbey MacDonald
InSEA Doctoral Research Award in Art Education
The InSEA Doctoral Research Award in arts education intends to recognize outstanding doctoral thesis with no restrictions of language in the field of visual arts and design education. This award recognizes a dissertation of exemplary conceptual, methodological, and literary quality on an important topic for education through the visual arts.
InSEA Doctoral Research Award. Previous winners:
2014
2017
2019
2022
Shirley Clifton
2024
Marika Tervahartiala
InSEA Advocacy Award for Organizations
The InSEA Advocacy Award for Organizations is presented to organizations that support the mission of InSEA— “the encouragement and advancement of creative education through art and crafts in all countries and the promotion of research and praxis about art education to foster international understanding”. This award recognizes the contributions of InSEA member organizations that have actively worked to further these goals. The InSEA Advocacy Award also serves as an incentive for cross-organizational collaboration, spotlighting contributions that align with InSEA’s mission.
InSEA Fellow Award
The InSEA ‘Fellow’ Award is presented to artist-educators who have demonstrated significant and sustained contributions to the sector of art education that they work in.
Eligibility
• Nomination by InSEA member (no self-nomination)
• Nominee must have been exceptionally active in education through art for at least 10 years
• Nominee must be able to demonstrate a significant and continuing contribution to education through art
• Demonstrated leadership in the field of education through art
• Contributions are recognized in art educational contexts, such as art educational sectors in schools, museums, higher education, communities. Artists-educators might be independent artists, educators, or scholars
Candidates can self-nominate or be nominated by InSEA members and InSEA World Councillors, depending on the awards category. Please check nomination policy in each award's How to Apply section. Note: Candidates and nominators must be professional members of InSEA, serving members of the InSEA World Council are not eligible to apply for awards. Inquiries can be sent to Dr. Mira Kallio-Tavin, chair of the awards committee: vice-president.mira[at]insea.org
General criteria for all InSEA Awards
Who can nominate?
Please refer to each award category for specific guidelines. Some awards accept self-nominations, while others require nomination by another InSEA member. Additionally, one award (Praxis) requires nominations to be made by the regional World Councillors.
Who is eligible for nomination?
All recipients and nominators must be members of InSEA.InSEA awards aim to celebrate the broader InSEA community. Therefore, the committee limits granting no more than two awards to the same InSEA member.