November's Arts Leader Spotlight - Michael Bell!
Michael Bell's student-centric vision to elevate the arts in Queen Anne's County has created more opportunities for students, teachers and their supportive communities to engage in artmaking and build connections.
MSDE: When did you first realize you were an artist?
Michael: I won my first art show at the age of five, and that experience stuck with me. Reporters showed up at our house to take photos and interview me surrounded by my artwork. There was nothing like it. From there, my parents continued entering me into art shows, contests; they even enrolled me in creative arts classes. So, as far back as I can remember—I’ve always been an artist. My Grandmother Violet was also a self-taught artist from Lyndhurst, New Jersey and she used to show teach me how to “see like an artist”. She’d take me to her local arts league where I took part in group critiques from an early age. So, while some people think being an artist is something you’re born with, I also believe it was all this early exposure and experiences with art that led me to become the artist I am today.
MSDE: How do you think that creativity shows up in your day?
Michael: I’ve got such a creative team here in Queen Anne’s County, so it shows up in the many faces around me daily. Ultimately, it starts and ends with my teachers. What I mean is that it’s quality teachers that build quality programs—not the other way around, so I see my role as championing them, shining a spotlight in new ways on their hard work and ‘walking the walk’ with them. I also have the most creative colleagues—from my secretary Kim Adams to my fellow Supervisors to my Deputy Superintendent Mr. Pilewski, who is a huge arts advocate. Our Superintendent Dr. Kane even went on WBAL-TV with me Easter Sunday to promote the arts! I don’t know many Superintendents you can say that about. And, being a Supervisor over so many disparate areas, you’ve got to be creative with your time, your energy, and with your focus. Call it my competitive spirit, but I’m also of the mentality that if we are going to win, we are all winning together. I try and foster this in my teachers and I encourage them to take creative risks, while providing them with the tools to build their capacity, not only as educators—but as artists and entrepreneurs.
MSDE: Why does arts education matter to you?
Michael: I’ve spent my entire life dedicated to arts education, so it’s a part of who I am. Despite the success in art I experienced as a child, my experiences in school did the opposite for me. For a while, it turned me off to art completely. It wasn’t until college when I met Roger Shipley, my art professor at Lycoming, who took me under his wing—that I realized just how much arts education matters. I’ve spent my career trying to pay my experiences with Rog’ forward, and now—as a Supervisor, it’s something I also take to heart. And if we want to change the world, or at least the culture or climate within our schools or communities—it all begins with the relationships we forge and it all starts with “why”. Why it is we do what we do. For me, my why was always simple. Catch kids before they fall. Do for them what no teacher before Rog’ ever did for me.
MSDE: As a leader in arts and education what are your goals for this coming year?
Michael: Inspire BELIEF! Belief in our teachers so they can instill that belief in their students. Get them to play a little above their heads. I’m always looking to challenge the process. Explore what’s new, what’s next, what’s better. This past year we re-vamped our districts’ entire high school Visual Arts Curriculum with a scaffolded scope and sequence leading to AP 2-D and 3-D Art and Design courses for the first time in the history of Queen Anne’s County Public Schools. We established our first ever National Art Honor Society Chapters at both high schools, and we created ArtScene—two of the largest student art exhibitions, hosted at both high schools. The first historic shows exploded like fireworks for our students—featuring works prekindergarten-12 from every elementary and middle feeder school. The importance of having these two groundbreaking shows at each high school is not just to give our Visual Arts program “a game-changing show”, but for kids to experience success within each high school from an early age; form a greater connection to the school, to the community, and to get to know all the teachers even before they take their classes. This is what it’s all about. Fostering that love for the arts across the entire district. This years’ ArtScene kicks off on April 21st at Queen Anne’s County High and April 23rd at Kent Island High from 5 – 8pm, so come out! It’s 100% free to the public, and it’s simply incredible! One additional goal this year is to turn my lens on our Performing Arts and middle school programs to develop new Music and Theatre Arts courses. This would allow our middle school Performing Arts departments to collaborate with our high school Dance, Theatre and Media Arts teachers, in addition to our Band and Choir directors. It’s truly an exciting time to be an artist and an arts educator in Queen Anne’s County Public Schools.
MSDE: Share a recommendation of a book, artist, event, or piece of work that inspires you!
Michael: That’s a tough one! There are so many artists, events and books out there that inspire me. Since I’m an early pioneer of the Visual Journaling movement, I always have books around me by Dan Eldon: “The Journey is the Destination”; Sabrina Ward-Harrison: “Spilling Open” and “My Messy Thrilling Life”; “Evidence: the Art of Candy Jernigan”; “Cover to Cover” by Shereen Laplantz; and of course, “Journal Fodder 365” by my lifelong artistic accomplices David Modler and Eric Scott, which lead you through a year-long adventure in drawing, writing, painting and collaging in order to discover new techniques. David and Eric will also be joining me and Sam Peck (founder of “tetRad – draw and play here”) in Minneapolis, MN at the National Art Education Association Convention where we will be delivering a panel discussion March 26 – 28, 2020. I’ll also be giving a national presentation on ArtScene and how to build national award-winning art programs. Check us out if you’re there, and find out how you can take our blueprint for success nationwide!
Michael Bell is the Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts, World Languages and Media with Queen Anne’s County Public Schools.
Want to get in touch with Michael?
Official Website: https://MBELLART.com